How was 2025?

[MercuryTrev]

We didn't go for the second year running, having been ever-present stalwarts from 2010.

 

The reason for that is that the line-up is becoming less 'known' to us year on year. I look back at EOTR from a decade ago and could probably tell you something about half the bill when the line-up was announced. Nowadays it is very few, headliners apart. Perhaps that is because my tastes have just not moved with the times?   

 

That said a lot of the joy of EOTR is about discovering new things, and I always used to love the concept of "listen to X, decide you don't fancy it, go and see Y instead".  Now I hear of queues to get into the Folly, queues to get into the Big Top (there were last time we went in 2023) and it all just seems "not very End of the Road", if you catch my drift. 

 

I know the weather played its part there but still, it's a tad annoying that the closed nature of two main stages prevents people getting to see things they've paid a significant amount of money to see.  You don't get this at other festivals with regular stages/open-sided tents (Glastonbury aside, which sometimes closes off whole fields for public safety, but that's rather exceptional).    

 

Therefore, I'm reluctant to drop 700+ quid for a family of three (incl campervan), when my wife and son really don't know much on the bill and those queues then prevent us discovering new stuff. 

 

Anyway, that minor gripe said, next year it's in term time so my wife and son can't go, so I might do a solo mission in a tent. 

 

One question about campervans, I am puzzled from a photo that a friend took. Have they commandeered the old upper (very sloping) side of family camping as a campervan field? Which 'size' pitches is it? I saw some very precariously parked vans on the slope which didn't look like you would get much of a good night's sleep in them, unless rolling out of bed is your thing. I'm a bit surprised they did it, and that people were happy to park their van like that. Our gas fridge needs to be level to work properly, for example.  I'd be a bit miffed if they directed me to park there so want to avoid it in future. 

 

 

[Dark Star]

5 hours ago, zzzfest2.0 said:

 

Cheers. Did you manage either?

 

Tier 2 for me. 

[noisenoiseandmorenoise]

4 hours ago, MercuryTrev said:

We didn't go for the second year running, having been ever-present stalwarts from 2010.

 

The reason for that is that the line-up is becoming less 'known' to us year on year. I look back at EOTR from a decade ago and could probably tell you something about half the bill when the line-up was announced. Nowadays it is very few, headliners apart. Perhaps that is because my tastes have just not moved with the times?   

 

That said a lot of the joy of EOTR is about discovering new things, and I always used to love the concept of "listen to X, decide you don't fancy it, go and see Y instead".  Now I hear of queues to get into the Folly, queues to get into the Big Top (there were last time we went in 2023) and it all just seems "not very End of the Road", if you catch my drift. 

 

 

I first went in 2008 and had a 'classic' eotr experience in terms of folk, Americana , great bands and no queues for the artists I wanted to see. 

[zzzfest2.0]

54 minutes ago, Dark Star said:

 

Tier 2 for me. 

Seeing an abundance of resale tickets on Twickets previous years, especially last year, I considered fetching one, hopefully in reduced price, this year and failed completely. So this time I decided to get hold of a ticket on release day even if I missed out on early bird or even Tier 1.

[noisenoiseandmorenoise]

Good - sound quality, staff/people being so friendly, literature stage (rarely gets a shout-out but is my highlight/morning routine every year), not as many talkers as I feared, hardly a bad set all weekend, talking heads stage for music - proper old fashioned eotr folk watched in silence

Bad - I have given up on the comedy, trolleys/chairs etc now at the boat and taking over the folly, gin tent deciding not to sell gin this year (??), national express bus broke down after being an hour late (whatever happened to big green buses?)

Average- the toilets-i guess this is what we have now and yes it was 'better' but again by Sunday the staff appeared to have given up and the addition of mud/wet on the steps never felt safe  ,sorry to say but secret sets/piano stage now an annoyance than a bonus   

Bloody love the festival so all is relative

[Dark Star]

2 hours ago, noisenoiseandmorenoise said:

Bad - gin tent deciding not to sell gin this year (??)

