Another year, another absolutely stunning festival in the fields at Kendal Calling 2024, which also happened to be the 19th consecutive sell-out year – and it really is no wonder.
The massive music, arts and cultural event, along with tens of thousands of festival-goers, descended upon the beautiful multi-coloured, flag-laden valley of Lowther Deer Park to kick off August in style and, naturally, Audio North just had to drive down for another taste of it.
Arriving early on Friday after already seeing the superb scenes on Thursday’s opening night – with the likes of Paul Heaton, Declan McKenna, The Covasettes and more all playing – we were keen to get stuck straight in and we did just that, landing at the main stage just in time to see CMAT.
Start as you mean to go: by waving your cowboy/bucket hat in the air with pride.
Safe to say our day one was pretty packed, ticking off some names that for many might be considered bucket list gigs, not least the likes of Keane, Noel Gallagher and, of course, Dick and Dom (no, seriously, they’re genuinely mint).
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And that’s just the day-time music. From walking around the expansive 3,000-acre national park, sampling far too many of the fantastic food vendors than our waistlines would care to admit, to walking through the forest village and seeing bits of live theatre, comedy and more, there was something different around every corner.
One of the things we love most about Kendal Calling is the all ages crowd, with countless families in fun festival fits, bucket hat-wearing teenagers enjoying their first big live music weekend, plus plenty of older punters still gigging only from the comfort of a camping chair, it all warmed the heart just the same.
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We also had some pretty stunning weather this year, with much warmer temperatures than 2023 and plenty of sunshine throughout to the point that the short spells of spitting rain came as merely a faint and somewhat refreshing little reminder that we were in fact in the Lake District.
Credit: Tom MartinCredit: Abbie JenningsCredit: Nat ArgentCredit: George HarrisonA different vibe every few yards.
Once again, Kendal Calling 2024 also had a theme, so it was fun to stumble across hordes of pirates, sailors, sea creatures and pretty much anything related to the ‘High Seas’, not to mention to see the continued committment to being one of the most evironmentally friendly events of its kind.
The ‘Leave Nothing But Memories’ initiative underpins the entire festival’s approach to delviering a good time, from creating carbon neutral productions wherever they can to making the facilities as sustainable as possible, it’s no mean feat given the 40k people that attend each day, let alone the artists and all those beind the scenes.
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This stuff doesn’t go unnoticed either; even in a short chat with our very own Manchester-based music collective The Untold Orchestra, when pressed for an answer on what makes it so special and why the Northern music indsutry is the best, the first thing they did was shout out all the staff making it happen.
Another big higlight for us was watching Gary Neville’s b2b DJ set with The Charlatans frontman and Manc music legend Tim Burgess over at the Parklands stage. The Man United legend may have been a bit shy at first but he definitely grew into things.
As The Manc representatives attending the festival, we particualrly enjoyed this moment…
Last and certainly not least, a special mention simply has to go to Kendal Calling’s after hours scene, where you can potentially have an even better time than you ever would have expected.
It only takes walking through the aforementioned forest village known as Lost Eden to literally feel transported to some kind of flourescent, kaleidoscopic alternate reality where fantasy and sci-fi seem to merge in a perfect marriage.
Whether you pull on a pair of headphones for the silent disco, stare up at the night sky with a rainbow of streamers hanging overhead, or do we what we did and literally stand mesmerised by the floating Earth for what felt like half an hour, it does feel like some much-needed escapism.
All in all, it was another incredible year for Kendal Calling, with some incredible perfomances across the whopping 17 stages.
Some of our highlights included Peace, Franz Von, the masterful DJ set from Vookoo inside the Chai Wallahs tent; Manc locals Sugarstone, finally hearing The Streets play ‘Blinding Lights’ live, and being part of a pub quiz hosted by The Lottery Winners at the festival’s flagship pub, The Stagger Inn.
In the spirit of that wonderful name, we can’t wait to do just that again next year and we’ll see you back in the fields come August 2025 – consider that a promise.
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As vibrant and wonderful a world as it looks. (Credit: The Manc Group)
Featured Images — Nat Argent/George Harrison(supplied)
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New details released ahead of world-premiere exhibition taking visitors on ‘epic space adventure’
Emily Sergeant
Some exciting new details of a major exhibition taking visitors on an ‘epic space adventure’ in Manchester next month have been revealed.
Making its world premiere, Horrible Science: Cosmic Chaos will invite visitors to explore our wondrous Solar System when it launches at the Science and Industry Museum in a few weeks time.
Announced in November last year fresh off-the-back of the new BBC Children’s and Education TV show, Horrible Science, the ‘thrilling’ new exhibition will encourage visitors to ‘do science the horrible way’, and join both scientists and supervillains to unveil the secrets of space.
The new exhibition will propel families up into space where mystery, intrigue, and rocket-loads of silly and surprising science await. You’ll get to venture through a series of cosmic zones, walk in the shoes of astronauts, explore the life-giving energy of the sun, marvel at mysterious moons, and discover far-off weird worlds.
