Geese opened End of the Road festival last night (Thursday September 3), headlining the Dorset/Wiltshire weekender with a ferocious set. Check out footage, photos and the setlist below.

The Brooklyn four-piece were announced as Thursday night’s ‘secret headliner’ back in June. Based at Larmer Tree Gardens, on the Dorset-Wiltshire border, End of the Road is celebrating its 20th anniversary this year.

Held on the main stage (dubbed the Woods), Geese’s first European festival headline slot opened with the same montage of sporting triumphs that they showcased at their epic Reading Festival last week, culminating in a clip of the famous Mitchell and Webb sketch in which the former implores the viewer to “watch the football!”

The festival was noticeably busier than it usually is on a Thursday night, with Geese drawing a huge crowd. The show drew heavily on the band’s 2025 album ‘Getting Killed’, beginning with a laidback ‘Husbands’ that featured a guitar solo even more languid than the one on the record.

This theme continued through the gig, as they delivered a more experimental set than that one at Reading – ‘Long Island City Here I Come’, for example, was adorned with a samba-style rhythm. During ‘Trinidad’, frontman Cameron Winter also seemed to improvise some new lyrics from the perspective of someone who’s discovered their husband is cheating on them: “I found my husband’s fucking cellphone / He says it’s for games… Fucking bastard.”

There were many high-energy moments, too, though. A mosh-pit formed for ‘Trinidad’, with the crowd also singing along to ‘I See Myself’ and getting up on each other’s shoulders for ‘Au Pays Du Cocaine’.

Winter kept crowd banter to a minimum, though he did comment: “There are a lot of you. Good Lord! Thank you for coming.” At one point, he attempted to talk to a fan on the front row, before eventually giving up because he couldn’t hear them. “This is a very one-sided conversation,” he joked. “I hold all the cards.”

Drummer Dominic DiGesu wore a t-shirt that proclaimed: “Save the George Tavern.” This was a reference to a campaign to prevent the east London pub from closing due to noise complaints and a nearby housing development. The venue was declared ‘saved’ in 2019, but its owner has since warned that the fight to reopen its adjacent nightclub, Stepney’s, continues.

The t-shirt was visible on the screens at the side of the stage – this is the first year that End of the Road has featured them.

Geese at End of the Road 2026. Credit: Burak Cingi

Geese first appeared at End of the Road back in 2023. When last night’s secret set was announced, festival founder Simon Taffe told BBC Radio 6 Music: “The powers that be made us keep it a secret. It’s exciting to have them back after playing the Big Top many years ago. We’ve been working on getting them back since August last year and it just kept on getting bigger and bigger.”

The festival is also marking its anniversary with headliner performances from Mac DeMarco, Pulp and CMAT.

End of the Road concludes this Sunday (September 6). In addition to the headliners, there will be performances from Fat Dog, Earl Sweatshirt & Mike, Kurt Vile and the Violators, Kelly Lee Owens, Angine de Poitrine, Adult DVD, Ella Minus and more.

Geese played:

‘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’
‘Taxes’
‘Trinidad’ (encore)

End Of The Road 2026 continues with performances from Pulp, CMAT, Mac DeMarco, Super Furry Animals, Fat Dog, Kurt Vile and many more. Geese will continue their tour in North America into the winter. Visit here for tickets and more information.

Meanwhile, frontman Cameron Winter recently announced the release of his ‘Live At Carnegie Hall’ album and the accompanying concert film directed by Paul Thomas Anderson.

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