Festival preview: End of the Road

by Dan Worth

End of the season but end of the road? Hardly

"Set in the heart of the good ol’ West Country the ethos is very much one of communal enjoyment with the simple premise that ‘the entire festival line-up is the headliner’"

 End of the Road
 When: Friday 12 September - Sunday 14 July
 Where: Larmer Tree Gardens – North Dorset / Wiltshire borders
 Official site: www.endoftheroadfestival.com
 Past New Noise coverage
 2006
 Click here for line-up details.

The End of the Road Festival was formed when the organisers decided to try and make their idea of ‘the perfect festival with our favourite line up’ a reality. It sounds like one of those dreams that could never work in real life. But on closer inspection perhaps it’s not as far-fetched as it sounds…

The festival specifically doesn’t host the ‘hyped’ up bands of the moment but rather goes for interesting, innovative, and down-right quality bands that fit in with the festival spirit – this year’s the likes of Calexico, Mercury Rev and British Sea Power are on the impressively diverse line-up. What’s more the festival experience itself is given as much importance as the music – top-notch local food and drink is the order of the day, not overpriced, undercooked burger meat and warm commercial lagers.

Set in the heart of the good ol’ West Country the ethos is very much one of communal enjoyment with the simple premise that ‘the entire festival line-up is the headliner’. What’s more with no commercial advertising to promote mobile phone or fizzy drinks it’s not treating you like you’re some brainless moron who has to be told what to like, which is a refreshing change.

Held in mid-September there’s, of course, the roulette gamble that the weather will either be the last remnants of an Indian summer or the start of the monsoon season, but that’s a risk at any festival so there’s no change there. Oh, and they promise there will be parrots and peacocks wandering around the site. What more could you want?

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