End Of The Road Festival: The Strange Glue Review

That cider advert that proclaims the great British summer. I hate it. Besides the fact their cider is mass-produced piss and comes from Ireland, it does a great disservice to British festivals, portraying them as over-crowded mud-infested raves, where men lounge around in their speedos.

The End Of The Road Festival smashes all summer festival stereotypes. Dorset's summer swansong is a vibrant, eclectic festival that has just about something for everybody. Not only was the line-up for this year's event among the best we've seen in 2009, it was well organised, bore no corporate advertising and had an atmosphere that you just can't buy. End Of The Road organisers, Sofia Hagberg and Simon Taffe have the jewel in the crown when it comes to great British festivals.

Amongst the peacocks at the beautiful Larmer Tree Gardens, sits a stage that's played host to musical heavyweights such as Conor Oberst, Yo La Tengo, Super Furry Animals and Ryan Adams.

It was a bit of a surprise in some quarters that the Hold Steady were picked to close 2009's event. However of the three headliners this year, the Brooklyn-based band illuminated the Garden Stage so much that all plans for Strange Glue to get on the road early had to be shelved as we sat back and admired the raw energy and sweat oozing from Craig Finn's body.

That's not to say the other two headliners weren't great. Explosions In The Sky were incredible. The intricacies of each of the four men playing Friday night pierced hearts and melted brains as the stars and moon shone over the Larmer Tree Gardens complex.

Fleet Foxes were slightly meh. They have some great songs which were prodigious in a live setting. They got the biggest groan of the weekend when someone shouted to Robin to take the teabag out of his tea, he replied, "I like to leave it in".

But it's not just all-star headliners at EOTR. If you take a walk through the gardens you'll come across secret shows galore, the highlight for us was Okkervil River, who put on a splendid 30 minute set in the woods. But beyond the music is a real effort to make the festival look as enchanting as possible. Fairy lights, multi-coloured umbrellas hanging down from the trees. A dance dance revolution dancefloor. It's the little things and the attention to detail that make it so great.

Yes there were a few problems. With The Horrors cancelling, many more than expected turned up to watch Fleet Foxes and that led to a few hundred people missing the start of their set. The Tipi Tent was far too small to accommodate rising bands like First Aid Kit, Blitzen Trapper and Wye Oak.

But that's being picky. And we don't want to be picky because this was a weekend that we'll remember for many to come.

Oh and before we forget, can Brakes headline next year please - they deserve it. Not only were they tremendous Sunday night, but they've played every EOTR so far. Hell, frontman Eamon Hamilton even held his wedding reception there last year. So get yer chequebook out and sign 'em up now, Hagberg and Taff.

So here's to End Of The Road and all other small, intimate British Festivals. Here's to good food, good cider and great music.

And to coin a phrase in the festival's honour: its glorious, lovable, eccentric, magnificent and OURS. End Of The Road Festival. Squeezing the best out of the British summer.

Individual Band Reviews and Photos can be found here:

• Shearwater
• Vetiver
• Explosions In the Sky
• Beth Jeans Houghton
• Darren Hayman
• The Low Anthem
• The Boy Least Likely To
• The Broken Family Band
• Malcolm Middleton
• First Aid Kit
• Blitzen Trapper
• Okkervil River
• Efterklang
• Fleet Foxes