End of the Road Festival 2025 - Saturday

 Saturday 30 August, 2025

Having worn wellington boots and carried an umbrella around all day on Friday, these were left at the tent on Saturday for easier movement. This strategy did not turn out well, more about the weather later.

Talking Heads stage - Stuart Murdoch

It's always a pleasure to listen to writers / musicians talking about their latest books at the Talking Heads stage with views of a field beyond the stage from its wooded setting. Arriving at 11.30am, it was just in time to hear Stuart Murdoch in conversation with Julian Mash about his first novel Nobody's Empire, set in Glasgow, which features three people affected by ME, Stephen, Carrie and Richard. Stuart also read a section from the book and agreed to perform a song. A recording of part of Dog on Wheels can be played below.

The Folly Stage - The Sophs, Lily Seabird, Scott Lavene

Leaving the Talking Heads stage too late to catch Muireann Bradley on the Garden Stage and seeking  shelter from the threat of rain, there was still time to catch some of the Sophs set inside the marquee of The Folly stage. 

This was the second EOTR festival set by the band from Los Angeles, fronted by Ethan Ramon, as they had played a pared down set at the Piano Stage on Friday afternoon. The set included Sweat, their debut single on Rough Trade.

It made sense to avoid the rain by staying inside The Folly marquee and it was now possible to secure a better viewing position at the front and side of the stage near the exit to the bar.

Also visiting from the USA (Burlington, Vermont), Lily Seabird was on stage with her band at 1.30pm. This was the fourth gig on her first UK tour and she announced happily that this was 'the biggest audience we've ever played to'. It was a livelier set than many had expected including one track where she warned the audience 'we're going to go bonkers, just heard about this!'. Listen to a recording of Waste at the end of the set from the player below.

With the rain continuing outside, and another act due on stage in 30 minutes, it again made sense to stay put although this meant missing The Golden Dregs on the outdoor Woods stage.

Wearing shorts and a t-shirt, Scott Lavene was on stage at 2.45pm with some down to earth songs like 'Broke' sung with his deadpan Essex style, a recording of which can be heard in the player below.

After West Coast USA, East Coast USA and Essex music from the Folly stage, despite the continuing rain, it was a timely moment to head to the Big Top for more live music under canvas. Despite the mud, the Big Top was reached safely. That was when it was noticed that my folding stool was missing. By the time it had been retrieved from outside the compost toilets, after recrossing the muddy grounds, there was a queue in the rain to enter the Big Top. Sod's law! Umbrella and wellington boots now sorely missed.

Big Top stage - Glasshouse Red Spider Mite, Moonchild Sanelly, Moin

The slot for Ex-Easter Island Head at the Big Top had been changed to feature Glasshouse Red Spider Mite from Brighton. Without a good vantage point, there was no opportunity for a photo or audio recording but their music left a good impression.

However, a Nige Nudds video of Everyone Loves You is available on YouTube.

 

With the rain continuing it made sense to stay sheltered and watch Moonchild Sanelly, who provided  lively entertainment coming on stage at 5pm, 30 minutes after the end of the previous set. Now based in Johannesburg, the musician / dancer is known for her 'Future ghetto punk' music genre. By the end of her set which featured 'Big Man', she had won me over! The end of this song, with audience participation in the quiet parts, can be heard using the player below. 

Moin were next up on the Big Top stage, another band that I had not planned to see but ended up enjoying their distinctive sound. A recording of most of Cubby from the Big Top can be played below.

Garden Stage - Geordie Greep

An improvement in the weather gave an opportunity to visit a food stall and then see Geordie Greep with his band on the Garden stage. He came on stage to the sound of revving racing cars before opening with Terra. Thanks to My Echo Beach Travelogue, a recording of the full performance is available on YouTube.

The Folly stage - bdrmm

bdrmm ended up playing the 11pm Sunday slot on the Tipi stage in 2022. Now expanded and renamed as the Folly stage, it was good to see them on stage again for a 9pm start.

Born in the Fifties has posted a video of Port on YouTube. Earlier in their set they played Happy, originally released in 2020, and a recorded excerpt from this song can be played below.

Woods stage - Self Esteem

Self Esteem headlined the main Woods stage on Saturday night. The stage was quite a spectacle. Wearing a nun's outfit, the set started with The I do and I don't care monologue before dancers joined her on stage for the rest of the song. A recording of this opening, from where the photo was taken, can be played below.

Big Top - DIIV

The 11pm stage time slot was a choice between a secret set at the Folly stage or DIIV in the Big Top.

It turns out that I missed a second performance of the day by Tyler Ballgame, this time on the Folly stage but I did get to enjoy the backing film and music of DIIV in the Big Top. Arriving at the Big Top early gave a chance for a photo (above) as the band did a sound check.

Later as the tent filled, I thought I had secured a good position just in front of the sound desk but it turned out that this was also the rendezvous point for a noisy group so I moved to get a less central view of the stage from near the back of the tent. The 2019 album 'Deceiver' includes Between Tides. A recording of this song from the Big Top can be played below.

Saturday's step count: 12,004