Kendall Calling celebrates it’s 20th anniversary in style
Image Credit: @nckpix on Instagram
Daniel Brown reviews the sets that made up the stellar weekend of Kendall Calling 2025.
The bleak financial landscape of live music in 2025 is populated by frequent news of beloved venue closures, exhausted band disbandment’s and fan-favourite festival failures. Despite odds stacked against it higher than it cares to concern itself with, Kendall Calling celebrated its 20th anniversary in style. With a sold-out ticket allotment and bags of talent, here is the story of the stellar weekend which crowned two decades in the fields.
Fresh upcoming acts on the cutting edge were sprawled out across the fields for the viewing and listening pleasure of festival goers. Amongst those caught by yours truly included the enigmatic yet enthralling Picture Parlour whose Friday set screamed star power. The Woodlands stage saw Florence Road boast charm and brilliance much beyond their younger years, as well as L’Objectif, who filled their 30-minute set to the brim with intoxicating tunes, delicately crafted yet packed with power. Whilst more established than those previously mentioned, both Divorce and Sports Team brought their wonderfully witty and ever-inventive shows to anyone who was lucky enough to find themselves within ear shot.
Some argue a festival is only as good as its headliners. I, for one, take this to be a small minded and reductionist viewpoint. However I also just spent four days with my only cooked meals being a tin of ‘Heinz Beans and Sausage’ and a portion of loaded hash browns from ‘Hash Brown Town’. Point being maybe alternative viewpoints are important. Kaiser Chiefs brought their rambunctious energy to those eager enough to arrive at Kendall Calling on the Thursday, serving both as a wonderful appetiser to the weekend and as my obligatory Leeds reference for this article (cheers boys!). Courteeners were firing on all fronts for their Friday night headline slot. Their beloved blend of cult classics and determined modern tracks left a packed Kendall crowd wondering if God did in fact bless the band. Fatboy Slim, whilst an artist not of my usual taste, was suitably dynamic, seamless and formidable on the vast Main Stage. Finally, The Prodigy was of course, The Prodigy. A visceral visual spectacle bursting at the seams with raw and unkept energy. A true testament to the indomitable human spirit, as ‘warriors’ dehydrated, malnourished and fatigued from the festival, rifled themselves into one another for drop after drop after drop after drop.
Kendall Calling 2025 served as a paradise for the avid indie-rock enthusiast. The aforementioned Courteeners being a bucket list act for many of these diehard fans set the tone, but those on the rise in the scene are the ones who really cemented this festival as a must-see. The ever-exciting Royston Club laced up their boots for a Saturday set on the main stage, a hefty challenge which was met head on with a roaring reception from a clamouring crowd, whilst Overpass and The Clause both rose to the challenge of filling the Calling Out tent with style. The worst kept secret of the weekend was Red Rum Club’s Sunday set, billed under the alias Here’s Johnny. Despite the lack of an ‘official’ announcement of their presence, Parklands was packed to the brim with giddy lovers of the scouse band’s contagious charisma and trumpet-infused indie anthems.
Music purists can be challenging beasts. The wild experimental post-punk listener, whilst confident in their belief that they are a higher form of being, would never find themselves free from their ‘nonchalant’ shackles long enough to join a conga line in a Lancashire Hotpots crowd. Nor would they be willing to feverishly bounce to a soaring Elvis-fronted cover of ‘Smells Like Teen Spirit’. This fate, whilst often self-imposed, is one that can only be pitied. Despite being billed as novelty acts, the likes of the Lancashire Hotpots, Elvana and even childhood entertainers turned DJs Dick & Dom are built into the exuberant foundations which Kendall Calling stands tall upon. Reader you may have your qualms, but you try standing in a field a few hundred northerners strong, singing of your desire for a ‘chippy tea’ and you’ll feel more liberated than you ever knew possible.
Ultimately the winner of the weekend was the humble festival attendee, with Kendall Calling 2025 being rife with both musical expertise and variety. From the bouncing hip-hop of Master Peace, to the soulful funk of Willie J Healey, from the gorgeous yet fierce sounds of Nieve Ella, to the ethereal set of The Last Dinner Party– talent was to be found in every nook and cranny of the festival. As August crept up upon us, the fields of Kendall were transformed into a utopia of live music through the tireless efforts of the Kendall Calling staff and the passionate support of festival attendees. If it is anything like its predecessor, Kendall Calling 2026 promises to be a must-see affair.
words by Daniel Brown