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).
ADVERTISEMENT
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.
ADVERTISEMENT
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.
ADVERTISEMENT
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.
ADVERTISEMENT
As vibrant and wonderful a world as it looks. (Credit: The Manc Group)
Featured Images — Nat Argent/George Harrison(supplied)
Sponsored
Major up-and-coming Manchester neighbourhood to debut Shared Ownership apartments
Daisy Jackson
A brand-new development that’s part of Manchester’s ground-breaking Redbank regeneration is welcoming guests to discover more about the new neighbourhood.
L&Q at Victoria Riverside, who have just launched a collection of Shared Ownership apartments, will be hosting a special day of tours so that Mancs can find out more about this major new development for the city.
Once complete, L&Q Victoria Riverside will be home to an 18-storey building with 128 Shared Ownership homes, at the heart of the up-and-coming Redbank neighbourhood.
Over the next decade, Redbank – just a short walk from Manchester Victoria station – will become a bustling corner of the city home to new schools, healthcare facilities, restaurants, and bars.
And all just a stone’s throw from public transport links, Manchester Arndale shopping centre, and the iconic Northern Quarter.
L&Q at Victoria Riverside marks the first phase of Victoria North, which is the biggest urban regeneration project in the North of England.
Within the development, residents will have access to an on-site co-working space, podium gardens, gym and concierge service.
L&Q at Victoria Riverside in Redbank. Credit: Supplied
Mancs will be able to get a glimpse of everything that’s to come with an exclusive preview day of tours and conversations with the L&Q sales team on 25 October.
The event will welcome customers who have registered interest to chat about their property search, and take tours of the brand new show home.
Shared Ownership is a government-backed scheme that helps first-time buyers afford to get on the property ladder. Through part-buy/part-rent, buyers purchase shares in a Shared Ownership property that would otherwise be unaffordable to them.
The sales team will be available to provide more information about Shared Ownership on the day.
Find out more about L&Q at Victoria Riverside HERE.
The L&Q at Victoria Riverside event will take place between 11am and 4pm on Saturday 25 October at Dantzic Street, M4 4DN – you can sign up for free tickets HERE.
And you can find out more about L&Q Shared Ownership via Instagram HERE.
Manchester’s iconic Bridgewater Hall to host FIVE Christmas events this year
Daisy Jackson
The Bridgewater Hall, one of Manchester’s finest music venues and concert halls, has announced a busy programme of Christmas events this year.
The beloved landmark has a schedule that includes something for all ages, from family-friendly shows and carol singing to epic orchestral evenings.
Over the course of the festive season, the Bridgewater Hall will host the music of the world’s greatest composers, travel back in time with nostalgic swing nights, and welcome in fans of all ages to get into the festive spirit.
This year’s schedule includes appearances from Sir Karl Jenkins, Horrible Histories, The Glenn Miller Orchestra, and loads more.
Have a read below for the five big Christmas events at Bridgewater Hall this year.
Christmas with Sir Karl Jenkins
Christmas with Sir Karl Jenkins
The Bridgewater Hall will welcome a musical icon this Christmas, with a very special evening with Sir Karl Jenkins.
He’ll be conducting a spell-binding night of carols and festive classics, brought to life by the Manchester Concert Orchestra and presented by John Suchet.
Expect choirs, a full orchestra and a timeless evening of live music to get you into the Christmas spirit.
There’ll be music from Sir Karl’s hit festive albums Joy To The World and Stella Natalis, including Silent Night, Dulci Jubilo, Healing Light and plenty more.
Can you think of a more magical way to ring in Christmas than with traditional carol singing on Christmas Eve? Because we can’t.
The ultimate night of carolling will hit the Bridgewater Hall this winter, led by the inimitable Jonathan Cohen and featuring West End star Louise Dearman.
Belt your heart out to the likes of The Twelve Days of Chrismtas, Winter Wonderland, Frosty The Snowman, and plenty more beloved carols.
The Music of Zimmer vs Williams returns to Bridgewater Hall this Christmas
Composers don’t get much more iconic than Hans Zimmer and John Williams, who between them have crafted the most legendary movie music soundtracks of all time.
The 70-piece Manchester Concert Orchestra will be performing a selection of these in an almighty concert, where you’ll hear live renditions of soundtracks including Star Wars, Interstellar, Harry Potter, The Holiday, Pirates of the Caribbean, E.T., and loads more.
This night will be an epic head-to-head battle between two of the film industry’s composing greats.
The legendary Horrible Histories team will bring Horrible Christmas to the Bridgewater Hall in December, taking audiences on a festive romp through British history.
From Victorian villains to medieval monks, partying Puritans to terrible Tudors, and even a visit from St Nicholas himself.
The show will follow a Christmas that’s under threat from a jolly man in red (clue – it’s Santa), and one brave child’s mission to save the day.
It’ll be a night packed with family-friendly laughs, villains, and seasonal cheer.
Wrapping up the seasonal programme at the Bridgewater Hall is The Glen Miller Orchestra, stepping back in time to relive the music that defined an era.
The UK’s most celebrated big band will perform war-time chart-toppers from the 1940s, harking Manchester back to the golden age of swing.
ADVERTISEMENT
Special guest Ray McVay will join the orchestra on stage, adding to the concert’s vintage charm.
And for the second half of the show, the band will don the iconic US Army Air Force uniforms of the Second World War for a truly immersive experience.