Latest News

Our first headliners need no introduction. Vampire Weekend announce their hugely anticipated return with the first live show to be announced in four years, having last been spotted on these shores in the summer of 2014. End Of The Road will mark their only UK festival appearance this year and with rumours of a new album abound – their last being the universally acclaimed and Grammy Awards winning 2013 album Modern Vampires Of The City – we can’t wait to welcome the illusive New Yorkers to the Larmer Tree Gardens for the first time.

We are honoured that multi Grammy Award winning Feist will be making her first ever appearance at End of The Road. The Canadian songwriter and one time Broken Social Scene member has long been on our wish list and her fifth album – and first in six years – Pleasure, emerged last year as her most defiant work so far. End Of The Road – her only UK festival this year -will be the perfect setting to bring this intimate set songs to life.

Joining Vampire Weekend and Feist will be the inimitable St. Vincent, who returns for the third time to End Of The Road, having graced the Woods stage in 2014 and 2013, when she teamed up with David Byrne for their Love This Giant collaboration. Unique and daring, Annie Clark has had a spectacular year with the release of the seminal and prescient album Masseduction. Hitting The Guardian’s number album of 2017 and captivating audiences with her spellbinding, avant-garde live shows, St. Vincent has made the transition into singular rock star. We are delighted to have her back on her own terms.

End Of The Road will once again open its doors on Thursday, with the indefinable Yo La Tengo kicking off things on the Woods Stage. Making their fourth appearance at End Of The Road but first time as headliners and about time too; given their consistently high standards over a dizzying 14 albums – with a new one due in 2018 – we can think of no better way to kick off the festival.

And that’s just the headliners! We are very excited to welcome back Ezra Furman. A whirlwind of drama, joy and rock’n’roll brilliance, Ezra is a flag-bearer for the disenfranchised. With the anticipated new album Transangelic Exodus due in just a few weeks time and his Visions bandmates in tow, be prepared for a career defining set in September. Next up, two solo songwriters hailing from legendary bands; John Cale – the enigmatic Welshman and co-founder of the near mythical Velvet Underground – will bring his exciting and diverse back catalog, while Jeff Tweedy, front man and founder of the seminal US indie heroes Wilco (who headlined the festival back in 2009), will perform solo.

We are delighted to welcome avant-pop composer Julia Holter this year, whose mesmerising music we’ve long admired. The brilliant 2015 album Have You In My Wilderness was lauded universally, and with a new album hopefully on the way this year, her EOTR set – and only UK festival – is bound to be very special. Another first timer and sonic adventurer, Kaitlyn Aurelia Smith, will be joining us in September. The much celebrated LA based producer and composer uses a rare modular system to create her kaleidoscopic electronic world.

It really is an embarrassment of riches year, as we can reveal that firm festival favourite Gruff Rhys will return, bringing with him mesmerising stories and subtle compositions. We also have underground pioneer Ariel Pink making his End Of The Road debut and bringing his outlandish pop compositions from another dimension with him. As if that wasn’t enough, the father of Ethio-Jazz Mulatu Astatke will be blessing us with his presence for a triumphant, life-affirming live show.

Thee mighty Oh Sees, last seen destroying the Garden Stage in the best possible way, return to shake the festival to its core with their primal garage punk rock once again and they’re bringing label mates DUDS and Flat Worms with them. Get ready for a Castle Face Records takeover.

As usual we have a wealth of new talent making their way to the festival for the first time. Big Thief released two albums in just one year; their confidently named debut Masterpiece followed by the spine tingling Capacity. With both records all over the end of year lists, they are definitely one to watch. Acclaimed newcomer and Little Big League guitarist Japanese Breakfast will bring her blend of dark lyrics and blissed out pop melodies, while Julien Baker’s raw, intimate folk and reputation for assured, beautiful shows will surely bring the festival to a stand still. Plus we welcome rising stars Snail Mail, described by Pitchfork as ‘the wisest teenage indie rockers we know’ and BBC Sound of 2018 nominee Nilufur Yanya, who counts King Krule and The Invisible among her many fans.

Last but certainly not least, we love a happy ending here at End Of The Road so it is with great pleasure that we invite revered Tuareg innovator form Niger Mdou Moctar back this year, after he was cruelly kept from us in 2017. Another singular artist who narrowly missed out on his debut back in 2016, is once part-time Syrian wedding singer Omar Souleyman. Thrilling audiences at festivals across the world with his thumping blend of traditional dabke songs and electronic beats, we can’t wait to see him and the vast array of artists already confirmed for End Of The Road 2018.

