Love for festival grows 'every year' - organisers

Kendal Calling 2024 drew to a close on Sunday

The love for a festival approaching its twentieth anniversary has been growing, organisers have said.

Kendal Calling came to a close on Sunday, having sold out for the 19th year in a row.

The line-up included Paolo Nutini, Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds and Katy B.

"Every year, it just gets a little bigger, so does the love for the festival from the audience," founder Andy Smith said.

The event has grown from a 900-people capacity when it first started in 2006, to 40,000 in 2024.

Mr Smith, who was in a band himself when he started the festival, said organisers "absolutely" did not imagine Kendal Calling would become so big.

"We just lived for the moment. We only ever saw one festival at a time, one year ahead," he said.

"We had no desire to grow it to the size we have now, it's just felt right."

Kendal Calling is now looking at its 20th edition next year.

"I have vertigo, it's crazy," Mr Smith said.

The festival started in 2006 with a capacity of just 900 people

Kendal Calling's continued success comes at a time when some other festivals have been struggling.

According to the Association for Independent Festivals (AIF), 50 UK festivals have announced a postponement, cancellation or complete closure so far in 2024.

Mr Smith said part of Kendal Calling's success was because it "started at the right time, in the right location", but also it managed to build a loyal audience.

"It's grown slowly and gradually over time," he said.

Sugababes performed on Saturday

"What's happening at the moment, certainly since the pandemic, is that people just don't have the money they used to.

"Whereas previously they might go to three or four festivals a year, now they're just going to one.

"The reason perhaps they're choosing Kendal is because it's got a great reputation from slowly growing over the years, attracting such a loyal audience.

"They know that it sells out every year, so that creates its own kind of demand."

'We need vibrant festival scene'

The AIF has warned that without intervention, more than 100 festivals in the country could disappear this year.

Mr Smith said the struggles faced by some festivals were not good news for the music industry.

"It's an incredibly tiring, and stressful job and risky job. Everyone's equally hard-working," he said.

"It is a difficulty at the moment and whilst Kendal might sell out, it's not great news for the music industry as a whole and if it's not good news for the music industry as a whole, it's not going to be good news for Kendal either.

"We all need a vibrant festival scene. Without festivals, we won't get the talent that we have, that becomes world-famous."