Lyndsey GormleyKendal Calling was born from a group of music lovers who felt the fields of Cumbria could be put to better use during the summer months – in the name of music, fun and frolics. This year promises to be more exciting than ever.
Between 27-29 July the festival boasts a line up of some of the UKs biggest acts including headliners Dizzee Rascal, Maximo Park, Feeder and many, many more.
Festival regular Dan Le Sac discusses what makes Kendal Calling so memorable.
Q. Kendal Calling Festival it set in the rolling hills of the Lowther Deer Park and this year’s theme is Comic Books and Fairy Tales.
A. I don’t often get the chance to ‘do’ fancy dress, when you’re doing a load of festivals in a weekend it’s pretty much the last thing on your mind. Nine times out of ten my fancy dress style is simply ‘Ooh I’ll go as an old lady…’, although my favourite was a wedding dress I found in a charity shop. Most inventive I’ve seen at a festival was an Amy Winehouse, replete with paper mache head and ridiculous stilts.
Q. We assume you don’t camp at festivals much anymore, how do you feel about the great outdoors? What are your top tips for surviving festivals and essentials you shouldn’t forget?
A. I camp at festivals all the time, especially Bestival, it’s like a holiday at the end of the festival season.
Q. With the rise of spoken word artists over the last few years, there has been increased interest in poetry amongst a younger generation. Do you think ‘spoken word’ originates in Hip Hop or poetry scenes and how do you see this relationship between genres developing?
A. Honestly does it matter where it comes from? If people are getting ‘hooked on phonics’ then all good, whether you rap, write poetry or sing it can only be good for you to express yourself. There is an issue with people trying to define “who is hip-hop”, “who is spoken word”, as if one is more important than the other, it’s a fairly snobby think to do. There is always going to be good and bad quality work in both scenes.
Q. What do you think of the Lake District and are there any areas that you would like to explore?
A. We’re been to Kendal Calling before but sadly our impressions that year were mainly MUD! The Lake District and Cumbia are generally quite beautiful, thinking about it the North is pretty special too, the Pennines, Snakes Pass, damn, why do I live in Reading again?
