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  1. Between the long awaited Unthanks and Sufjan Stevens sets on Saturday night, I wandered over to the Garden Stage to check out the end of St Etienne’s set performing all of their classic 1991 album ‘Foxbase Alpha’. As giant balloons bounced across the heads of the exhilarated crowd during the last song ‘Who Do You Think You Are?’, Sarah Cracknell looked every bit the fantasy girlfriend she was a quarter of a century ago, eyes sparkling with the joy of performing in such a beautiful place, to such a warm, appreciative audience. “Honestly, this has been one of the best nights of my life” she said as the crowd willed the moment never to end.

    It’s a recurring theme at End Of The Road. The environment is a glorious one that would be the perfect place to camp for the weekend in any circumstances. Fill those beautiful spaces with superb natural food, an exceptional beer festival,comedians fresh from Edinburgh Festival performing in a woodland glade, movies, and, most importantly, a hand picked selection of musicians that truly inspire, and you have a “once in a lifetime” experience – except that it’s been every year for 10 years now and keeps on getting better and better without getting bigger. Unlike beer and credit card company sponsored enormofests, the artists spend far more time rhapsodising about how much they love the festival than the normal ‘Make some noise, Basingstoke’ exhortations. The environment and the crowd can’t help but bring out the best in creative people – everyone is at the top of their game.

    I could tell it was going to be a great year from the first act. Ryley Walker fused Tim Buckley vocals with Bert Jansch guitar, sounding like the greatest 1971 singer-songwriter album you never heard. “Holy Shit, this place looks like Led Zepp songs sound!” he beamed as he surveyed the rural idyll in front of him. A peacock wandered up to the front of the stage, tilted its head approvingly, and its two chicks followed on behind, seemingly secure in the knowledge that this was not a place where there were any threats.

    On Friday night, it was Tame Impala as headliners. They were the first band that eldest son Jake (19) introduced me to several years ago– a pivotal moment as he ‘flew the nest’ musically, cementing our mutual passion for music as not being one way traffic. 14 year old Tom has been looking forward to this for months. It’s his first major gig. Higher than 90% of the crowd on strong painkillers after a dentist trip, he’s insistent that only being forcibly restrained will keep him away and now he’s absolutely front and centre against the barricade with Jake forming a shield behind him. From my vantage point at the back of the crowd I’m almost overwhelmed with happiness for him – a weird feeling, kind of like Schadenfreude but for well balanced people.

    When a bit of light relief is needed at a festival, sitting with a perfect G&T (Martin Miller’s and Fever Tree Mediterranean Tonic with lemon and a sprig of thyme), and a freshly cooked bowl of Cambodian Chilli Pork on a hay bale under a canopy of trees listening to comedians is a great way to do it. Gin prevents me from having any decent gags to share, although the fantastic Simon Munnery’s 4 word joke as a closer managed to stick – “Clowns divorce – custardy battle!” Please yourselves…..

    I could go on: The first ever UK festival performance from Sufjan Stevens, on the back of my undoubted album of the year ‘Carrie and Lowell’, War On Drugs’ shimmering widescreen American Road Movie music through a narcotic haze, meeting my favourite Brit film director Ben Wheatley and being given one of ten limited lithograph posters for his next film, and starting each day with bacon sarnies cooked on the camping stove. It is extraordinary how potent cheap bacon is, as Noel Coward might have said had he been camping with vegetarians.

    Of course, the focal point for my sky high expectations were The Unthanks. I have to confess an occasionally embarassing problem. Certain musical things such as Richard Thompson’s guitar, Ben Folds’ melodies and, most of all, the perfect vocal harmonies of Rachel and Becky Unthank have a direct line to my tear ducts. Couple this with the fact that all three have associations of wonderful evenings spent with my nearest and dearest watching them perform live and I can get real messy, real quick. For this one, there was no way I wasn’t going to be up close so I staked my place near the front with Jake and Tom flanking me. Damn, they were incredible from the start. Adrian McNally and an astonishingly gifted group of string, brass and percussion players create a perfect soundscape for those two beautiful, oh so different but flawlessly complementary voices to work their usual magic on me. Tracks I knew and adored from their most recent album ‘Mount The Air’ took on a new perspective, an added layer of beauty and meaning. As the sunlight breaking the clouds refracted through my teary eyes to create a kaleidoscopic halo around Rachel and Becky, they introduced their next song – my favourite from the album, ‘Magpie’. “This is for a very special man called Geoff Read” they said . WTF? That’s my “real world” name. Am I just fantasising? An excited whoop and nudge in the ribs from Jake gives me a clue. Like a hipster Jim’ll Fix It, he’d emailed the band, explaining how much I love them, how much he appreciates what I do for him and Tom, and asking politely if they’d mind doing a ‘shout out’ for me. It says so much about The Unthanks that they remembered and took the time to do this in the middle of a major set. It says even more about Jake that he made the request in the first place – and I know that Tom would have done the same. If the intention was to make me feel very loved and create a memory that will last forever, it certainly succeeded. A distillation of the End Of The Road spirit in one stage announcement.

    “Honestly, this has been one of the best nights of my life” Sarah had said. I’m inclined to agree.

  2. You daft old sod, you’ve got me welling up. SO glad you had a great time. A visit to the Larmer Tree for the festival has long been on my wish-list, and perhaps next year I will actually go and do it, now I’ve read your report.

  6. From Ryley Walker to War On Drugs via a meander around Madisen Ward and his Mum, Giant Sand where even the sound issues became amusing, Sufjan and Tame Impala there were many highlights over a weekend where at first glance I had limited expectations re the line-up for this year’s festival. I was very happy to be proved wrong – I even enjoyed the Dawes set although have to confess the Sleaford Mods gave me a headache and sounded too much like work. Overall a fantastic weekend but sincerely hope that attendance levels are kept as they are (speaking as one who has already got his ticket for next year). Oh, and was also party to an unscheduled mini-mini-mingle!

  9. I always think that a really good positive review of something makes you wish you had been there. On that basis this review is absolutely brilliant. Thank you!

  12. Cheers for this, Mr Tudor. Sounds like a great festival. Certainly an excellent line-up this year.

    Kaisfatdad has met Rachel and Becky Unthank on each of the two occasions that they’ve played Stockholm, and he assures me that they’re a couple of canny lasses.

  13. another fabulous weekend at Larmer Tree.

    cracking set by Dawes only bettered by Sufjan Stevens, which was better than a great many things.

    also enjoyed Aero Flynn, Pond, Jane Weaver< Fat White Family, Sleaford Mods (no one more surprised than me about that), and Delines were wonderful too.

    i already have 2016 tickets. early birds sold out in two hours apparently.

  14. Great review Mr Tudor. A line up to die for. My loyalty to Roskilde, another festival that one keeps coming back to, was temporarily undermined.

    Name checked from the stage by Rachel and Becky? Respect! I love it about those two, that despite playing quite large halls, they still come to the merch table and do a meet and greet after the show.

    Fantasy girlfriend indeed. Mercifully I have never met Sarah Cracknell at a merch table. I suspect I would make a complete and utter fool of myself.

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