A detailed look at this year's lineup at Larmer Tree Gardens.
Photo: Danni Rossi | Words: Lloyd Bolton
We can't wait to be back at Larmer Tree Gardens for this year's edition of End of the Road Festival, running from 28th to 31st August. With tickets now officially sold out, any stragglers will have to look out for official resales Twickets, which are due to go live any day now. With the festival a mere few weeks away, it's about time to get plotting our schedules day-by-day to work through a packed lineup of great artists.
Thursday
We always like to set off in good time on Thursday morning to get tents pitched and catch a good few bands to kick off the weekend. The evening will be spent building up to Sharon van Etten and the Attachment Theory's Woods Stage headline slot, the weekend kicking off with her modern blend of rock 'n' roll ethos, contemporary experimentation and vivid storytelling. We are also keen to see as much of Getdown Services as possible over at The Folly, their live shows being a hypnotic combination of hilarity and profundity over floor-filling tunes. Anyone particularly keen to catch these guys should be warned that the Folly can hit capacity quite quickly for a band of this infectious magnitude, so get there early.
Completing the bill on Thursday are breakout indie darlings Westside Cowboy on the Woods Stage, Montreal art-punks La Sécurité and DIY rock superstar Anna Erhard. We are also excited to catch Brazilian artist Rogê, whose modern take on samba will surely be an ideal soundtrack to this toasting of the end of summer.
Friday
Thursday is a relatively gentle start, the merest taster of the deluge of live music to come over the weekend. If you want to make the most of Friday, you're going to have to exert at least a little self-control at the silent disco that marks the first night of the festival…
Starting bright and early (well, just after noon), we'll be looking to catch Rubie at The Boat stage. Her live sets are truly vital, every sinew strained to wring the powerful and poignant meaning out of her songs. Keeping up the intensity, we'll be looking to twin sets from Man/Woman/Chainsaw and The Orchestra (For Now), two bands who have stormed the live scene in London and beyond with their ambitiously arranged music performed in fierce, sprawling ensembles. If there is time to negotiate a little room between their sets, we'll be hoping to see Silver Gore at the Folly, still under the spell of their magical set at The Great Escape and the newly released debut single 'Dogs in Heaven'.
For us, the early evening will be all about Goat, the mysterious, hypnotic Swedish psych ensemble, who perform masked in fantastic costumes. This is sure to be an electric and absorbing dance party. Fitting around their set, we'll also be looking to catch the experimental folk pairing of Six Organs of Admittance and Jackie O Motherfucker, who play one after the other at the Boat. Fans of contemporary American-style folk should also make sure to catch New Orleans folk artist Sabine McCalla on her first ever run of UK shows. She's over on the Talking Heads stage, and anyone who has caught her on Gems on VHS will know she is an under the radar must see at this festival.
Closing the night, we'll be blissing out to the electronica pairing of Caribou, who headlines the Woods Stage and then Joy Orbison, who follows over at the Big Top. Caribou, the constantly evolving Canadian artist touring 2024 album 'Honey', will be the ideal touchpaper for a night of revelry, as thoughts turn towards the various dancefloors hidden among the trees and open long into the night.
Saturday
Another packed day of music awaits on Saturday and once more we are not planning on wasting any time kicking things off. Search Results open the Big Top at midday. They were another of our favourites at The Great Escape, the band's music efficiently translating inspirations like Fire Engines and Cola into pithy, witty songs performed by an ultra-tight three-piece. Immediately after that, The New Eves take to the Woods Stage, where the swaying trees will provide a perfect backdrop to the windswept punk folk of their outstanding newly released debut album.
Into the early afternoon, we're facing some tough decisions as a run of RIP Magic on the Boat, The Golden Dregs on the Woods and mary in the junkyard at the Big Top unfolds in what looks like a half hour window. Fresh off the outstanding new album 'Godspeed', perhaps their most ambitious album yet, this feels like a great chance to catch The Golden Dregs. All the same, those who haven't yet caught the justifiably buzzy RIP Magic yet should seriously consider that, while live specialists mary in the junkyard in the absorbing darkness of the Big Top tent is also an enticing proposition. Perhaps one to leave up to your mood on the day.
