The award-winning festival has 9 brilliant stages and has held host to numerous notorious live performances including that of Calvin Harris, The Prodigy, Blondie, Mumford & Sons and countless other famous artists.

Kendal Calling has finally shared over 100 acts that will be taking the stage in 2026. The four impressive headliners are Two Door Cinema Club, Biffy Clyro, Wolf Alice, and The Kooks. Joining them in the small print are Scissor Sisters, The Libertines, The Snuts and many more.

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2026 calls for the festivals 20th anniversary, so it is bound to be a special one. As of the lineup release the festival is already teetering on being sold out, with 95 percent of tickets sold pre line up. People flock to the festival simply for its community and the values it promotes, the musical acts being a brilliant bonus.

Irish indie band, Two Door Cinema Club are guaranteed to put on a prodigious show. The 3-man band are advertised on the bill to be performing their debut album, ‘Tourist History’ in full and countless others of their greatest hits. ‘Undercover Martyn’ and ‘What You Know’ are two songs by the beloved indie band that will surely get anyone dancing and we cannot wait to see what they do on the incredible stages at Kendal Calling. Nostalgia sells, and people often attend their favourite artists’ shows wishing they could see a minute of their earliest songs, and Two Door Cinema Club is doing exactly this by offering this lucky crowd a full set of their cult classics!

Brighton based, indie rock band, The Kooks are also one not to miss. Experimental sounds of post-punk revival The Kooks sure know how to put on a show. Everybody knows their hit single, ‘Naïve’ (if you do not it’s pretty shameful), the song charted at number five on the UK singles chart in 2006, becoming one of the UK’s best-selling singles of its time. Witnessing a crowd screaming along to that opening guitar riff is going to be a true out of body experience.

Not only does Kendal Calling host live music for all its wonderful visitors, it also continues to be the home of other events including comedy, art, kids’ events, a range of food and drink options and the ‘Lost Eden’ wonderland. There is simply something for everyone.

‘Lost Eden’ unbeknownst to many, is known as ‘an area with creativity and escapism at its core.’ as dubbed by Kendal Calling’s official website. It consists of micro venues, additional entertainment, art displays and campfires. It is something you have to see to believe, a truly unique festival experience.

Kendal Calling is like no other as despite it’s success it remains a festival that produces events for its dedicated supporters year after year. Secure your tickets now for 2026 before they are gone!

In terms of Weekend Tickets, the festival is now down to its final release, with its fifth and sixth release selling out within an eye-watering 24 hours. There has been an incredible demand this year, with over 25,000 festival-goers eager to escape to the fields this summer. Fans can also expect knock-out sets from Sugababes, Katy B, Declan McKenna, SHY FX, Sundara Karma, The Snuts and Pale Waves. Last year, Kendal was headlined by Kasabian, Royal Blood, Blossoms, and Nile Rodgers.

With over 10 stages and 120 performers to choose from, it’s not only the fans that appear to be excited, but the artists themselves. Nutini tweeted: “We are buzzing to be playing this years @KendalCalling in the Lake District.”

Andy Smith, Kendal Calling co-founder, wrote in a statement: “After the week we have had, bring on the summer! It is with much joy and excitement we share with you today the biggest Kendal Calling line-up to date. From the incredible Paolo Nutini closing the Sunday night and Keane, Sugababes, Paul Heaton & Rianne Downey and Katy B gracing our fields for the first time, joined by old friends Noel Gallagher and his High Flying Birds and The Streets closing the Friday and Saturday night respectively, we have the perfect ingredients for a fantastically celebratory weekend. But as ever the most important ingredient is YOU – and we can’t wait to see you in the fields x”

The weekend showcases a variety of regional, national and international musical talent, but also has an emerging, vibrant arts scene. For festival first-timers, the Kendal Calling team have compiled the ultimate festival survival guide, outlining all of the best food spots, art installations, secret gardens and attractions to hit in-between sets, including ‘Tim Peak’s Cafe’, ‘Lost Eden’, ‘Oktoberfest’ and ‘Parklands': “Whatever you do over KC weekend, whether you’re dashing from act to act, chilling out with a pint in the woods, or simply kicking back with a tin at camp – we know you’re going to have the most amazing time – nothing can beat the reunion of our festival family for the first time in three years! See you in the fields!”

Kendal Calling Festival will be held between August 1-4 2024. Tickets are on sale now and available here. All information regarding the event can be found at www.kendalcalling.co.uk. If you fancy a taste of some of the acts appearing this year, you can listen to Kendal Calling’s official 2024 Spotify playlist below:

Get your towels ready.

