• Contact us
  • Advertise with us
  • Cumbria Crack app
  • About us
Sunday, July 27, 2025
cumbriacrack.com
  • News
  • Sport
    • All sport
    • Carlisle United
  • Business
  • What’s on
  • Jobs
  • Food & drink
No Result
View All Result
  • News
  • Sport
    • All sport
    • Carlisle United
  • Business
  • What’s on
  • Jobs
  • Food & drink
No Result
View All Result
cumbriacrack.com
No Result
View All Result
Home Latest

Kendal Calling co-founder ‘really excited’ as planning for next year’s line-up begins

by Lucy Edwards
06/08/2023
in Latest, News
Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
Kendal Calling 2023 Picture: Tom Martin)

Kendal Calling’s co-founder has said he is ‘really excited’ as planning for next year’s line-up begins.

Early bird tickets for the 2024 event went on sale last Thursday and sold out in record breaking time – with 40 per cent of the overall tickets being snapped up in just a few hours.

It comes after this year’s event was hailed a ‘phenomenal’ success by organisers and saw some 35,000 people descend on the Penrith Lowther Deer Park site to watch performers including Rick Astley, Blossoms and Royal Blood.

Co-founder Andy Smith said: “It’s gone really well, we were standing in the arena on Thursday and it was just a beautiful atmosphere, it just felt magical. It seemed to get even better as the weekend went on.

“Ticket sales for next year have gone exceptionally so far, it was the best first day of sales we’ve ever had.

Picture: Carlos Reina

“We were already on a high from this year’s festival, but the 2024 sales really prove it was the best festival yet – it’s really given us that energy we need to get on with planning next year’s festival. We are ready and raring to go.”

Andy added that they have already started making plans and discussing the event’s potential headliners for 2024.

He said: “We are well and truly in earnest already talking about artists for next year and have been for some time.

“We’re very excited with what is on the table – but we’re not going to say anything because we don’t want to jinx it!”

This year’s festival has also seen over £50,000 raised for charity – the highest amount in the event’s history – and fewer tents left over than ever before.

Andy said: “We had the usual sea of tents left behind problem for a few years but when we pushed out our big leave nothing but memories campaign it went down from thousands of tents to just a handful.

“We’ve hit the same numbers as last year with only 280 tents left behind – which considering it was a rainy Monday morning and miserable conditions to pack up a tent in is really positive.

Picture: Tom Martin

“It’s great to have a festival that everyone loves, but even better to do that knowing our overall impact is positive.”

The ‘leave nothing but memories’ campaign against tent waste has proved so popular that Andy said two sisters decided to get the campaign’s logo tattooed.

He said: “We had two sisters who got tattoos of the logo. We’ve still yet to see a Kendal Calling tattoo, but seeing people get the logo of our tent waste reduction campaign logo was a surprise that’s for sure!

“But when I saw it on their wrists I thought it really is a beautiful logo, and it works really well.”

The newly introduced Teapot Stage – a small yurt complete with a fire and instruments for people to play – also proved a hit with eventgoers.

Andy added that ahead of next year organisers have come up with new ideas to make access on and off the site quicker.

Picture: George Harrison

He said: “We’ve got some good new ideas that will definitely make people’s access to the site much quicker.

“There’s nothing we can do about the M6 and further afield. We’ve had two years running where we haven’t been able to implement our traffic management plan due to issues with the motorway.

“But we are doing everything we can with the things in our power to make traffic better.”

He also addressed the rumours that the festival is planning to move location entirely for more overall space.

Andy said: “We can’t move it much further away from Kendal! The Deer Park is very special to us and we’re keen to stick around there as long as we can.

“Kendal’s vision has only ever been short term in the sense of that was a great festival, what can we do to make it better. So there’s no grand ambition of wholesale change for the event, it’s just a case of what can we do to make next year’s festival the best ever.

