Geese Drop In as Mystery Headliners at End of the Road, Cameron Winter's On-the-Fly Lyric Change Sparks Mass Singalong

The screen first ran a highlight reel of sporting moments, landing on that classic Mitchell and Webb sketch — as the "Watch the football!" shout rang out, Geese finally took the stage. This opening bit was actually a repeat of the same trick from last week's Reading Festival, but this time the venue was Larmer Tree Gardens on the Dorset-Wiltshire border, the date was Thursday night, September 3rd, and the role was mystery opening headliner for End of the Road's 20th anniversary celebration.

The Brooklyn four-piece were teased back in June as Thursday night's "secret headliner," but their name was never officially confirmed before the show. The main Woods Stage was packed that night — an unusually rare sight for a Thursday, according to festival-goer Barry Evans on social media. The set opened with a slowed-down version of "Husbands," its guitar solo even looser and more languid than the album version, setting the tone for the whole performance.

The set centered around 2025's "Getting Killed," but the arrangements were more experimental than last week's Reading show. "Long Island City Here I Come" added a samba-inflected twist, while "Trinidad" became a platform for frontman Cameron Winter's improvisation — at one point he spontaneously sang new lines from the perspective of "discovering a husband's affair," setting off a mosh pit across the crowd. "I See Myself" got a full audience singalong, and "Au Pays Du Cocaine" saw someone hoisted up on shoulders.

Winter didn't say much onstage, offering only: "There's a lot of you here, thank god, thanks for coming." He tried at one point to chat with a fan in the front row but gave up after failing to hear what they said, joking, "This is a very one-sided conversation, I'm in complete control here."

Drummer Dominic DiGesu wore a t-shirt that night reading "Save the George Tavern," a nod to the campaign to save the East London pub venue, which once faced closure due to noise complaints and nearby residential development. Though it was declared "saved" back in 2019, the owners have recently warned that the battle over the reopening of its attached club, Stepney's, is far from over. The t-shirt was blown up on the side-stage screen — reportedly the first time End of the Road has used side screens to broadcast performance details.

Geese's history with the festival dates back to 2023, when they played the Big Top stage. Festival founder Simon Taffe told BBC Radio 6 Music that plans to bring them back "started brewing last August and just kept snowballing," and that the secrecy around this year's booking was "requested from above."

The full setlist for the night included "Husbands," "Getting Killed," "Half Real," "Islands of Men," "Crusades," "100 Horses," "2122," "I See Myself," "Cobra," "Bow Down," "Au Pays du Cocaine," "Long Island City Here I Come," and "Taxes," closing out with "Trinidad" as the encore.

End of the Road runs through Sunday, September 6th, with headliners including Pulp, CMAT, Mac DeMarco, and Super Furry Animals still to come. Geese will next extend their tour to North America, continuing through the winter. Meanwhile, frontman Cameron Winter recently announced his solo album "Live At Carnegie Hall," which will come with a companion concert film of the same name directed by Paul Thomas Anderson.