End of the Road Festival

End of the Road comes, for most of us, after a very long hiatus. After such a long period of inactivity, It feels like entering some kind of wonderland.

The three day festival hidden away in the heart of Dorset likes to stay hidden to a certain extent, and could surely expand if it wanted to, but this year again, the capacity is the same as usual, we're led to believe, a busy but spaciously spread 15,000.

The music here pulls in an eclectic range of artists, some familiar, some not so, which only means, more to discover. This year the most anticipated act, Pixies, are sadly missing, but hey...these are the times we're in.

Across 4 stages, we find ourselves spoilt for choice at times, free to explore at other times. The first act we catch in the Tipi on Friday have a little bit of Psyche and Garage with a little trace of Lou Reed thrown in to captivate this oh so appreciative crowd.

Over to the Garden stage (it really is like wondering around a country manor and chancing upon a stage hidden away in their beautiful garden) where we catch some wonderful Irish, country tinged shenanigans from CMAT and we think we've already heard our favourite lyric of the weekend "I cried in KFC again over you. And everyone was looking, so I cried some more. And doubled down on chicken for some moral support"

We stick around in the Garden for BDRMM (yes, Bedroom without the vowels), who turn out to be one of the highlights of the day. A fresh slant on the sadly missed but never forgotten Shoegaze genre has this crowd mesmerised. Memories of Nowhere era Ride reverberates around this scenic haven as the effects pedals get worked to full capacity.

Hot Chip get everyone moving as expected as the Woods (main) stage headliners on Friday. We're ready for Huarache Lights and most certainly for the awesome Over and Over, but not so prepared for a fantastic set closing Springsteen cover. Dancing in the Dark, full 80's cheese fest in effect. This wasn't the highlight though, Sabotage....yes, the Beastie Boys Sabotage. Perfect.

The night is not complete yet though, not until Warmduscher have chewed us up, gargled us and spat us out. A spellbinding mix of electronica, guitars and the wondrously insane frontman, Clams Baker, make this band a total joy to finish the day.

On Saturday we flit from the ultra laid back vibes of Cornwall's Golden Dregs in the Garden, to some wild (slightly out of tune, intentional we’re sure) fiddle playing post punk courtesy of Pozi on the Woods stage and some tuneful indie pop from Penelope Isles.

It's when Squid take the Garden stage , early evening that the excitement really starts. These guys are just bursting with energy, power, meandering angular soundscapes, awesome screams, and a wicked sense of humour. We fondly remember them from 2019 when drummer/singer Ollie complimented the programmers of End of the Road on their great choices of bands over the years, apart from letting themselves down one year with Mumford and Sons........2 years later, he made a similar jibe " It really happened" he says in amazement, we can see where you're coming from Ollie.......Squid have something special, they don't sound like anybody else, they sound like Squid. Pamphlets is the closer and highlight of an outstanding set.

We think we've just seen the best performance of the day, then we stumble into the Tipi to catch very late additions to the line up, Lice. Wow. Without a doubt these noise merchants boast the most charismatic and engaging front man of the festival. Alistair parades around the stage, jumps and poses on the monitors, beckons us, and pulls us into his world. The music is abrasive, heavy, loud and intense. If you like your music on the heavier end of the scale, check them out, they will not disappoint.

Sleaford Mods bring their inimitable style to the main stage. They really are incomparable to anyone else out there. Jason's insightful, biting, funny, politically charged jibes just come so thick and fast it's hard to keep up. Against the backing of Andrew's serious collection of self penned beats this pair translate in spades to the live arena, as the man himself presses play and sups on beer throughout whilst jigging back and forth. If you're on the cusp of whether to see them or not, just do it. The personality, visual ticks and good humour of Williamson just makes us all feel part of the club "End of the rrrrooooooowwwwwwwddd, are you enjoying it?" Yes Jason, we really are.

We finish Saturday off in the Tipi for the "Secret" Chubby and the Gang set. What clearly was an intense and impassioned performance from the 5 piece was blighted by a serious napping session by the sound man. Hardly any vocals for several songs, muffled overall sound and a serious lack of volume still didn't detract from the talent on the stage. Call it punk, hardcore, whatever, go and see them, and hope the volume is on 11.

John start our day off in the Big Top and turn out to be a tough act to follow. "I'm John, he's John, we are John", says drummer vocalist John Newton, pointing at guitarist John Healey as they power into an uncompromising set of noise punk brilliance that sounds like it's being delivered by twice the amount of Johns. Drummer John exclaims his thanks and relief to be performing several times throughout this exceptional performance. A Song For Those Who Speed In Built-up Areas is a highlight in a potent performance.

Black Country New Road play twice today, there's a lot of excited people at both performances waiting to hear Sunglasses, what can only be described as a modern classic, from their debut album. They don't play it. If memory serves me right, Radiohead waited until they toured OK Computer before they stopped playing Creep, but hey it's their choice. Hats off to them in confidence, they deliver some great, meandering, impossible to pigeonhole numbers, but without doubt take the phrase "leave the audience wanting more" to the next level.

Witty, clever and spiky humour from an oh so promising Yard Act warm us up nicely for some more spoken word vocals, this time courtesy of South London's Dry Cleaning. The band are animated and rock out with abandon as Florence stands almost trance like in contrast delivering biting stinging dialogue. It really works. Tracks off debut album New Long Leg go down a storm, but it's the songs from the two EPs, Sweet Princess and Boundary Road Snacks and Drinks that really draw us in, in particular The Magic of Meghan which is delivered with a perfect amount of sarcasm, wit and irony.

For this reviewer, and seemingly everybody else here, this friendly, relaxed and welcoming festival has given us back a sense of adventure, freedom, and good old live music, all of which were so easy to take for granted. With a renewed sense of gratitude and appreciation, we leave this enchanted wonderland for another year. So sure to return.