“I don’t think we’ll be seeing much growth – but if there is it’ll be to get bigger artists to match what the audience wants, we don’t want to increase ticket prices.

Picture: Tom Martin

“On site it will be moving venues around a bit and a few more quirky interesting things in the woods, I think that’s an area we’d like to keep growing.”

Work to restore the 2,000 acres the festival takes place on has also started and Andy explained that the mud created by the wet weather is actually beneficial for the site.

He said: “There’s a fair amount of remediation work to do but it’s nothing we’re not used to – in some ways the mud is beneficial to the ground and leaves it better than when it started.

“One of the beautiful things about the way the festival is laid out is there are high traffic areas that become muddy and lots of areas that remain fine. So when you’ve taken everything out you can really see where people have been walking but you’re surprised at how much greenery is left

“The good thing about the mud is that we have a wild flower seed mix that we can plant in it which allows plants and wildflowers to grow through. So humans kind of do a job like buffalo do in the wild – they create these areas that wild plants can flourish.”

Picture: Jess Huxham

He added that much of festival has been inspired by eventgoer feedback – including the creation of the Parklands stage and Emperors Field campsite.

He said: “This year has been the most positive event we’ve had – whether it be in terms of of charity or sustainability and in terms of the feedback we’ve had, you pick it up from the atmosphere on site but also when it comes to the actual questionnaire we send out.

“We had over half the audience respond which just shows passion of people involved.

“When I started the festival in 2006 I was 17 at the time, so there was a lot more people there a lot more experienced than I was, so I listened and I never stopped listening.

“A lot of the great ideas we have have come from emails from fans and we act and do it – it’s their festival, so we will always act to make it better.”

Previous Post

Man left with several facial injuries after assault in Ulverston

Next Post

Photographer injured in horror speedway accident recovering

Have you read?

Youngsters made to wash police cars and clean park after anti-social behaviour
News

Youngsters made to wash police cars and clean park after anti-social behaviour

26/07/2025
Wordsworth House runs at ‘six-figure loss’ each year
News

Wordsworth House runs at ‘six-figure loss’ each year

26/07/2025
Carlisle and Cumbria Artists return for 56th exhibition
What's on

Carlisle and Cumbria Artists return for 56th exhibition

26/07/2025
Man City forward reveals online abuse following red card
News

Barrow’s original Lionesses were trailblazers on the pitch

26/07/2025
Keswick soldier to take on gruelling rowing world record attempt
News

Cumbrian man makes history with new world rowing record

26/07/2025
Have your say on plans for electric vehicle charging points in Cumbria
News

Up to £7m for EV vehicle charging in north and West Cumbria

26/07/2025

Subscribe to Our Newsletter

Subscribe to our mailing list to receive daily updates direct to your inbox!

*We hate spam as much as you do. Privacy Statement

Check your inbox or spam folder to confirm your subscription.

33 Middlegate
Penrith
Cumbria
CA11 7SY

Phone: 01768 862313
Email: admin@cumbriacrack.com

Registered in England as Barrnon Media Limited. No: 12475190
VAT registration number: 343486488

Explore

  • Home
  • News
  • Sport
  • Carlisle United
  • Business
  • What’s on
  • Jobs

Useful links

  • Contact us
  • Send a sport report
  • Get our app
  • Advertise with us
  • About us

Follow us on

Newsletter

Subscribe to our mailing list to receive daily updates direct to your inbox!

*We hate spam as much as you do. Privacy Statement

Check your inbox or spam folder to confirm your subscription.

© Barrnon Media Limited 2023

Terms & Conditions / Privacy Policy / Cookie Policy
This website and its associated newspaper are members of the Independent Press Standards Organisation
No Result
View All Result
  • News
  • Sport
    • All sport
    • Carlisle United
  • Business
  • What’s on
  • Jobs
  • Food & drink

© 2025 JNews - Premium WordPress news & magazine theme by Jegtheme.