The early evening offers an expanded sonic palette, allowing for a diversion from the general prevalence of acts led by the guitar and other traditional instruments. Black Fondu, Kassie Krut and Moonchild Sanelly are all artists drawing on electronic and dance influences in an excitingly warped manner. Rumours will doubtless be flying around about a Self Esteem feature at the Moonchild Sanelly set as she headlines later that night – surely they've got to come together to play 'Big Man' for at least one of those sets.
As the evening closes in, we're looking forward to the dovetail of post-rock doomswayers Moin into the euphoric chaos of a Geordie Greep solo set at the Garden Stage. After that, we're keen to catch Throwing Muses, the idiosyncratic and hugely influential alt rockers still producing revelatory new material years after their 80s breakthrough. After that, it'll be a scramble to catch what we can between the revitalised Mount Kimbie on the Woods Stage and the uproarious Viagra Boys in the Garden ahead of Self Esteem's headline set back at the Woods. As on Friday night, the powers that be have done a good job of ramping up party mood with the Saturday headline, Self Esteem's euphoric mix of pop perfection with radical honesty a good incitement to kick off a joyous night out in the Woods to follow.
Self Esteem by Lorne Thomson
Sunday
Many will be looking for a gentle, reflective way to start this Sunday, run ragged by three days of music and partying and wet wipe showers. Shovel Dance Collective on the Garden Stage will be a perfect complement to any lingering hangovers, their reflective, drone-heavy and ingenious take on folk making for a glorious live show in which to truly get lost. We'll then be feeling very tempted to linger in the Garden for Jake Xerxes Fussell who follows, his own style more oriented around American traditional music, but reimagined into an expansive, modern space with a mix of originals and judiciously selected standards. Tucker Zimmerman is also a tempting option at the Garden if you really want to keep this vibe going, and a pre-festival listen to his enchanting 2024 album in collaboration with Big Thief is a powerful enticement. Be mindful, however, of your other options at that time, with Glasshouse Red Spider Mite over at the Boat Stage followed immediately by The Raincoats' Gina Birch, who will be performing her incredible new album.
We'll be targeting the late afternoon to get the energy back up and Sylvie Kreusch on the main stage will be just what the doctor ordered. Her music is a mix of playful and danceable alt pop with lush arrangements, incredible vocals and fun song ideas. Keeping the energy up but taking us in a totally different direction, we'll be looking to Mali's Vieux Farka Touré, the son of the legendary Ali Farka Touré continuing the tradition while carving out a deserved reputation in his own right.
At the business end of the day, Tropical Fuck Storm are a must see on the Woods Stage, the live power of the Australian rockers – mutant descendants of The Drones – making for a reliably jaw-dropping live show. After that, we're in for a cluster of artists who have graduated the UK alternative scene in the past few years and gone down their own various rabbit holes. Katy J Pearson, Sorry and Black Country, New Road hit the Garden stage one after the other, while Squid take on the Woods with their new album 'Cowards', a record that does especially well to capture the intricate live jams that have always elevated the band's sets.
There is then the temptation to hold one's space among the Woods crowd ahead of Father John Misty, for many the standout artist of the whole weekend. He brings his mix of razor sharp wit and Americana seduction to the festival off the back of the release of 2024's 'Mahashmashana'. Then there will hopefully then be time after that to catch dream indie superstar John Maus over in the Big Top, a perfect way to close the out the festival under the late August stars.
This year's End of the Road is full of delights up and down the bill, and we're not anticipating much time to catch our breath in between each set. There will be clashes, plans will change, and there's always a few secret sets to factor into the mix, yet we can but try to prepare our Plans A B and C in advance. At Hard of Hearing, we'll be back over the next few weeks weeks to zoom in on a few favourite artists on the bill, but until then, you can check out the full lineup and, if you need, scout out for any resale tickets over at https://endoftheroadfestival.com/day-stage-splits/
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