Review: Kendal Calling delivers another life-affirming weekend in the fields

With the dust now settled on its 19th edition, and another sell-out year under its belt, Kendal Calling continues to prove exactly why it has grown to become one of the UK’s most-loved festivals.

Hosted within the spectacular surroundings of Cumbria’s Lowther Deer Park, the site’s picturesque green backdrop provides a stunning setting to match the stellar reputation which organisers seemingly manage to add to with each passing year.

Ahead of the weekend, the team promised the biggest iteration to date. Cliched, perhaps, but if the calibre of this year’s headliners — Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds, The Streets, Paolo Nutini and a Thursday night bonus appearance from Paul Heaton — were anything to go by, then they’d gotten off to a promising start long before gates had even opened.

For those lucky enough to bag an extra day off, Paul Heaton kicked things off in a typically joyous fashion. Joined by the incredible Rianne Downey, a career-spanning setlist called on Heaton’s various projects including The Housemartins, The Beautiful South and his much-loved duet work with Jacqui Abbott. Caravan of Love, in particular, signalled the first of many wholesome singalongs to come across the weekend.

Manchester’s own Untold Orchestra served up one of Friday’s highlights on the main stage — their jubilant hour of ABBA covers, expertly backed by brass, strings and several excellent vocalists, hitting the perfect notes for a crowd desperate to dance in the sunshine.

The booking of Noel Gallagher and his High Flying Birds will undoubtedly have been one of Kendal’s biggest draws for many. In a truly triumphant return, Gallagher stuck to his recent tactic of splitting his set into two halves, the first devoted to solo material, the second to Oasis anthems.

That first section was far more than just a tease though, with his own material sounding as polished and fantastic as ever, but it was always going to be the old favourites like Stand By Me, Little by Little and Don’t Look Back in Anger that really triggered the inevitable, life-affirming crowd karaoke.

Sugababes’ comeback success train continued to roar, their Saturday evening slot drawing one of the weekend’s biggest crowds, before The Streets served up a captivating, moody spectacle spurred by Mike Skinner’s one-of-a-kind form of witty wordplay — a reimagined version of Fit But Don’t You Know It, complete with heavy metal guitar, going down a storm.

Sunday afternoon saw Feeder deliver a raucous tour through the early noughties — their newer material sounding heavy and huge, though it was unsurprisingly hits like Buck Rogers and the finale rendition of Just a Day that really sent the crowd into a frenzy.

Closing out the festival, Paolo Nutini was at his encapsulating and mesmerising best, those unmistakable raspy Scottish vocals sounding as flawless as ever. Old hits like New Shoes and Jenny Don’t Be Hasty sound much different when performed live these days, taking on a more atmospheric, brooding tone, but are fantastic all the same.

It was the penultimate rendition of the more recent Iron Sky that offered one of the weekend’s most memorable moments. The famous speech from Charlie Chaplin’s Great Dictator which rings out halfway through the track, along with Nutini’s own message of ‘rising over hate’, feeling that extra bit poignant with everything going on right now

As always, there was plenty to get stuck into away from the main stages. Whether that be late-night wandering through the mysterious Lost Eden woodlands, bouncing along to oompah reworks of 80s anthems in the Oktoberfest tent or grabbing a pint of local cask at the festival’s own pub, The Stagger Inn.

Despite housing 40,000 people these days, the Cumbrian party has clung to the intimate vibe that makes it so special. Sure, you get headline acts that wouldn’t look out of place topping the bills of the UK and Europe’s mega-sized festivals, but things like getting into the arena, finding a spot at the main stage, nipping out to the loo, none of it ever feels overwhelming.

With the big 20th anniversary now on the horizon, and organisers having set themselves some extremely high standards, we’ll be waiting eagerly to see what they have in store to celebrate the occasion.

At a time when we’ve seen many names sadly vanish from the festival circuit, Kendal continues to stake a very, very strong claim for being the absolute best party in the North, and certainly the best festival in the UK of its size.

Tickets for Kendal Calling 2024 go on sale Thu 8 Aug. You can book yours using the button below.

Featured image credit: Tom Martin