Dominic Haley

Technically, these are supposed to be the dog days of the summer, but the sun is beating down mercilessly on Larmer Tree Gardens this Friday afternoon. As a result, End of the Road Festival feels almost like a surreal, shimmering mirage. Clad in black, we move like ants under a magnifying glass, seeking refuge beneath ancient oaks. While the conditions might defy the weather app’s mild predictions, it perfectly encapsulates the festival’s spirit: expect the unexpected.

Bear with me for a minute as we go down a rabbit hole. Let’s talk about saxophones. Culturally speaking, the sax has been on a journey, fluctuating from centre-stage icon to sad, weird things that only band nerds play. Invented in 1842 by Adolphe Sax (genuinely), it spent its first 80 years as a musical curiosity. It wasn’t until the 1920s that it started making a splash in the hands of jazz bands like The Duke Ellington Orchestra, and remained a mainstay of popular music until the early rock era.

This is the introduction. It’s the start of a review. It’s intended to draw the reader into the article by creating a ‘sense of place’. For that reason, ideally, it should be descriptive. It is a section where the writer is meant to capture the spirit of the Barbican, the venue for tonight’s show. He’s meant to tell you about the brutalist architecture suggesting a once bright and now lost socialist future.