Kendal Calling — A festival with a view...

A festival with a view...

Imagine what the discussions surrounding the first ever Kendal Calling festival would have sounded like. What could we possibly do to make the stunning rolling hills of the Lake District better? How about a music festival? Correct.

Now in 2015, ten years on Kendal Calling celebrated its milestone anniversary.

The setting was beautiful. You drive into seemingly nowhere, which surreally adds to the whole experience. You’re introduced to the surprisingly large grounds that hold the festival and you realise this is your home for the next few days.

The crowd at Kendal Calling were all really welcoming, everyone making friends with everyone – as it is with most festivals. It was predominantly a young crowd, but there were lots of families. The festival was built and catered for all.

There were an array of nooks and crannies you could lose yourself in, the woodlands were fantastic – arts, crafts, music (the silent disco was great), spoken word, therapy and so much more. The ‘Colourama’ area just by the main stage had music, competitions, games (jelly wrestling was certainly interesting) – basically adults being very immature in a relatively constructive manner.

The Vaccines headlined Friday and it set the level for the rest of the weekend. A secret Craig Charles set was as funky as ever and although it did rain, this didn’t stop the campsite staying alive after the main arena closed. The sun came out on Saturday, and set the ground to a thick sludge – but it’s a festival, standard practice. Folding chairs were out and the crowd basked in the August sun. Lucy Rose’s set was as smooth and inviting as expected. Lisbon and then Loyle Carner in Chai Wallah were the epitome of the weekend, proving why music festivals are such a great platform for new music. Elbow the powerful, seasoned professionals were crowd pleasers and put on a faultless show. My Nu Leng then played us into the night on the Glow Stage – a hype set.

Sunday came and the Virgin Lakeside Stage gave us Shoalin Monkey who got everyone dancing in the mud; the lake setting was very different and with the DJ performing in what can only be described as a small wooden shack, it was a situation like no other. Avec Sans brought in a small crowd at the House Party stage – their electro pop sound is something that needs to be listened to. Less Than Jake bounced around the main stage, all the youthful exuberance of fifteen years past. It was then time for Snoop Dogg. He came out late, but this was expected (of course it’s not cool to turn up on time right). The performance was big, it attracted crowds that flooded their way to the stalls at the top of the hill. All the hits were played and there was a mixture of nostalgic joy and musical appreciation. The guy swears a lot and is a poor timekeeper but he certainly knows his music.

For a medium sized festival Kendal Calling punches above its weight. It always attracts such fantastic talent and the activities around the ground accommodate everyone. It feels like it’s bursting out and is destined to be even bigger. Here’s to another ten years.