Kathmandu was easier to locate than the End of the Road (or is that ‘world’) Festival – sat nav couldn’t find it (in fact the festival organisers specifically advised against using it), nor could my mum who lives just five miles south and knows Dorset like a black cabbie knows London!
But it was well worth it when we eventually got to the end of the correct road and found the picturesque Lamer Tree Gardens racked to its tree tops with the best line-up alt folk has to offer – plus a tasty pint of local cider to soothe our navigational nightmares away.
'Hey Ho and Away We Go' stated the welcome sign – fitting for a festival which is not so much five go mad in Dorset as 5,000 have a thoroughly lovely time. Part festival, part tea party, here revelers come armed with a fold out chair and hell even a picnic table if they’re feeling really wild. But strangely, that's what made it so special.#
Let’s face it, there aren’t too many festivals at which you can stand front main stage and watch Bon Iver, one of the most hotly tipped acts for 2009, perform hauntingly beautiful songs, without latecomers aggressively elbowing you to get past. Or where you can stretch out just one foot away from Scandinavian duo Thinguma*JigSaw whilst they give a mesmerising, unamplified performance on the saw, banjo and breath-powered keyboard in a 100-capacity tee pee called Bimble Inn. In short, it was all wonderfully civilised.
This year I’ve attended Wireless in Hyde Park, Latitude in Suffolk, and
Lowlands in Holland – all brilliant for their own reasons, but it was
the intimate and friendly nature of The End of the Road Festival
which prompted me to award it my ‘Favourite Festival of 2008’ trophy.
Highlights
So, that may be literally the end of the road for this year’s festival season, but that doesn’t mean the music ends here too; check out my End of the Road Festival picks at a venue near you soon.
Bon Iver
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| Bon Iver sporting the ‘out of bed and on to stage’ look © Aleida Strowger |
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| Clare and the Reasons joke with the audience © Aleida Strowger |
| Watch Clare and the Reasons on YouTube |
Billy Childish
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| Billy Childish plays the Big Top, ‘End of the Road Festival’ © Aleida Strowger |
Thinguma*JigSaw
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| Thinguma*JigSaw give a mesmerizing performance at the Bimble Inn © Aleida Strowger |
| Watch Thinguma*JigSaw on YouTube |
Fri Sep 5 2008
That’s it. For the first time in its three-year history The End of the Road Festival has sold out. All 5,000 tickets have gone and eager festivalgoers are set to defy the worrying weather forecasts and head off for a weekend of musical fun and frolics in Dorset. The release that went out announcing this triumph said: ‘This is great news for all fans of the festival – even (in the long term) those who didn’t get round to buying tickets this year – as it ensures that it can carry on into 2009 and hopefully beyond.’ Woo hoo - all power to the small festivals!
Planning your trip? Check out our listing here.
Visit the official website .
Wed Sep 3 2008
Ok, so it looks like it might rain and there are quite a few tickets up for grabs on e-bay and in the Facebook marketplace, but if you want to get your mitts on a freebie – then listen very carefully. Rob da Bank and his lovely Sunday Best crew have hidden five weekend passes inside copies of the all-new ‘A to Z of Bestival 2008’ compilation. For more info read our full report on the golden ticket sensation and get down to the shops as fast as you can!
Bestival weather update
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