Left teetering on the edge of our Solar System, explorers will then find themselves staring into the dark depths of space, on the lookout for any extra-terrestrial life that could be staring back.
Whether its sniffing astronauts’ smelly socks, dancing on an alien disco planet, feeling the tremors from a mysterious moonquake, or launching a space rocket, organisers say this new adventure will engage all the senses in a truly immersive experience.
This is the first time Horrible Science has been brought to life as a major exhibition.
Horrible Science: Cosmic Chaos opens in a few weeks time / Credit: Drew Forsyth (Science Museum Group)
Visitors will get to see familiar characters from the BBC series – like Dr Big Brain, in particular – on their mission to find out more about our fascinating Solar System through interactive experiments, playful challenges, and sensory exploration.
Newly announced are the names of some of the different exciting areas of the exhibition, like ‘Awesome Astronauts’, where life aboard the International Space Station is revealed, and ‘Mysterious Moon’ where visitors explore the only place beyond Earth ever visited by humans.
There’s also ‘Sizzling Sun’, ‘Weird Worlds’, and sensory spaces like the ‘Cosy Crater’ and ‘Dreadful Deep Space’ to make the most of.
The exhibition is being developed by the Science and Industry Museum in collaboration with producers of the Horrible Science TV show, BBC Children’s and Education, and Lion Television, together with Scholastic, who are publishers of the much-loved Horrible Science book series by Nick Arnold and illustrated by Tony De Saulles.
‘Unmissable’ objects from the Science Museum Group’s world-class space collection will also be on show when the exhibition premieres.
Horrible Science: Cosmic Chaos will open at the Science and Industry Museum in Manchester on 13 February 2026 for an 11-month run before heading down to London, and tickets are now on sale priced at £10 – with family discounts available, and under-threes going free.
Featured Image – Drew Forsyth (Science Museum Group)
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Printworks set to host a FREE music festival headlined by local music veterans
Danny Jones
You heard us right, Printworks is expanding its wide-ranging calendar of entertainment and leisure in 2026 with its very own completely free music festival here in Manchester.
Better still, it’s set to be headlined by some cult favourites.
The one-off event will debut next month to celebrate the arrival of the 2026 BRIT Awards, with the annual ceremony and accompanying seven days of intimate live shows coming to the city of Manchester for the very first time.
Set to take place from Friday afternoon until Saturday evening, 27-28 February (4-10pm and 2-10, respectively), the open access weekender has been dubbed ‘Live and Loud’.
Judging by the lineup of artists announced for Printworks’ debut music festival, we have every faith it will live up to the name.
As well as Manchester DJ Matt Hydes kicking things off, followed by the likes of R’n’B soul artist, KingFast, resident Reform Radio MC Urbi will also be joining the lineup, as well as regional dance veteran, Gareth James, and an intimate set by Sabira Jade.
That’s just a small handful of those who signed up to play the inaugural Live & Loud 2025.
As for your headliners, we’re buzzing to confirm that local house legends K-Klass are topping the bill; they may be from Chester, but they’ve been based here for ages and are practically part of the cultural fabric at this point.
You can see the full Live and Loud lineup and Printworks artist spotlight down below:
Friday, 27 Feb, 2026
Tristan Walsh
2Vibe
Urbi
KingFast
Honey Bee Jazz Band
Matt Hydes
Sat, 28
K-Klass
Matt Walsh & Jay Murt
Sabira Jade
Gareth James
Kick Back Sundays
Jorge Martin
Guy Connor
Emma Ellis
Printworks general manager, Dan Davis, said in an official statement: “Manchester is renowned for its musical heritage, and we are excited to bring music to life here at Printworks.
“Live & Loud will place Manchester artists front and centre, with an eclectic line-up that is diverse in genre, background and generation – reflecting our commitment to championing a wide range of local and upcoming artistic talent for a must-attend weekend of live music.”
In case you missed it, this brand-new event also comes amid a raft of small-capacity fundraising shows across the country.
Colette Burroughs-Rose, Director at Genre Music, added: “Live & Loud is Manchester in full voice – familiar faces and new names coming together under one roof across two standout days.
“This is Genre Music’s home city, and we’re proud to be partnering with Printworks on a music programme that welcomes everyone: family-friendly by day, great for evenings with friends.
“Alongside curating a truly eclectic mix of the city’s incredible DJs and live acts, we’re also capturing the artists’ stories on film to help amplify their voices and creativity beyond the stage.”
With the BRIT Awards being hosted at the Co-op Live arena not just this Feb but until 2027 as well, here’s hoping this is just the inaugural ‘L&L Fest and we at least get a sophomore edition next year.
There’s plenty of other music festivals happening in Greater Manchester throughout the year, especially this summer.
Sounds From The Other City has released its 2026 lineup, and there's set to be more than 100 exciting acts playing on 17 stages across #Salford. 🎶🎸
Danny Jones -
5th August 2024 