29th July, we’re set to play our biggest ever local show on Brighton beach. We’re going to give it everything we got…

Pre-sale from Thursday at 10am. General sale Friday at 10am

Sign-up for pre-sale access https://t.co/7hxtHo8NnE

Sea you there pic.twitter.com/P3Ck5pfleL

— Royal Blood (@royalblooduk) February 6, 2023

Pre-sale access will be available at 10 am on Thursday 9 February, followed by tickets available for purchase the next day on Friday 10 February at 10 am.

Royal Blood were also announced as one of the headliners for the Y Not Festival not long ago. This upcoming summer, they will be headlining Truck Festival alongside Alt-J, Two Door Cinema Club, The Wombats and Kendal Calling 2023 at the Lake District. They will also accompany Muse on their UK and European Tour, commencing on May 27 at Plymouth.

In the Truck Festival which takes place on July 21-23, Royal Blood expressed their thoughts about their headlining position. They said, “After being booked to play in 2021, we can’t wait to finally head to Oxfordshire and headline Truck Festival this summer! Expect a party.” 

Frontman and vocalist, Mike Kerr spoke to NME last year about their leading single, Honeybrains, which Kerr described as “a snapshot of right now.” including more “inclusive” music that would follow. He said to NME, “Even with “Typhoons” (2021 album), which was more of a departure than anything we’d done before, it’s never a designed or premeditated idea. We just follow what we’re feeling at the time. Having just made that record, we felt the most free, secure and unlimited. No thought went into this track- in the best possible way! I wasn’t writing for any reason. I wasn’t trying to write a single or the next Royal Blood song; I was just making music.”

The duo consists of bassist and vocalist, Mike Kerr and drummer, Ben Thatcher formed in 2013. They are known for their powerful and high-energy dynamics in most live performances, not to mention the electric drums Ben uses can change into different snare sounds, once the snare is hit. Their style consists of various combinations of punk, blues and hard rock that create a unique and electrifying musical experience.

Their self-titled debut album in 2014 rose to recognition, reaching number one on the UK album charts. Following up on their second album, How Did We Get So Dark? released in 2017 also received the widespread recognition that it truly deserved.

The main characteristics of their performance include a heavy bassline and beating drums which combine their uniqueness for a massive sound for their two-piece lineup. Overall, their neverending energy in live performances has been proven to be one of the most exciting acts ever, plus they have been touring extensively across the UK and Europe, as well as performing at very massive festivals like Glastonbury, Reading and Leeds.

The line-up for the festival, which presently includes over one-hundred acts, is eclectic to say the very least. Headliners presently include the likes of Welsh rock band Stereophonics, legendary English rap group The Streets, The Kooks, The Wombats and renowned musical-comic Bill Bailey. As indicated on the line-up poster, the festival will also feature DJ sets from the likes of Joel Corry and Faithless DJ, comedy sets, a BBC Introducing stage, and a stage solely dedicated to Earache Records’ roster of bands, including Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs, Hacktivist and Massive Wagons.

In addition to this vast line-up of acts, Kendal Calling Festival also boasts some enticing catering and extra entertainment. For example, they feature a huge array of street food from all over the world, stating on their website: “..we’ve got British favourites, amazing pies, creole food and Mexcian, Tibetan and Indian fodder and more! Want posh burgers? Want fortifying smoothies? Want vegan goodies? We have something for you.” The festival also features ten themed bars, an outdoor cinema and a Twin Peaks themed diner called Tim Peaks Diner. You can read more about what the festival has to offer at this link.

Kendal Calling was founded in 2006, originally running for two days and hosting a maximum capacity of 900 hundred people, and has since grown massively, as it now spans fur days and has a maximum capacity of 25,000 attendees. Since its inception, the festival has garnered a lot of attention, winning the industry award for “Best Small Festival” at the 2011 LIVE UK awards. A host of world-famous bands and artists have headlined the festival over the past fifteen years, including American rock band Blondie, drum and bass legends Pendulum, British folk rockers Mumford and Sons and Scottish DJ Calvin Harris.

Kendal Calling Festival will run from the 28^th to the 31^st of July 2022 in Lowther Deer Park in the Lake District. More information about the festival, including tickets, can be found here.

After cancelling their 2020 event due to the Covid-19 pandemic, organisers have called the cancellation of what would have been the festival’s 15th-anniversary show “heart-breaking” and “infuriating.”