 

This was a big disappointment. It started selling out of some gins on Friday last year, what they needed was to increase orders not change the type of bar because it was out of stock on most things by the end of Saturday. Epic fail IMO. 

[Watergirl]

This was my 6th EOTR and the first really wet one. In fact it was the first rainy festival since the pandemic for me, and I had forgotten how tiring that was. Powered through nonetheless and had a really good year. I had done a lot of research as I knew so few names to begin with, with the result that I saw tons of good stuff.

 

Most surprises for me were at the Talking Heads stage. As someone else mentioned, the sound was amazing there. Big Discovery of the fest was Truman Sinclair, a 22-year-old singer/songwriter. After his gig people were queueing up, simply to all tell him how great they thought he was.

Also really enjoyed Ustad Noor Bakhsh, Miriam Elhajli and Christopher Owens there.

 

On the bigger stages, my highlights were Lisa O'Neill, Hayden Pedigo, Bombino, For Those I Love and Jim Ghedi. Jim was on The Woods in the heaviest rain on Saturday afternoon, but as he said it kind of fitted the atmosphere of the music, and a very respectable crowd stayed for the entire set, despite the conditions.

 

Other notable mentions: Muireann Bradley, Bambara (they sold me a CD from their personal stock, despite Rough Trade wanting to insist on vinyl only), Daraa Tribes, Smote.

 

Father John Misty is not my cup of tea, but the sound was absolutely gorgeous for his show. A big band, yet you could hear every instrument individually, crystal clear. I didn't have a bad year as regards finding myself near talkers. Has definitely been worse other years.

 

Someone else mentioned the literature slots. I only managed a few this year, but I do always really enjoy them. Miranda Sawyer on her Britpop book was very interesting.

 

And I love the lack of phone signal. It makes it different from other festivals.

[PieMan30]

Good

• The music: obvious, but the curation really is outstanding every single year. 
• Sound quality: as mentioned before, but they particularly nail it for the headliners. It really is the best around. For all other acts else it is merely excellent.
• The artists clearly love playing here, especially the garden stage. 
• Personally, this was my first solo festival, which I found means that if you want to go and lie down / sit and read a book, you can just go.
• Not sure if this is strictly good, but was phone signal better this year? Or just me? 
• The site: it really held up in the rain aside from a couple of spots. The camping area especially was absolutely fine. 
• I spoke to other attendees much more than in previous years, and everyone was extremely nice. It’s a good vibes festival. 

 

Bad

• Saturday’s rain was I think the worst I’ve ever had at a festival. 
• More urinals required (including squatting urinals).

 

Ugly

• This is not a new observation, but it feels like more people are passing out and stopping performances for medical reasons in the past year or so, and it now happens at end of the road (at least three incidents in three days). It is obviously good that people receive medical attention quickly when they need it, but I’m interested in what has changed? Do the audience feel more empowered to do what they can to seek medical attention? Or are there more people overdosing / getting too drunk at gigs? It’s not a judgement, I’m interested in the underlying cause.
• I saw a guy in his mid-20s and a middle-aged woman (I think his mum) share a white powder at Joy Orbison. 

[accordionandvoice]

drugs are unfortunately the lamest thing in the existence of humanity but also impossible to eradicate from festivals (i mean the friends i go with will partake from time to time...)

[The Nal]

Was at Michelle de Swarte at the Talking Heads and there were two girls out of their gourd on Ketamine sat in front of us. Weren't particularly noisy or anything but they were off to Button Moon.

 

Last year a couple of people passed out at the front for Ty Segall after snorting up a baggy in front of me.

 

Whos gigs were stopped this year? 

[Yokel Again]

5 minutes ago, The Nal said:

Was at Michelle de Swarte at the Talking Heads and there were two girls out of their gourd on Ketamine sat in front of us. Weren't particularly noisy or anything but they were off to Button Moon.

 

Last year a couple of people passed out at the front for Ty Segall after snorting up a baggy in front of me.

 

Whos gigs were stopped this year? 

Sharon Van Etten stopped for a bit near the end. 

