‘This is like headlining the Pyramid Stage for us,” say an excited the Last Dinner Party as they open this year’s End of the Road festival. The band themselves might not quite pull off the feat of feeling like a headline act – their set of slick indie pop more serviceable than stunning – but they set the tone for a weekend in which afternoon performers and headliners feel fundamentally interchangeable: while many lunchtime slots at festivals can be a dead zone, here they are packed with zealous audiences. And the festival’s idyllic setting means that wandering around the glitter-strewn illuminated woods in the evening is magical. It’s unsurprising that a proposal takes place during an early hours DJ set.
On Thursday, Wilco follow the Last Dinner Party with a set that is equal parts stripped-back Americana, chugging grooves and squealing guitar freakouts. A gentle chorus of Jesus, Etc echoes out across the crowd, while a closing powerhouse rendition of Spiders (Kidsmoke) is a potent concoction of grinding krautrock and explosive riffs.
The following day Domino Records’ recent signing Fat Dog announce that they were expecting to play to just a handful of people but whip the heaving audience into a frenzy with a set that ricochets between rave, ska and punk, managing to get the first circle pit of the weekend. Baltimore outfit Horse Lords offer up a taut and hypnotic set of groove-locked jazz-tinged math rock, while Oren Ambarchi’s afternoon set sits in a hissing sweet spot between ambient and noise.
The Florida hip-hop outfit They Hate Change also seem surprised and enamoured by how many people they’ve pulled in for an early slot, knocking out a set of bouncy, infectious beats that once again sends the audience into a mass of jumping bodies. Caroline, though, play a set that is so anti-festival in its pared back and downtempo approach that they lose half their crowd. However, leaning deep into their sparse, stretched out and deeply minimal deconstructed post-rock is a beautiful thing to witness. They let notes stretch out and breathe, and create suspense in their long pauses.
Future Islands’ headline set is a knockout. The band’s steady but glistening synth pop acts as a backdrop for Samuel T Herring to wildly explore his vast vocal range that veers from soothing soul to guttural metal growl as he glides around the stage as though he’s sliding on ice.
Lee Fields’ sparkling green suit glistens in the afternoon sun on the last day as he plays impassioned and moving soul delivered in an endearing old-school showman style, with his searing voice as magnetic as his twirling dance moves. While King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard close the main stage with an arresting set of metal, prog and psych, a weekend highlight is back in the woods with Jessica Winter: a set of high-octane, deliriously fun dance pop, all delivered with a voice that is as powerful as the pummelling yet fizzy beats over which she sings.
Given that many other festivals try to attract big names then pad out with filler acts, it’s refreshing to experience a lineup where the early doors bookings feel just as thought out and carefully curated as the closers. The star attraction is ultimately the constant potential to be surprised.