End Of The Road Festival 2018 Line Up:

Vampire Weekend
St. Vincent
Feist
Yo La Tengo
Ezra Furman
Jeff Tweedy
John Cale
Fat White Family
Oh Sees
Gruff Rhys
Julia Holter
Mulatu Astatke
Ariel Pink
Destroyer
Omar Souleyman
Aldous Harding
Big Thief
(Sandy) Alex G
James Holden & The Animal Spirits
This Is The Kit
Hookworms
IDLES
Shame
The Low Anthem
Protomartyr
Hiss Golden Messenger
Kaitlyn Aurelia Smith
Damien Jurado
Amen Dunes
Imarhan
Japanese Breakfast
Richard Dawson
Du Blonde
Julien Baker
Jim White
Flat Worms
Mdou Moctar
Childhood
Lost Horizons
Colter Wall
The Weather Station
Adrian Crowley
Nilüfer Yanya
Sweet Baboo
Darren Hayman
Gwenno
Insecure Men
David Thomas Broughton
DUDS
Snail Mail
Erin Rae
Caroline Spence
Samuel R. Saffery
Snapped Ankles
Anna Burch
AK/DK
Penelope Isles
Creatures
Red River Dialect
Tiny Ruins
Stella Donnelly
Lail Arad & JF Robitaille

More info on all the acts can be found on our  Line Up Page

APPLICATIONS OPEN HERE NOW

This year one of the selected artists will open one of the Major Stages (Woods, Garden, Big Top) and one will film a session with The Line of Best Fit. Other winners will receive a standard festival slot. If you are chosen as the act to open one of the Major Stages you will still be eligible for The Line of Best Fit feature, (and vice versa) – the two opportunities aren’t mutually exclusive but they won’t necessarily go to the same act.

Application Rules / Terms & Conditions:

Entry:

• Only applications submitted through the online form will be accepted. We will not accept applications by email or social media.
• Applications are open from 6 December – Midnight 19 February
• Only applications received by the closing date will be considered.
• You can see from our past line-ups what sort of music we are interested in.
• You must be available on the following dates: Thursday 30th August – Sunday 2nd September 2018 inclusive

Announcement:

• The winners will be notified by mid March, and announced on our website/Facebook shortly thereafter. Please do not email us to ask for updates.

If you are successful:

• We will pay a fee of £150 for each of these slots, to help with travel costs etc.
• It is your responsibility to make your way to and from the festival, and you agree to be on time for your load in / stage time.
• You agree to provide the information required in our ‘Artist Brief’ in good time.

Headlining the night will be one of the highlights from this year’s exceptional festival, purveyors of languid and beautiful guitar pop Ultimate Painting. Joining them will be eight piece noise ensemble Nervous Conditions, one of the most exciting new UK bands. With a front man that sounds like a straight-edge Mark E. Smith over skronking sax, no-nonsense synths, violin and dual drums, resulting in something that sounds like Sun Ra on a post-punk binge. Very special guest DJs to be announced.

Tickets are £12 each and available through Music Glue and DICE.

Early Bird tickets for End of The Road 2018 sold out in a record 35 minutes this year.

Tier 2 tickets are now on sale, along with our deposit scheme, here.

Finally, the moment you’ve all been waiting for, The Line of Best Fit have not only got their mitts on our stage times but have arranged them into a handy clash finder too. Check it out!

Please note, Slowcoaches will be wrapping up at 18:45 and not jamming with The Surfing Magazines for 30 minutes, despite what it looks like!

For the first time this year BBC Radio 3’s adventurous music programme Late Junction will be curating the Friday evening on our Tipi stage. With a rich history in broadcasting left field music, from Russian sound art to Chicago footwork via field recordings and free jazz, Late Junction has selected 4 suitably boundary- pushing artists to top their bill.

Renowned multi instrumentalist and new age mystic Laraaji, was discovered by Brian Eno while he was busking in Washington Square Park with his custom made electronic zither went on to release the seminal album Ambient 3: Day Of Radiance produced by Eno. With a new album due this year, we can’t wait for him to bring his unique blend of transcendental jazz and new age ambience to Larmer Tree Gardens.

