Kendal Calling 2023 review with Kasabian, Royal Blood, Blossoms and more
Another triumphant weekend at Lowther Deer Park
Last updated 2nd Aug 2023
From its humble beginnings 17 years ago as a 900-capacity event in the grounds of Kendal Castle, Lake District weekender Kendal Calling has blossomed into one of the UK’s finest festivals. Located in the beautiful hilly surroundings of Lowther Deer Park since 2009, the four-day extravaganza is now attended by 40,000 people and it attracts an eclectic array of artists and bona fide music icons each year.
Following the herculean struggle of dragging your things on site and successfully erecting your abode for the weekend, the first thing that strikes you is the palpably friendly atmosphere. Everyone on the hallowed Lowther Deer Park turf is here for a good time.
In keeping with these positive vibes, it seems apt that on Thursday night, Nile Rodgers & CHIC are here to get the party started in style. Flanked by a kaleidoscopic backdrop, the effortlessly cool Nile Rodgers and his equally phenomenal band treat the Kendal Calling faithful to a 26-song funk odyssey that’s dominated by CHIC anthems like opener ‘Le Freak’ and ‘Everybody Dance’ through to seminal tunes that Nile has written and performed on including David Bowie’s ‘Let’s Dance’ and Daft Punk’s ‘Get Lucky’. At a time when the term ‘legend’ is dished around with casual abandon, tonight at Kendal Calling Nile Rodgers proved he is the true meaning of the word.
Just like all great festivals, Kendal Calling isn’t just about the music. Despite the ominous weather forecasts, the blissfully sunny Friday morning sees us imbibe a delicious coffee at Tim Peak’s Diner (the beloved brainchild of Absolute Radio’s very own Tim Burgess), take a wander through the magical wooded area of Lost Eden, and pay a visit to Kids Calling with its inflatable slides, bouncy castles, crafts and activities for the young ones. If it takes your fancy, there are also cinema screenings from the morning until the early hours, an Oktoberfest beer tent, and a smorgasbord of other attractions, delights and stages throughout the site.
Friday afternoon sees kids entertainers Dick & Dom draw in a colossal crowd at the Parklands tent with the sound of “bogeys!” reverberating gleefully around the fields, the always brilliant (and hilarious) We Are Scientists deliver an indie masterclass on the Main Stage with anthems like ‘The Great Escape’ and ‘Nobody Move, Nobody Get Hurt’, and Mr Elliott Gleave – aka Example - gets Kendal Calling bouncing with his rave-tastic, high energy live show. These dance vibes continue over at Parklands where Annie Mac starts her DJ set in deliciously heavy style before delving into more soulful sounds for the climax.
Then it’s over to the Main Stage for headliners, Leicester’s prodigal sons Kasabian. Very different from the cocky swagger of former vocalist Tom Meighan, band lynchpin Serge Pizzorno is a blur of energy from pulverising opener ‘Club Foot’ onwards as he bounds around every inch of the stage and genuinely looks as though he’s relishing every moment of being frontman. The Music’s Rob Harvey is also a vital addition to their touring line-up, providing musical muscle and searing harmonies that complement Serge’s vocals perfectly.
Zeniths are aplenty from a meaty ‘Shoot The Runner’ to a euphoric ‘L.S.F. (Lost Souls Forever)’, and they even take us into dance realms with the aural adrenaline injections of Daft Punk’s ‘One More Time’, Fatboy Slim’s ‘Praise You’ and Faithless’ ‘Insomnia’. By the time they reach the singalong closer ‘Fire’, it’s clear that Kasabian are still a potent musical force.
For those shaking off the previous night’s excesses, special guests Happy Mondays - a band who are definitely no strangers to waking up somewhat fuzzy headed – are the perfect tonic early on Saturday afternoon. As always, maracas-playing marvel Bez pulls some brilliantly bonkers moves, Shaun Ryder commands the stage and Rowetta is a vocal powerhouse. Things take a poignant turn when Rowetta dedicates ‘Hallelujah’ to the late bassist Paul Ryder, before an effervescent ‘Step On’ provides one of the stand out moments of the weekend.
Later, chart-topping Manchester indie heroes Lottery Winners prove why they’re one of the finest live acts around with a scintillating performance that culminates with Frank Turner joining them onstage for a powerful ‘Start Again.’ The only niggle is that the set was all too short.
The heavens eventually open during KT Tunstall and Confidence Man – as they say in some sections of these fields, 'it's wetter than two in the fish' – so we trek over to Parklands for Tim Burgess’ eagerly-awaited solo set featuring the mercurial talents of the Verve’s Nick McCabe on guitar. With Nick adding his trademark guitar flourishes, Tim draws from his solo repertoire and a spattering of Charlatans classics including an almighty ‘The Only One I Know.’
Resplendent in his salmon pink suit, Rick Astley proves he’s the eternal crowd pleaser on the Main Stage as he effortlessly covers Harry Styles’ ‘As It Was’ and AC/DC’s ‘Highway To Hell’ with a boyish enthusiasm, and he ends, naturally, with his seminal anthem ‘Never Gonna Give You Up.’ Then, it’s a quick dash over to Parklands to catch the end of Frank Turner’s truly electrifying live set – when Frank is on form, he’s almost unbeatable.
Eight years on from their fledgling debut at Kendal Calling, Blossoms make the leap to the coveted Saturday night headline slot this year. Introduced on stage by Mayor of Greater Manchester Andy Burnham who lavishes “Stockport’s finest” with superlatives, Blossoms perfectly dispatch tune after tune from opener ‘Your Girlfriend’ right through to closer ‘Charlemagne.’ Sadly, the much-rumoured Smiths set with Rick Astley à la Glastonbury doesn’t come into fruition, but Blossoms prove they’re more than worthy bill-toppers in their own right.
Sunday afternoon features plenty of incredible musical moments from the bonkers setlist of Bandaoke on Parklands, through to Natalie Imbruglia singing ‘Torn’ on the Main Stage. However, the standout moment undoubtedly comes in the shape of the Summer of Love themed parade. A cavalcade of colourfully attired performers including vast drumming and brass sections roam the arena, alongside people operating giant puppets and Kendal Calling punters in their own fancy dress. The kaleidoscopic one-hour procession is a truly awesome audio-visual spectacular.
Sometimes the best bits about festivals are the random moments. Enroute to the Main Stage we get side-tracked by drag queens Kate Butch and Crudi Dench on the Soap Box Stage as they host their Lip Sync Lollapalooza. After belting out (aka miming) anthems like ‘It’s Raining Men’, the hilarious and delightfully scathing duo then invite audience members up on stage for to compete in a string of lip sync battles.
Ensuring the weekend ends on an earth-shattering high are the astonishing Royal Blood. Easily the loudest band of the entire weekend (presumably someone turned the PA system up to 11?!), the phenomenal Mike Kerr and Ben Thatcher serve up a blistering and gloriously heavy headline masterclass. A finely honed musical beast having already played umpteen music festivals across Europe this summer, Mike and Ben are relentlessly brilliant as they tear through muscular renditions of favourites like ‘Lights Out’, ‘Come on Over’, ‘Typhoons’ and closer ‘Figure It Out’ alongside new track ‘Shiner in the Dark’ – a tantalising taster of things to come.
As the triumphant weekend ends with the magnificent fireworks finale, we’re already counting down the days to Kendal Calling 2024! See you back in the fields!