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Announcing the cancellation across their social media, the festival organisers wrote: “Last Monday saw the delay of the so-called ‘Freedom Day’. As Kendal Calling sits outside of this delay, we would still be in a strong position to proceed. But Monday also saw a less publicised delay; the release of the long-awaited research from the Event Research Programme (ERP) and with it, crucially, the publication of safety guidance on how we run events.”

They continued: “Without this safety guidance, there are numerous aspects of the festival we cannot plan, and which could lay us wide open to last-minute unforeseen regulations or requirements which could scupper an already built festival. Capacity or density restrictions, track and trace protocol, testing regime, covid certification – a host of unknown actions required yet potentially requested too late to be implemented. “

Describing the past 16 months as “frankly devastating” to the festival and live music industry, the organisers highlighted the government’s failure to heed calls for a backed insurance for UK festivals and publicise the ERP findings. They wrote: “Our understanding is that the Department of Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) are keen to publish the ERP findings and guidance, but that it now does not fit around No. 10’s communications plan. This is insulting to our entire industry, who have been awaiting the results of a pilot event that took place almost 2 months ago to inform our approach to staging events safely this summer.”

The Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport has said they were “working flat out to support festivals and live events” and had given organisers £34m as part of the Culture Recovery Fund. A spokesperson for the DCMS advised they they are “aware of wider concerns” around insurance and indemnity cover for organisers and explained: “We are exploring what further support may be required when the sector is able to reopen.”

Kendal Calling is now due to take place from 28 to 31 July 2022, and any tickets will automatically rollover.

Pleased to announce that we will be headlining @KendalCalling festival on Saturday 31st July! For more info about the event, please go to https://t.co/bJ0qfg5WWl pic.twitter.com/qnIOGId7t9

— stereophonics (@stereophonics) March 26, 2021

2021 will mark the festival’s fifteenth anniversary, with the annual Cumbrian bash kicking off back in 2006 with headline sets from Pendulum and British Sea Power. Since then, the Kendal Calling stage has been graced by the likes of Manic Street Preachers, Suede, Echo & The Bunnymen, Calvin Harris, Nile Rodgers and Chic, Snoop Dogg and Public Enemy.

Festival co-founders Andy Smith and Ben Robinson spoke to NME about their building excitement for the festival’s return after a Coronavirus-enforced hiatus in 2020. They said “It’s a great feeling to be able to announce the return of Kendal Calling in 2021. Not being able to celebrate together in the fields last year has only heightened anticipation for our return this July with a lineup that truly captures what Kendal Calling is all about…It’s sure to be an unforgettable moment stepping back into Lowther Deer Park this July and we can’t wait to have you all join us.”

Stereophonics, who headlined Kendal Calling in 2017 as part of a triple-bill with compatriots the Manics and Scottish art-rockers Franz Ferdinand, will return to the live stage fresh off the back of frontman Kelly Jones’ reflective solo album Don’t Let The Devil Take Another Day.  The LP, released last December, included reimagined versions of a clutch of the Aberdare band’s classic hits – including Hurry Up And Wait, Mr Writer, Local Boy In The Photograph, Maybe Tomorrow, Traffic, Just Looking and Dakota – as well as a series of covers. Jones told fans that the track selection for the record – which came ten years after the tragic death of the band’s charismatic and much-loved original drummer Stuart Cable – “pulled together the songs that got him through the worst of times, whilst telling stories of how those songs came about.”

Supergrass‘ set at Kendal Calling will form part of a busy summer schedule for the Oxford outfit, who are also due to perform at Nottinghamshire’s Splendour Festival, Camper Calling in Warwickshire and the South Facing Festival at Crystal Palace in London. The band reformed in 2019 after a nine-year break.

Fellow South Facing headliner Dizzee Rascal‘s appearance at Kendal Calling will provide the festival veteran with an opportunity to perform songs from his well-received 2020 album E3 AF. In their review of his seventh studio LP, Clash praised the Bow product for “navigating the perilous landscape of 2020 with remarkable assurance“, adding that “few other UK rappers can genuinely say they’re making some of their best work 20 years in the game – staying true to his roots while absorbing the sounds that currently defined East London, Dizzee has pulled off something special.”

Stockport alt-rock merchants Blossoms will take to the stage at Kendal Calling with a 2020 hit record of their own under their belt. Their third LP – Foolish Loving Spaces – was their second UK chart-topper. The group will tour Britain and Europe next autumn before providing support to The Killers on their 2022 UK Tour. The Streets also take to the festival circuit with new music in their locker. The Mike Skinner-led unit released their first new mixtape in nine years in 2020 in the form of twelve-track collection None of Us Are Getting Out of This Life Alive, which reached number #2 in the Official UK Albums Chart.