FESTIVAL REVIEW: Kendal Calling 2025, Lowther Farm, Thursday and Friday
A seven-and-a-half hours to drive from Ayrshire to Penrith? Yes, that really did happen but thankfully some kind Kendal Calling team member had uploaded a playlist to Spotify that lasted the full journey … cheers for that soundtrack! The weather forecast was decent for the full weekend, that’s always a good thing for us campers. What sadly wasn’t so good was that an interview with Manchester indie band Corella had been arranged for 4pm but that was never going to happen now due to the aforesaid travelling problems and unfortunately we even missed out on seeing their performance.
Thursday
After pitching the tent a quick dash along to the main stage for dance-pop sensation Sophie Ellis-Bextor was well worth it as the kitchen disco queen walked the large crowd through the hits of her career that has spanned well over twenty years now. Incidentally this is also the 20th Anniversary of Kendal Calling, here’s to the next twenty!
Sophie has a brand new album out on 12th September – Perimenopop – how great is that for an album title? We were lucky enough to hear three from that record tonight with opener Relentless Love, Dolce Vita and Freedom Of The Night being the titles. The set has no less than six covers that allow the fans to let go in the sun to tracks such as I Feel Love by Donna Summer as well as Crying At The Discoteque, that last song prompts the first mass sing-along of the four day festival. The crowd response to Madonna’s track Like A Prayer was decent as people young and old sang along in good spirits. There was only one song that could possibly end the set though, Murder On The Dancefloor is one of those songs that everyone knows, a timeless classic if you like. Ellis-Bextor’s stage energy was infectious today as it always is, there was even a marriage proposal on stage and we wish husband and husband a happy life together. 10/10
As the sun sets on Lowther Deer Park we have one more band to watch and it’s the mighty Kaiser Chiefs that electrify the field as everyone tries to find a space among the twenty-odd thousand that are here. The ’20 Years Of Employment’ tour saw the band perform the Employment album in full (well they missed out a few) kicking off with Na Na Na Na Naa and Everyday I Love You Less And Less. Ricky Wilson is definitely in the mood for this one tonight, his stage energy is insane at times as he jumps off speakers and goads the crowd along the barrier which of course the fans respond to extremely vocally. The mass singalong during Everyday I Love You Less And Less was a highlight. All the big hits are in there including the iconic Ruby, that Ricky tells us isn’t on the Employment album as well as Modern Way and a cover of Ramones song Blitzkrieg Bop. We are definitely building up to something big and sure enough I Predict A Riot almost starts one! The insane energy coming from the crowd now is special, personally speaking Angry Mob was the song that did it for us tonight, taken from Yours Truly, Angry Mob album, the chorus “Oh my God I can’t believe it/I’ve never been this far away from home” is sang back enthusiastically by the twenty odd thousand in the fields. The encore has a cover of The Who track Pinball Wizard that stands alongside some great Kaiser Chiefs ones, this is a very different Kaiser Chiefs than the one we saw at the YNot? Festival last year. Tonight from the first minute to the last the explosive energy that encapsulated the fields around us was amazing to see with the evidence of this being the big smiles on everyone’s faces as they left. Kaiser Chiefs now move on to Belgium to do more festival dates proving that they are still a popular draw. 10/10
Friday
Camping at festivals can be tricky at times, there are those that are party animals and stay up beyond 3am then there are those that are awake before 7am for the sunrise. No complaints though, it’s another beautiful day in the fields.
