The 12 best things about Kendal Calling 2014

Photo: Kendal Staff photographer/Charly Murgatroyd

Without fail always one of the best weekends of the festival season, we're sad to say that Kendal Calling is over yet again for another year.

Selling out well in advance, this year was no doubt the biggest to date, seeing headline slots from Suede, Frank Turner and Example alongside a gargantuan lineup bringing together acts from across the musical spectrum.

Despite less-than ideal weather conditions across the weekend (yes, our tent flooded), once again this weekend was unforgettable for many, justifying the countless awards the Lake District festival has won over the years.

With so many amazing scenes over the weekend, here are our 12 best moments of Kendal Calling 2014.

1. Suede

Dominating their Friday night headline slot with ease, Suede will no doubt be a highlight for many from this year’s festival. Roaring through their mindblowingly long list of hits, from ‘Animal Nitrate’ through to ‘Metal Mickey’ via the likes of ‘Filmstar’, ‘Beautiful Ones’ and ‘So Young’, the Brit Pop legends’ entire set was equal parts euphoric and intimate. With Bret Anderson climbing into the crowd and frolicking around every inch of the stage throughout, their performance will surely sit in the mind’s of every person in the audience for years to come.

2. "Whoomp there it is”

For a first time attendee to Kendal Calling, the festival’s synonymous call to arms is a fascinating thing to witness. Any visit to the dance tent will see the hook from Tag Team’s famous one hit wonder shouted an infinite number of times on any build up (seriously, it was hard to get to sleep at night with “whoomp there it is” playing on repeat in your head). Apparently started at T in the Park a few years ago, expect it to venture down south soon.

3. Muddy resilience

So far this summer, we’ve been to festivals all over the country, yet Kendal undeniably takes the biscuit (or mint cake) for the worst weather yet. Despite the flooded tents, muddy falls and general sludgy mess that was the ground after just one day, what was amazing to see was crowds in their thousands braving the rain to give every single act a warm Kendal welcome. Rain? What rain?

4. 2ManyDJs

No one can deny 2ManyDJs have really changed the DJ game in recent years, unafraid to bring rarely heard tracks into play whilst simultaneously providing seamless mixing and stunning visuals. Taking a break from their acclaimed Despacio project with James Murphy, the Soulwax duo seriously brought the party to a packed out Glow Tent on Saturday night for an unforgettable set.

5. Catfish and the Bottlemen

Living up to the hype that has surrounded them over the last year, Catfish and the Bottlemen sounded seriously massive on our stage on the first day of the festival during the Gigwise takeover of the Calling Out Stage. Rolling through their string of buzz-inducing singles including ‘Pacifier’, ‘Kathleen’, ‘Rango’ and ‘Homesick’ alongside tracks from their forthcoming debut album, the Llandudno four piece proved their worth and sent the huge crowd into a frenzy from the offset. Future festival headliners? Almost definitely.

6. The fact they still care for noughties indie

With Razorlight, Athlete and The Sunshine Underground all drawing massive crowds over the weekend, it’s an unashamed adoration for noughties indie that brilliantly makes Kendal Calling crowds like no other. There's no snobbery, there are no guillty pleasures - just one hell of a good time.

7. The Tim Peaks Diner

A wooden cabin run by Tim Burgess and decorated exactly like The Roadhouse from Twin Peaks? Count us in! The Charlatans' frontman has been a big part of Kendal for a few years now, though this years was no doubt his biggest involvement to date, creating the perfect diner environment for fans of the seminal cult TV show with live performances throughout the weekend and some dynamite coffee to boot. We could have easily spent the whole weekend there to be honest, but it was probably best we didn’t...

8. Alcoholic smoothies

There we were, at The Chai Wallah stage at ridiculous o’clock, feeling that underlying worry that a festival diet isn’t doing wonders for our health. Then, out of nowhere we see a shining light in our quest to remain healthy, something we thought couldn’t be done, let alone at a festival in the middle of The Lake District. Fusing rum and a whole lotta fruit, the smoothies on offer at the festival’s most laid back stage were a total gamechanger this weekend. Miss them next year at your peril.

9. Mr Scruff

Playing one of his typically mammoth sets, Scruff’s ability to read a room is seriously remarkable which was reflected in the overwhelmingly warm reception his late night performance received on Friday. Slowly building the tempo throughout the night before hitting fever pitch just as the music finished at 3am, the illustrious producer kept the large audience in the palm of his hands throughout, bringing his signature visuals into play alongside tracks from his vast discography. If you’re going to any other festivals this summer , Mr Scruff is a definite must-see.

10. Watching Jimi Goodwin on a train

We understand that this moment only really applies to the people on 'The Kendal Express’ journey to the festival, but it would be criminal of us to leave it out. Setting up at the end of our train carriage half way into our journey to the lakes, the Doves’ frontman (who would later that night headline our stage) suddenly broke out into an acoustic set, that went through the train’s intercom system. Reeling off both Doves classics and tracks from his debut solo record, Goodwin has made every train journey we take in the future seem incredibly boring.

11. The abundance of new talent

With established talent like Example, Frank Turner and The Happy Mondays on the bill, it’s perhaps easy to forget that Kendal Calling are worthy champions of the best new music the world has to offer. Offering a broad range of the hottest new artists, from Rae Morris through to Women’s Hour via LIFE and an unmentionably long list of others, there really was something for everyone across the multitude of stages across the weekend.

12. The site itself

And finally… what’s not to love about a festival set in one of the most beautiful parts of Britain. Amidst the rolling hills of the lake district, everything about the festival site is visually stunning, even when everything is covered in mud and your tent is rapidly filling up with water (which says a lot, trust us).