PRESS PLAY: 10 MUST-SEE ACTS AT END OF THE ROAD FESTIVAL 2026
- 1 day ago
- 3 min read
WORDS MAISIE JANE DANIELS
With its 20th anniversary edition officially sold out, End Of The Road Festival returns to Larmer Tree Gardens from 3-6 September with another impeccably curated lineup spanning indie icons, underground innovators, and some of the most exciting emerging artists on the planet.
Headlined by Pulp, CMAT and Mac DeMarco (alongside a still-to-be-announced Secret Headliner) this year's programme proves once again why End Of The Road remains one of the UK's most beloved festivals for music discovery. From cult favourites and poetic storytellers to boundary-pushing electronic acts and bands destined for much bigger stages, there's plenty to get lost in across the weekend.
To help you navigate the packed bill, we've collated a list of 10 must-see acts playing End Of The Road Festival 2026.
Britpop's great storytellers return to top the bill with a set destined to be one of the weekend's defining moments. Jarvis Cocker's wit, detail and theatricality remain unmatched - equal parts social commentary and karaoke catharsis. Expect mass singalongs, dry humour and the kind of generational nostalgia that feels just as relevant today.
One of the most magnetic live performers in modern pop, CMAT turns heartbreak, humour and storytelling into absolute anthems. Her rise has been fuelled by pure charisma - chaotic, funny, and impossible to ignore.
The king of slacker surrealism brings his warped charm to Dorset. Beneath the laid-back persona sits one of indie’s most influential songwriters of the last decade - expect woozy classics, oddball humour, and beautifully unbothered crowd energy.
Poet, performer, musician, Joshua Idehen exists in that rare space where spoken word becomes something closer to spiritual release. Whether fronting collaborations or holding a stage solo, his work cuts through with clarity, rhythm and emotional weight that lingers long after the set ends.
Having spoken to them recently for F Word, it's clear Adult DVD thrive in the space between satire and sincerity. Their live shows are a gloriously chaotic collision of dance-punk energy, deadpan humour and complete sensory overload. As they put it when we caught up with them earlier this year: "You'll enjoy it if you come and you just don't stand at the back trying to be cool." Consider yourself warned.
keiyaA sits at the intersection of jazz-inflected R&B, experimental production and raw self-examination. Her work feels intimate yet structurally bold, shifting effortlessly between vulnerability and distortion. On stage, that same tension becomes magnetic and unpredictable, making her a must-see addition to this year's lineup.
Ela Minus
Ela Minus crafts electronic music with a human pulse - stripped-back, physical, and emotionally direct. Her live shows turn precision into something visceral, blending synth-driven minimalism with an undercurrent of punk intensity. One of contemporary electronic music’s most compelling live presences.
One of the most exciting names buried within this year’s lineup, Pigeon are rapidly becoming the kind of band people brag about seeing before everyone else caught on. Blending Afro-funk, post-punk, krautrock and leftfield dance music, the Margate collective create something that feels both deeply communal and completely unclassifiable. Fronted by the magnetic Falle Nioke - whose multilingual vocals sit at the heart of their sound - Pigeon’s live shows have already earned serious word-of-mouth thanks to their euphoric, groove-heavy energy.
Cleo Reed sits at the intersection of music and spoken word, blending poetry, jazz-leaning textures and experimental production into something loose, fluid and completely their own. Their work feels less like traditional songwriting and more like thought in motion. Live, they create an atmosphere that's intimate, immersive and impossible to look away from.
A collective rooted in Togolese musical heritage and forward-thinking electronic experimentation, Nana Benz du Togo channel rhythm, activism and ancestral memory into something completely contemporary. Their sound is hypnotic, percussive and deeply grounded in cultural identity.
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