Some guy was carried out at the start of Self Esteem - just as she was about to start. Think they delayed the start of the set by a couple of minute or so.

[Robofish]

My first EOTR for a few years, and I loved the design for the Folly. It was the Tipi last time I went. Much better to have the bar away from the stage and dedicated loos etc. 
 

It’s such a well designed and curated festival that it’s hard to find any downsides. The girls were calling out for female urinals, which is an obvious easy (ish) improvement.

 

My tent was not waterproof at all, so at 5am Friday morning I was lying in a soaked sleeping bag planning my trip home, but managed to work through that thanks to a friend’s tarp providing a new roof, and the existence of the festival shop for a new sleeping bag! The rain was the main issue all weekend. Old people like me appreciate a sit down now and then!

 

Music was fantastic. I loved The Orchestra For Now (another one that got stopped for a collapse in the crowd issue), Matt B, Rob Auten, Dutch Interior, Personal Trainer, Slow Fiction, The Golden Dregs and SVE, but the highlight was that monumental set from Father John. The sound for that was almost the best I’d ever heard in a field. (The Cure, Glasto 2019 tops the lot I think).

 

Anyway, I snoozed and lost the chance for Early Bird. Got a T2. See y’all next year. Fingers crossed Weyes Blood and The Decemberists make an appearance 🙂

[shoebox]

50 minutes ago, Yokel Again said:

Sharon Van Etten stopped for a bit near the end. 

Some guy was carried out at the start of Self Esteem - just as she was about to start. Think they delayed the start of the set by a couple of minute or so.

Happened during Lisa O'Neill and The Orchestra (For Now) too. Although in both cases the affected parties were, apparently, fine before medical teams even had time to get over the barrier. 

[Dark Star]

56 minutes ago, The Nal said:

Was at Michelle de Swarte at the Talking Heads and there were two girls out of their gourd on Ketamine sat in front of us. Weren't particularly noisy or anything but they were off to Button Moon.

 

Last year a couple of people passed out at the front for Ty Segall after snorting up a baggy in front of me.

 

Whos gigs were stopped this year? 

Lisa O'Neill also had to stop for someone going down in the crowd. 

[killyourtv]

1 hour ago, The Nal said:

Was at Michelle de Swarte at the Talking Heads and there were two girls out of their gourd on Ketamine sat in front of us. Weren't particularly noisy or anything but they were off to Button Moon.

 

Last year a couple of people passed out at the front for Ty Segall after snorting up a baggy in front of me.

 

Whos gigs were stopped this year? 

I saw sets halted at Sharon Van Etten, Florist (or possibly Orch for Now) and Lisa O'Neill in the first 24 hours on site. No judgement as I've no idea what happened. Also a lost child stopped Lily Seabird in full flow !

Edited September 3, 2025 by killyourtv
new info in subsequent post

[robith]

tbh, the queues aren't really the festivals fault, but the people who walk in and stop immediately infront of the the entrance. a couple of times across the weekend I nipped out for a wee before the end of a set to see huge queues when it was half full inside but people haven't moved in

[The Nal]

5 minutes ago, robith said:

tbh, the queues aren't really the festivals fault, but the people who walk in and stop immediately infront of the the entrance.

 

Festival staff could tell them to move in tbf. But yeah, theres usually always room in the Folly on the right/bar area no matter whos on really.

 

Think they added more showers this year over by the quiet camping which was a win. 

[Hinn]

13 hours ago, PieMan30 said:

Ugly

• Or are there more people overdosing / getting too drunk at gigs? It’s not a judgement, I’m interested in the underlying cause.

In one word - ketamine

[paulwa]

Music brilliant as ever. I loved GOAT, Throwing Muses, Dactyl Terra, Tyler Ballgame (Folly version). I was strangely unmoved by Father John Misty, whereas I'd walked away very impressed the last time he headlined. I last went in 2023, so the Folly layout was new to me this year and was an improvement. Sadly, there were no "must see" acts on the Garden Stage for me this year, which was a first after visiting 15 times. I caught a bit of Matt Beringer from the back, but he seemed deranged, so we moved on.

