Kendal Calling Celebrates ‘Best Year Yet’

Kendal Calling kicked off Thursday, July 27, with a headline set by The Charlatans, whose frontman Tim Burgess also runs a pop-up restaurant at the festival.

Dubbed Tim Peaks Diner, it has become famed for the secret gigs that take place inside, which is why it’s hard to get a seat. This year, Pete Doherty spontaneously showed up. From Friday to Saturday, Rudimental, Kelis, The Hives, Craig David, Sugarhill Gang and many more took the stage, before Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds closed the festival in great style – topped off by fireworks.

In total, 200 artists took the stage to play live music, which is only one part of the Kendal Calling experience, albeit the main one. Art installations, readings, silent disco in the tranquil woodlands and even an ale festival added to the atmosphere, as did the setting just south of the Lake District, one of the UK’s most scenic regions.

“From small seeds a stunning and magical festival has been created in the fields of Cumbria,” festival director Ben Robinson commented. “Our thanks go out to every single person who joined us in the fields this year. Festival-goers and the staff working to stage the event came together and created an atmosphere and weekend that will be remembered for a long time to come. Without question the 11th Kendal Calling was the best yet and an exciting new decade for the festival lies ahead.”