Tim Burgess of Charlatans fame has brought along an orchestra today to help open the main stage, officially titled Tim Burgess with Helen O’Hara & the RNCM Session Orchestra. It’s great to hear so many of the Charlatans songs being played in such a different style, the crowd are lapping it up by joining in with the songs they know such as The Only One I Know, North Country Boy and a lovely cover of Dexys Midnight Runners track Come On Eileen. This wouldn’t be the last time we would see Tim this weekend either. 8/10. We had only started listening to Fickle Friends the week before the festival and they left a good impression on us so we thought it would be a good idea to hang around for that set too before heading off to interview The K’s – well that’s another story for further down the article. Reforming this year after a short hiatus they had nice energy over on the main stage alongside some decent crowd interactions. Hailing from Brighton and forming in 2013 Singer Natassja Shiner was very bubbly throughout the performance as they ran though songs old and new including biggest hits Pretty Great, Swim and Glue. They are touring the UK in November and we are hoping to catch them at the iconic King Tut’s Wah Wah Hut. 9/10
Irish rockers The Academic always put on an entertaining show and today was no different. We last saw them support The Snuts at the OVO Hydro in December and they will be heading off on a UK and Irish tour early next year. Craig Fitzgerald is his usual calm and collected self on vocals & guitar and reveals that album number three is now complete and waiting on a release date. It’ll be their first since 2023 album Sitting Pretty and another one to look forward to. The lively set opens with biggest song Why Can’t We Be Friends? The crowd are singing every word back to the stage, we also enjoyed Pushing Up Daisies and Don’t Take It Personally as well as the unreleased track from the new album. The guys were having great fun up on the main stage today, the way it should be. 9/10
Daydreamers are a band we have never come across before today, playing in the Calling Out tent at 5pm it gave us a chance to experience new music, that’s what festivals are all about for us anyway. It’s always good to come away with a few new names to explore. The London-based quartet released debut EP Daydreamers in November 2024 from which most of the set was made of. Vocalist Riley had an air of confidence about him and we came away with the satisfaction that there is a big place for new music at Kendal Calling. Their most streamed song is Call Me Up that has no less than fourteen million streams, it was a very impressive set. 9/10
Picture Parlour were next up in the same tent, we saw them quite recently in Glasgow so knew what to expect. Vocalist Katherine Parlour is not your usual run of the mill singer there is a particular charismatic coolness about Katherine as she commands the stage while jamming alongside guitarist Ella Risa and bass player Sian Lynch. New song Talk About It is played well live today and Norwegian Wood steals the show at the end of the set. We think Picture Parlour have what it takes to move to the next level. 10/10
We were excited to be sitting down with The K’s for five minutes before they took to the main stage but at festivals sometimes plans change, like in this case. The BBC turned up with an award for second album Pretty On The Internet making it to the number one spot on the album chart so any hopes of an interview were dashed. The main stage area was packed to capacity as they took to the stage just before 6pm, we had been looking forward to this one for weeks and they didn’t disappoint. They have played at Kendal Calling once before in 2018 up at the Woodlands Stage, we bet if you had told them seven years ago they would be back playing on a packed main stage with a number one album under their belts they would have laughed at you. The set is a mix of tracks from Pretty On The Internet – nine in total – as well as a few of their better known songs such as Chancer, Hoping Maybe and the usual set finisher Sarajevo that gets a fantastic response from the Kendal crowd. Top tracks otherwise were Gravestone and The Bends (Here We Go Again), that one is a personal favourite from the album. The lads on that stage today couldn’t contain their excitement especially when Jamie Boyle brings out the Radio 1 Album Chart Award, we can’t wait to see what happens next with these guys. 10/10
At 7pm there was the expected band clash with The Lilacs playing in the Calling Out tent while The Covasettes were up at the Woodlands Stage, having seen The Covasettes a couple of times last year including a support slot with The Lottery Winners, The Lilacs won us over. This was our first time seeing the Wigan band, a town where there is so much musical talent right now including The Lathums. They had a decent support with them adding to the atmosphere in the packed tent. There is definitely a different feeling watching a band in a tent, the half-hour went by so fast with the pick of the bunch being Grace and Vicarage Road. We are eager to catch The Lilacs on their next tour now. 9/10
IST IST are always a joy to watch live, they bring so much to their performances and tonight is no different in the Calling Out tent where they are given a forty-five minute slot, belting out a decent thirteen track set. As usual there is a small dedicated group of fans here to help keep the energy flowing as the set opens with Stamp You Out, Something Has To Give and Lost My Shadow. The last one is a standout in the set for us while Emily and closing song Your Mine get a great crowd reaction including some fancy dad moves from myself! The set was focused mainly on last years Light A Bigger Fire album from which they played six songs, they are the usual coolness defined in the dark clothing and sunglasses with vocalist Adam Houghton being more chatty than usual while Matt Peters on guitar and keyboards is a joy to watch at times as he switches between both so easily. 10/10
After catching the first two songs from The Courteeners set a quick run up to the Calling Out tent for closing act The Big Moon had attracted a decent crowd, having seen The Big Moon twice before we didn’t want to miss this one. What struck us right away was the fact that lead singer Juliette Jackson is heavily pregnant, to be playing a seventy-five minute gig in that condition is astounding, talk about superwoman! With three albums behind them now – Love In The 4th Dimension, Walking Like We do and Here is Everything – they had a big back catalogue of songs to choose from tonight, Trouble, Wide Eyes and Cupid were the standout songs for us. With the Rockafeller Skank himself Fatboy Slim playing the following night it was nice to hear The Big Moon play a cover of his hit Praise You in true indie rock style, the crowd went wild for this one screaming the lyrics back to the stage. What a way to close the Calling Out tent with their biggest song Your Light, Juliette comments before the song that they are always amazed how many guys turn up to their gigs and know all the lyrics to the songs, that’s us Radio 6 dads for you, very dedicated! 10/10
Written by: Alan Brown
