Kendal Calling 2025: A Glorious Weekend in the Lake District [Photos]

With tickets for 2026’s event already flying out of the door, it’s obvious that, despite the stack of festivals going on around the country this very weekend, Kendal Calling, held in the gorgeous surroundings of Lowther Deer Park in the Lake District, is one of the most popular ones.

It’s easy to see why, as well as the four-day event boasts a line-up that ticks all the boxes. New bands, old favourites, hidden gems, organizers pull together a line-up that can’t be faulted, but even for the casual festival punter who just wants a weekend in a field with a few mates and a cracking soundtrack, Kendal Calling should tick that box as well.

The party started on Thursday night with disco pop favourite Sophie Ellis-Bextor bringing smiles and plenty of reasons to dance to the festival, while Leeds lads the Kaiser Chiefs with a hit-laden set which encapsulates what the perfect festival set is. A stackful of huge crowd-pleasers ensures that Kendal Calling 2025 is up and running in style.

Returning to the first full day of music, you start to get the beauty of the festival. Yes, there is two huge stages where you can find some of your favourite names but, wander around the site and down small paths and you discover some wonderful smaller stages that play host to some the hidden gems.

Our ventures around the site on the Friday brought us to the Calling Out Stage where we discovered the fantastic singer-songwriter Luvcat and, later on, the dark post-punk Mancunian band Ist Ist. Sandwiched between that we stumbled across the brilliant South Yorkshire alt-rock band Jetski on the Woodland Stage nestled somewhere away from the main stage partying.

Obviously, most people were happily camping out at the main stages for some of the bigger names on the bill. If that was you, then the Friday line-up didn’t disappoint with Irish indie rock band The Academic one of the highlights of a strong bill, while The Wombats made sure the field was bouncing with anthems like “Moving To New York” hitting just the right spot in time for the headliners. As for the headliners, you can’t dispute their choice.

With the world on a Brit Rock wave at the moment, a PA which pumped out another Oasis track provided the perfect appetiser for the Courteeners who delivered exactly what this sold-out crowd wanted. Rowdy indie guitar rock that shook this usually tranquil corner of the United Kingdom as Liam Fray, his bandmates and thousands of fans closed out the Friday in raucous fashion.

Looking towards the end of the day with iconic dance DJ Fatboy Slim set to close the day, you know that in just over twelve hours time this field is going to be one bouncing mass of bodies. As with the Friday though, there is another day of great music to get through before Kendal Calling dances itself into exhaustion with the headliner.

Saturday sees some huge indie names on the main stage as the legendary Pigeon Detectives arrive from Yorkshire to perform an energetic set. Containing all the trappings of a good Pigeon Detectives shows, the afternoon sunshine is the perfect setting for the Yorkshire lads. Keeping us at the main stage for the best part of the day, The Royston Club have the difficult task of following that although there are plenty who look to enjoy the shift in tempo.

That being said, the always popular at festivals Reverend & The Makers put on another fantastic display for fans who muster up plenty of energy to lap up every command from frontman “Reverend” John McClure. Following the Sunday afternoon indie sermon, we head into the early evening with everyone’s favourite festival band, Lottery Winners. A band who just keep going from strength to strength, the Lottery Winners’ brand of indie-pop is again the perfect soundtrack to a sunburnt crowd who, despite two days in the sun, are lubricated enough to be lapping up every moment of Kendal Calling 2025.

Unfortunately, our weekend at Kendal Calling was cut short, but we left Lowther Deer Park having had a fantastic time in the Lake District sunshine. We left behind thousands of fans to enjoy another evening and day of music and with the likes of Travis, Sports Team, Frank Turner, Skindred and Sunday headliners The Prodigy amongst the acts still to appear, it almost felt like the best Kendal Calling 2025 had to offer was still to come.

Kendal Calling returns in 2026 from July 30th to August 2nd, and you can pick up tickets and more information from the Official Kendal Calling Website.

Check out Katie Probert Photography’s photo gallery here:

Kendal Calling 2025 @ Lowther Deer Park (Kendal, UK) on 31st July to August 2nd 2025

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