End of the Road Festival 2022 – Review

End of the Road is the UK’s most diverse medium-sized music and arts festival.

The line-up proved the Dorset event continues to attract a high calibre of artists and musicians from all over the world. From Tinariwen, who came all the way from the Sahara Desert region of Northern Mali to Sudan Archives from Los Angeles, the line-up was as wide-reaching as it was eclectic.

This year, there was also the introduction of the disco ship – a boat eerily abandoned in the middle of the woods, serving as a pirate station for late night DJ sets, including 6 Music’s Tom Ravenscroft.

Headlining the opening night was Khruangbin, with their effortless psychedelic funk from Houston, Texas. As well as their own engrossing guitar noodling, they mixed in classic instrumental covers of Warren G’s ‘Regulate’,  Snoop Dogg’s ‘Nuthin’ but a G Thang’, and Bowie’s timeless ‘Let’s Dance’ – well it would have been rude not to throw some shapes.

On Friday, the wealth of music, arts and cinema at Larmer Tree gardens really opened up. Durand Jones & The Indications continued the retro-soul revival on the main Woods Stage. Later, Tinariwen were an inspired booking with their nomadic desert blues and beautiful heartfelt delivery, which wouldn’t have been out of place headlining nearby Womad festival.

Elsewhere, across the weekend, literature talks and comedy were welcome at the Talking Heads stage…author Tom Cox discussed his new novel which combines his love of three things, which could also describe the festival treats on offer – music, nature and folklore. Later, soul legend and First Lady of Soul, PP Arnold tried to cram in all her life adventures in a talk on the same stage, but regrettably had to be cut short due to her extensive and abundant charm.  

Headlining Friday night was a clash between Fleet Foxes on the Woods Stage and Black Midi, who entered the Garden Stage to the sound of Pavarotti’s Nessun Dorma. Until you see them live, you won’t appreciate the energy of the insanely tight music.

Saturday began slowly which gave chance to explore the myriad of art exhibitions, workshops, life drawing and more importantly, exquisite food stalls for breakfast. The Wave Pictures stepped in for a late cancellation mid-afternoon, much to the delight of the crowd. Later, The Weather Station played to beaming sunshine despite the forecasts incorrectly predicting thunderstorms. 

Arguably (and definitively the correct answer in any debate), the highlight of the weekend was Perfume Genius. Fresh from a surprise Q&A session earlier at the mysterious piano stage, Mike Hadreas confessed the name of his band was pure nonsense, but the music was a pure electrifying display. Mixing in disco pop crowd pleasers such as On The Floor, with his dramatic Queen, he went from an initially reserved showing when he entered the stage to a transformative tour-de-force by the time he wrapped himself in his stage dressing at the end. 

Very few bands could match or outshine Perfume Genius. Pixies came close, beginning their set with classics for forty minutes, but soon after, they began to make the awful festival mistake of playing so many songs from their new album, not those anthems which made Bowie such a fan of one of the most inspirational bands of all time. As the last show of their two month tour, Pixies still had an abundance of energy and finished with Neil Young’s classic, Winterlong.

Sunday began in full energy with angry Glaswegian poet Stephen Durkan & Acid Commune before the unmistakeable Deathcrash blew away the hangovers with their post-rock.

Later Hurray For The Riff-Raff celebrated the outsiders and supposed weirdos who don’t fit in, while Kurt Vile brought his unique stoner Americana to the main stage. The real treats lay on the Garden Stage with Lucy Dacus delighting the crowd with her charming guitar playing again this year. It’s clear she’s as fond of End of the Road as the festival curator and the crowd are of her, as she described the Larmer Tree Gardens as her second home. 

Finishing in the perfect way possible were Bright Eyes, encouraging everyone to finish the weekend with a dance & sing. Like the rest of the festival, it was the most beautiful experience.

Chaotic, loud, charming and inspirational, it was the perfect way to finish before heading back to the normality of the outside world. While regrettably, the end of the road for another festival season, it was the perfect way to finish.

© Graham Tarrant