KLEIN is a singer and producer based in South London (by way of Lagos) known for her unique blend of gospel, experimental electronic production and raw vocals. Her self-released album Only was on many tastemaker lists last year and she recently won a Oram award for innovative women in music.

Tuareg vocalist and guitarist Mdou Moctar. Revered as an innovator in his home country of Niger, Moctar is known for his psychedelic, electronic adaptations of traditional Tuareg music and his unconventional style has won him accolades both in Niger and abroad. His 2008 debut album Anar was a breakaway success on the MP3 sharing networks of West Africa and he has since released two highly regarded albums internationally.

Greek and Australian duo Xylouris White is comprised of singer George Xylouris whose lute playing seems otherworldly, as well as one of the best-loved artists on Crete, and the Dirty Three drummer who needs no introduction, the Jim White. The likes of Bill Callahan, Nick Cave, White Magic, PJ Harvey and Cat Power all know that there’s more to White’s drumming than mere accompaniment. Their second album Black Peak was released last October to wide critical acclaim and features vocals from Bonnie “Prince” Billy no less.

Late Junction will also be at large across the festival site on Friday. Laraaji will also be hosting a Laughter Meditation Workshop on the lawn in front of The New Pavilion at 2pm and presenter Nick Luscombe will DJ on The Disco Ship from 12.30–1.30am. 

Recordings of all performances will be broadcast on BBC Radio 3’s Late Junction on the 12th to the 14th September from 11pm. Late Junction is on air at 11pm every Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday on BBC Radio 3.

We are teaming up with theprintspace to host a photography competition. Send us your best pictures from End of the Road over the years and we will select our favourites to be exhibited around the site at this year’s festival.

HOW DOES IT WORK?

Enter up to five images for free via thehub. We will compile our 100 favourite entries on a Facebook album for all to see, as well as exhibited at the festival. In addition, everyone who enters will receive a voucher to order a free of charge 10″ x 12″ fine-art print, printed on museum-grade, archival papers from theprintspace. So everyone’s a winner!

Simply upload your image(s) via thehub:

https://hub.theprintspace.co.uk/Hub

Erased Tapes continue their tenth anniversary celebrations, with a takeover of the beloved Piano Stage on Sunday at this year’s End Of The Road. We are thrilled to welcome avant pop veterans Penguin Cafe, genre defying piano prodigy Douglas Dare and brand new signing, the Icelandic singer and composer Högni.

On February 5th 2017 Erased Tapes opened the doors to their new East London home, marking the 10th anniversary by introducing their fans and the public to the new Erased Tapes Sound Gallery. Initially founded by German-born Robert Raths in 2007, the London-based label has grown and extended across the world with satellite offices in Los Angeles and Berlin. Spanning over ten years, Erased Tapes has nurtured avant-garde artists from all around the world, while retaining their experimental and truly independent spirit.

We are also delighted to announce that New Jersey born multi instrumentalist Laraaji will be the final artist joining BBC Radio 3 Late Junction’s takeover of Friday evening on the the Tipi Stage. Discovered by Brian Eno while he was busking in Washington Square Park with his custom made electronic zither, Laraaji went on to release the seminal album Ambient 3: Day Of Radiance produced by Eno. With a new album due this year, we can’t wait for him to bring his unique blend of transcendental jazz and new age ambience to Larmer Tree Gardens.

Last but most certainly not least, we round off this year’s line up with Japanese noise-rock behemoths Bo Ningen and rebellious, fiercely independent French and Italian noir garage rockers J.C.Satàn. With their pulverising, breathless live shows, Bo Ningen have been described as sounding like ‘a lightning strike on a clear day’. They have wowed us before in 2011 and 2013 and we’re delighted to welcome them back. First timers J.C.Satàn’s music is all dark and shredding guitar tones, abstract lyricism, and screeching vocal delivery. They’ve been compared to “Queens Of The Stone Age backing Serge Gainsbourg”, all swaggering no wave riffs crashing into each other to create the most fantastic sonic shapes.

In addition to all this, throughout the four days, there will be the usual array of surprise performances, one off collaborations and secret sets – presented in collaboration with The Line of Best Fit – that have become End of The Road’s trademark. BBC Radio 3’s Late Junction presenters will be at large around the festival with artist led workshops and a late night DJ set from Nick Luscombe. Plus the usual array of after hours fun and dancing to be had at the Silent Disco, The Disco Ship and a very special ‘Midnight Mass’ hosted by Loud & Quiet (with very special guest DJ’s to be announced) will take place following Father John Misty’s headline set on Saturday night.

