One of the UK’s biggest, silliest and best nights out, the almighty Bongo’s Bingo is making its festival debut at Kendal Calling 2025.
The crazy, comedy-driven mix of traditional bingo, dance-offs, rave intervals, crowd participation and all manner of shenanigans began over a decade ago, and has genuinely grown into a cultural phenomenon.
Be it a random weeknight or peak Friday-Saturday pint time, Bongo’s Bingo venues all over the country pack out with people ready to make a fool out of themselves in hopes of winning random prizes – even the completely pointless ones.
In case you’ve never seen it for yourselves before, here’s a little glimpse at the standard and frankly chronic level of chaos:
To be honest, this is still a pretty tame teaser trailer…
Sorry, why would you go to normal bingo when you can go to one where drinks and dancing are compulsory, and you can leave not just a life-sized Gary Barlow cut-out but even a Henry Hoover all in the same night?
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Personally, we’ve been going to Bongo’s Bingo since pre-pandemic, as we’re sure lots of you also have; it’s now in over 50 locations, having recently tested the waters across the pond in the US, and they’re only planning to expand further this year.
Come 2026, we’re betting on them going well and truly global.
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Founded by Jonny Lacey (a.k.a. ‘Jonny Bongo’ himself) and Joshua Burke back in April 2015, fast forward to the present day, and you’ll find a soul who hasn’t at least heard of the ridiculous bingo-themed party, if not experienced the madness for themselves.
With Kendal Calling promising plenty of other live entertainment and activities that quite literally cater to just about everyone, we think it’s the perfect place to make some noise and leave a mark, not to mention create another Northern stronghold.
Lowther Deer Park isn’t the only festival location on their list either: Bongo’s is also set to make a splash at BeatMasters Festival in Norwich and Oxford this summer. Speaking ahead of the festival debut, host Jimmy Sweets said, “Bongo’s Bingo is ready for Kendal Calling.
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“We’re bringing the magic and mayhem for a special festival set this weekend, packed with bangers, classics, and hands-in-the-air madness as the UK’s most talked about night out comes to Cumbria.
“There’s nowhere else like Bongo’s Bingo to be immersed in pure escapism and nostalgia – this is going to be wild. Myself and Rich Furness are DJing back to back both nights, so come and get involved this Saturday and Sunday at The Soapbox. We can’t wait to see everyone.”
Bongo’s Bingo will be taking place this Saturday and Sunday, 2-3 August, from 11pm until gone half past midnight at The Soapbox tent. You can read our full Kendal Calling 2025 festival guide HERE, and we’ll see you in the fields – or at the very least in the bingo hall.
Just a glimpse of how nutty the audiences inside Albert Hall get on a regular basis. (Credit: Supplied)
Featured Images — Supplied (via Bongo’s Bingo/Albert Hall)
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Lola Young shares first public statement since cancellations and stepping away from the spotlight
Danny Jones
UK pop star Lola Young has shared her first public statement since cancelling the remainder of her tour and stepping away from the spotlight.
Lola Young, 24, took a break from her still-burgeoning career after numerous concerning incidents on stage, including throwing up and even passing out in the middle of a performance.
The BRIT School graduate announced the unfortunate cancellation of her upcoming shows “for the foreseeable future”, including a gig here in Manchester, at the end of September.
Breaking her silence after the best part of three months, the London-born singer-songwriter took to social media in a fairly brief but heartwarming statement.
As you can see, the time away from the public eye certainly seems to have been beneficial, telling her followers that “it has helped more than you will ever know”.
In addition to embracing ADHD – even labelling her hit song ‘Messy’ as an “ADHD anthem” in multiple anthems – she was also diagnosed with schizoaffective disorder at just 17.
The latter can include symptoms such as psychosis, hallucinations, intense mood swings, bipolar mania, depression and more.
All that being said, we’re glad to hear that she’s on the mend; we saw her back in March, and you could tell from the crowd that she’s already got a very passionate cult following.
Both conditions and their associated obstacles have obviously affected her, but have equally helped influence her music and lyrical material, certainly, too.
Responding in the comments, fellow artist SZA wrote: “Love you, starfire angel. Your music is FULL of longevity and substance! We’re so grateful for you”.
Joining in support, ‘dark pop’ musician Carter James added, “Your wellbeing comes before anything. So excited for your next chapter whenever it arrives!”
We hope she’ll be doing better enough soon to get back on stage when she’s ready.
Fans are preparing to pay tribute to Mani from The Stone Roses ahead of his funeral service
Danny Jones
Stone Roses fans and Greater Manchester locals alike are getting ready to pay their respects to the late, great, Gary ‘Mani’ Mounfield, following his tragic passing last month.
As well as details surrounding his funeral being announced earlier this week, the iconic Manc musician’s cause of death has also finally been revealed.
While Hatton’s service featured a high-profile cortège which started all the way from his hometown of Hyde, past multiple landmarks and ending at the Etihad Stadium, those local to Mani’s family home on the edge of Stockport are also being welcomed to help send him off.
It's the funeral of Mani of the Stone Roses on the 22nd. He lived locally. This poster is asking people to line the route of his funeral cortege to "show that he truly was adored". pic.twitter.com/X0DYHl10Hp
He had been struggling with emphysema for some time; he was declared dead at his home in the suburb of Heaton Moor, and is said to have died peacefully in his sleep.
As you can see from the posters put in various places around the area, residents wishing to pay their own tributes to Mani before his private funeral service at Manchester Cathedral are encouraged to line the long street leading down from St Paul’s and Heaton Moor United Church as he heads towards the city.
Departing Parsonage Road from 10am on Monday, 22 December, before turning right onto Heaton Moor Rd, then Wellington and eventually on to the Cathedral, you can expect plenty of people to show up.
One of those people will be his former bandmate and another influential guitarist, John Squire, who is one of many famous musical names to have honoured him in their own way over the last few weeks.
Other members of The Stone Roses, as well as Primal Scream (who he joined in 1996), are expected to join the close family and friends at the service itself.
Nevertheless, we have no doubt that plenty will be observing the funeral in their own way.
So, for those of you also looking to honour him, you know what to do; and to quote the poster itself, “together we can show this local legend and his family that he was truly adored.”
Danny Jones -
31st July 2025 
