End of the Road 2021 review – phones firmly in pockets at life-affirming festival

Larmer Tree Gardens, Blandford, Dorset
From Little Simz to Richard Dawson, the indie stalwart’s 15th anniversary social gathering offered a joyous slice of summer time in a troublesome yr

This yr’s summer time appears to have passed with solely a glimpse of solar and celebration. As Covid squeezed the standard British pageant season into just a few months, each large-scale gathering that has made it by way of the purple tape and fixed danger looks like an sudden present. Winding your method via the verdant Wiltshire hills into the homely tenting website for unbiased stalwart Finish of the Street, it particularly seems like you might have discovered an unearthed treasure.

Celebrating its (delayed) 15th anniversary, the charmingly sedate and spacious weekender boasts a sometimes numerous lineup. Taking to the primary stage on a sunny Friday afternoon is 15-piece west African percussion ensemble Balimaya Project. Bandleader Yahael Camara Onono guides his group of kora players and atumpan drummers into a polyrhythmic frenzy of Mandé people compositions, challenging the rapt viewers to attempt to sustain with their virtuosic sense of groove.