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Festival Preview: End of the Road 2015

  • Published in Live

Now celebrating its 10th year, End Of The Road is a folksier alternative to more prominent names. It offers a mecca for foodies (all organic, all local) and lovers of folk and dreamy rock tunes can expect a perfect blend of the tranquil and the lively.

The real-ale soaked Dorset gathering has attracted big names this year, with headliners including shoegazers The War On Drugs who arguably released 2014’s finest record, Lost In The Dream and Sufjan Stevens, who has penned Carrie And Lowell, a contender for 2015’s. They’re joined by Australian psychedelics Tame Impala, who have their hotly anticipated 3rd release coming in July.

There’s a refreshing vibe to the festival and campers are given the space and freedom that the range of music merits. There are no VIP areas so performers are often seen wandering the site. My visit to the festival in 2013 involved a conversation with members of Parquet Courts about the best beer on offer. They were just chilling by the Cider Bus. Yes, there’s a Cider Bus.

The range of performers is staggering but the must-see acts at 2015’s festival include Future Islands, who you’ll know and most-likely love from that Letterman performance. There’s Laura Marling whose soft acoustic tunes are accompanied by a beautifully chilling voice. Superstar slacker Mac DeMarco and afrobeat outfit Django Django bring the perfect hazy summer soundtrack. Alvvays create fuzzy indie-pop in abandon while the legendary Mark Lanegan offers a darker touch.

Torres has a spell-binding rawness in her craft of moody indie-rock tunes. Ought are an exhilarating art-punk band from Montreal, Canada. Wistful folk from Jessica Pratt sounds as if it is lifted straight of the mid-'60s and Happyness’ dreamy lo-fi sound is a mesmeric treat.

But this is just the tip of the iceberg in the range of sun-soaked up-and-coming gems on offer and with wild Peacocks roaming the festival site without a care in the world, End Of The Road 2015 is a truly unique festival. V-Festival it’s not.

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SXSW first round of artists announced

  • Published in News

The first round of SXSW 2015 acts have been officially announced.

From Tuesday March 17 to Sunday March 22 the Austin, Texas mega-festival takes on a week’s worth of music for its 29th edition of the SXSW Music Conference and Festival. You can expect to see the likes of Brolin, Charlotte OC, Carl Barat and The Jackals, The Pop Group, Coasts, Skinny Lister, Dry the River, Happyness, Hailey Tuck, The Twilight Sad, Jessie Ware and Lewis Watson to name a few. 

Schedules and more artists are to be announced at a later date.

For a full list of names announced so far, head on over to the SXSW website

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