We’re incredibly excited to not only reveal this year’s Cinema programme, but also bring you news of a complete face-lift for The Cinema itself. Revamped, relocated and revitalised, prepare to fully immerse yourself in a Twin Peaks-inspired wonderland which we’ll celebrate the opening of with a David Lynch double-bill on Thursday evening (with Blue Velvet preceding a screening of Twin Peaks‘ original pilot episode). Be sure to grab a slice of your finest cherry pie, and we’ll stick a pot on.

Our bigger and better than ever before Cinema will this year play host to a vast and eclectic array of films and Q&As. We will be screening some of this year’s finest, from the Oscar winning Moonlight and critically acclaimed horror Get Out, to box office hits for adults and kids alike, The Lego Batman Movie. There’s also plenty of classics on offer, with Robert Altman’s neo-noir thriller The Long Goodbye and the 1979 coming of age drama Breaking Away.

For the proper musos, we are thrilled to welcome producer Graham Leader to Larmer Tree Gardens, all the way from the US, to discuss the Father John Misty and Lucinda Williams approved classic music documentaries, Heartworn Highways and Heartworn Highways Revisited, (featuring Townes Van Zandt, Steve Earle and Guy Clark among many others). This will be the highlight of a day filled with Americana cult classics, from the more recent Hell Or High Water, to the iconic Paris, Texas.

We will also be joined by Delia Derbyshire…The Myths & Legendary Tapes director Caroline Catz, to talk about her portrait of an unconventional British electronic music pioneer, while Natale Tsipori will be on hand to take questions about the Low Anthem documentary Am I The Dream or The Dreamer?. The cult budget ‘anti-rom com’ Brakes’ director and writer Mercedes Grower will be in conversation with one of the co-stars Seb Cardinal of Cardinal Burns, ahead of his turn on this year’s Comedy Stage.

End of The Road will also be venturing further into musicals territory this year. From the weird Rain The Colour Of Blue With A Little Red In It, a reimagining of Purple Rain by Mdou Moctar (who plays the Tipi stage for Late Junction on Friday) to the sublime Hedwig And The Angry Inch, and the classic Mary Poppins.

And the kids will be alright with some great animations in store, including Kubo And The Two Strings followed by a Sunday night French language double bill with the acclaimed My Life As A Courgette – premiered at Cannes Film Festival this year – and the beautifully animated non-dialogue cycling comedy, Belleville Rendez-Vous.

The Cinema at End Of The Road 2017:

Thursday

Blue Velvet
Twin Peaks Series 1 – Pilot Episode
The Long Goodbye
Rain the Colour Of Blue With A Little Red In It (a remake of Purple Rain by Mdou Moctar)
Lost in France

Friday

The Handmaiden
Old Boy
Hedwig and The Angry Inch
Lady Macbeth
Am I The Dream or The Dreamer? A Film About The Low Anthem (with Director & Crew Q&A)
Brakes (with Director & Cast Q&A)
Delia Derbyshire… The Myths and the Legendary Tapes (with director Q&A)
All This Panic
Mary Poppins
Kubo and the Two Strings

Saturday

No Country For Old Men
Hell Or High Water
The Last Picture Show
Paris Texas
Heartworn Highways Revisited (with Producer Q&A)
Heartworn Highways (with Producer Q&A)
Richard Linklater: Dream Is Destiny
The Rookie

Sunday

Get Out
The Guest
Goodnight Brooklyn
Moonlight
Breaking Away
Pantani: The Accidental Death of a Cyclist
Belleville Rendez Vous
My Life As A Courgette
The Lego Batman Movie

We are THRILLED that Beavertown Brewery will be back at End of The Road for 2017, with all their sublime beer and ill behaviour. The Beaver Bar will return with the craft beers you know and love, along with a few surprises (who could forget last year’s exceptional Lupuloid launch … except those of us that drank too much of it!)

Beavertown @ End of The Road presents…

Neck Oil

Gamma Ray

Lupuloid

8 Ball 

Smog Rocket 

Black Betty 

In addition to Beavertown, we’ve got loads of Real Ales returning the Bear Tavern as usual. Details will be revealed later today.

Tier 4 tickets are on sale now at £189 with no booking or transaction fees. Grab yours now!

http://www.endoftheroadfestival.com/tickets