UK: With the 2016 edition of Kendal Calling selling out and having once again won Best Medium Festival at the UK Festival Awards, the first acts have been announced for its 2017 iteration. Headlining this year are Stereophonics, Manic Street Preachers, Franz Ferdinand, Brian Wilson, and Frank Turner & The Sleeping Souls.
Joining the headliners are troubadour Jake Bugg, Scottish soul-bearers Frightened Rabbit, Seasick Steve, British indie heroes Editors, punk rockers Slaves, indie melody-weavers Circa Waves, anthemic alt-rockers Nothing But Thieves, grime don Lethal Bizzle, riot grrrl Kate Nash, rising stars The Hunna, man of the moment Loyle Carner and veteran Merseyside psych rockers The Coral.
Elsewhere Field Music, Fickle Friends, Honeyblood, Palace, Little Comets, Blaenavon, Shame, The Pale White, Eat Fast, Bad Sounds, Soshe, Reverend And The Makers, Freak, Man & The Echo, Bossy Love, White, The Shimmer Band, Fews, Ardyn, Dead! and Kendal favourites The Lancashire Hot Pots are set for the fields.
The dance-orientated Glow Stage will host Example; house DJ Tom Zanetti; Butterz members Royal-T, DJ Q and Flava D together as TQD; bass duo My Nu Leng; Mike Skinner; and DJ sets from London soul collective Jungle and British electronica masters Faithless. Gotsome, Holy Goof, Barely Legal, Mollie Collins, Star.One and Swindle also join the roster with more names still to come.
The eclectic festival line-up will also be bolstered by Mercury Prize nominees The Comet Is Coming, Smash Hi-Fi, Broken Brass Ensemble, K.O.G. & The Zongo Brigade, Holly Holdener, Yumi & The Weather, Honeyfeet, Harleighblu, Sola Rosa, Lost Colours and Ezra Collective.
Kendal Calling founder Andy Smith commented: “Drastic times call for drastic measures and to that end we’ve gone the whole nine yards! We’re excited to be welcoming no less than six headliners to the fields this year, including Brian Wilson’s last appearance on these shores as he performs Pet Sounds in full. See you in the fields!”
Set in the Lake District’s Lowther Deer Park, this fan-focused independent festival is renowned for more than just music and visitors will also enjoy four days of art installations, comedy, gourmet food, kids’ entertainment and a real ale festival.
Having once again won ‘Best Medium Festival’ at the UK Festival Awards, Kendal Calling has firmly established itself as one of the undisputed highlights of the increasingly busy summer calendar.