 

I felt there were a lot more people there than last time, so I'm dubious of the 13,500 punters quoted in the press. Should I be concerned that the bigger attendance plus acts like Self Esteem signifies a change towards a more populist lineup? Hopefully the increased numbers were to help fund acts for the 20th anniversary next year.

Edited September 3, 2025 by paulwa

[robith]

6 minutes ago, The Nal said:

 

Festival staff could tell them to move in tbf. But yeah, theres usually always room in the Folly on the right/bar area no matter whos on really.

 

Think they added more showers this year over by the quiet camping which was a win. 

the stewarding is often hilariously ineffective. There was an auld lad telling people not to use chairs in the Big Top on Saturday and people were telling him to do one and he just...walked off and left them lol

[SweepingTheNation]

2 minutes ago, paulwa said:

I felt there were a lot more people there than last time, so I'm dubious of the 13,500 punters quoted in the press. Should I be concerned that the bigger attendance plus acts like Self Esteem signifies a change towards a more populist lineup? Hopefully the increased numbers were to help fund acts for the 20th anniversary next year.

 

If capacity had increased we'd know about it as they'd have had to apply for permission. There's always been queues for the tents, in fact it surprised me as much when Moin didn't have one despite being in some of the worst rain as much as it did when they did have one in bright sunshine last time they played.

 

Self Esteem is absolutely the kind of big name act who could play EOTR without anyone batting an eyelid given she first played there in 2007. The idea she represents a move towards crass populism is no different to that one person after 2021 on here who was insistent that Little Simz playing meant they'd start booking Cardi B or whoever.

[Guest]

17 hours ago, zzzfest2.0 said:

Seeing an abundance of resale tickets on Twickets previous years, especially last year, I considered fetching one, hopefully in reduced price, this year and failed completely. So this time I decided to get hold of a ticket on release day even if I missed out on early bird or even Tier 1.

Same, I was going to get one on the resale but this year there were hardly any for some reason compared to previous years.

I need to organise my group to get them for this year soon enough.

 

Totally unrelated, but did anyone see Scott Lavene this year? He was great a couple of years ago.

[paulwa]

16 minutes ago, Chip Batch said:

Same, I was going to get one on the resale but this year there were hardly any for some reason compared to previous years.

I need to organise my group to get them for this year soon enough.

 

Totally unrelated, but did anyone see Scott Lavene this year? He was great a couple of years ago.

Yes I saw him both times. Slightly (ever so slightly) more polished this time, with a bass player buddy joining him. Still many great funny exchanges with the audience. 

[The Nal]

44 minutes ago, robith said:

the stewarding is often hilariously ineffective. There was an auld lad telling people not to use chairs in the Big Top on Saturday and people were telling him to do one and he just...walked off and left them lol

 

Haha yeah saw something similar. I'd take that every festival though over some heavy handed nonsense.

[WFD]

47 minutes ago, robith said:

tbh, the queues aren't really the festivals fault, but the people who walk in and stop immediately infront of the the entrance. a couple of times across the weekend I nipped out for a wee before the end of a set to see huge queues when it was half full inside but people haven't moved in

 

I queued to get in to Man/Woman/Chainsaw and a steward said "you can go in but you've got no chance of seeing them", and once I squeezed past the first few people, there was loads of room and I got to the barrier no problem (aside from the occasional slight trip over an outstretched leg).

 

Great year for us, despite deciding to flee for cover on Saturday evening - we had an option to stay with family an hour away o pressed the button on that around 7pm on Saturday, when it was clear that our tents weren't completely holding out the relentless rain, so we packed up then rather than be forced into it in the middle of the night.  Missed some acts that were high on our priority lists, but it was the right decision as we came back at it fresh and dry at 2pm on Sunday and had a really enjoyable day to round off the weekend (we already had a hotel booked for the Sunday night so didn't need to re-pitch).

 

It's a long trip for us so we'll be having a year off next year (unconnected to our wet weather setback!) and looking to return in 2027 (by which time they will probably have changed the Folly again - hopefully with more toilets!).