Kendal Calling

Kendal Calling has been held at Lowther Deer Park since 2006, as such 2025 (held from 31st July – 3rd August) will be it’s 20th event!

Coming up this year are headliners Courteeners, Fat Boy Slim, The Prodigy, and Kaiser Chiefs. There are plenty of other bands playing as well though, including Frank Turner & The Sleeping Souls (one of my faves!), The Last Dinner Party, Scouting For Girls, and The Wombats. There’s also stand-up comedy, and other performances to catch as well. Sadly, tickets for 2025 are sold out, so if this kind of rock ‘n’ roll/indie vibe appeals to you, you’ll have to wait until 2026 to head up to the festival.

The Festival is also dedicated to the “Leave Nothing But Memories” campaign – something which I think is extremely important after a high footprint festival. As such, in 2024, 98.93% of tents were taken home, and they saved 45,000kg of CO2 emissions with a reusable cup scheme. They’re also committed to reducing energy usage, and have brought down their overall fuel usage by 15% since 2023. All good things in my book!

RockPrest/Festwich

Bit of a different one here – RockPrest and Festwich are actually tribute band festivals, which a) makes them more affordable than regular festivals, and b) means you can hear some of your favourite songs in one massive line-up, without having to go to loads of different festivals/gigs depending on who’s playing.

This year’s line up at RockPrest was split into two different genre days, with the “metal” day being on the Saturday, and the “rock and roll” day being on Sunday. I went along on the metal day, watching Motley Crue*, Megadeth*, Evanescence*, and KISS*… it was really good fun! There was also stalls, face-painting, and fairground rides to amuse as well…

RockPrest is always on in late June, but Festwich is on August Bank Holiday Weekend in Manchester, so there’s still a chance to enjoy this tribute festival, and tickets are definitely reasonable priced. The line-up for Festwich 2025, held in Heaton Park in Manchester, can be seen here. It’s more of a mixed bag than RockPrest was, so there’s something for all music tastes to see, although the Saturday seems to still be the “heavier” day of the two, if that’s more to your taste.

Eskfest

Eskfest is a self-proclaimed “micro-festival” that is held in Eskdale in the Lake District every year. This year it’s on from the 10th-12th July. Eskfest has a much more folk/indie vibe than some of the others with headliners like Omega Nebula, The Undercover Hippy, and Sam Redmore. There’s also loads of other things to do at the festival including Pottery, Yoga, a Dog Show, Tale Telt Cumbrian Myths and Legends, Wood Carving, and a Drum Workshop, all of which sound rather fun!

Eskfest’s location means that it is fairly remote, and it is a bit of a challenge to get there by public transport; although you can catch a train to Ravenglass, and then take the “La’al Ratty” steam train to Dalegath station. Arriving at a festival by narrow gauge steam train is a pretty unique and amazing way to do things!!

Highest Point

I’m including Highest Point Festival because it takes/took place in my hometown. Held at Williamson Park, Lancaster from 2018 – 2024, the festival grew in popularity and drew some big(ish) names into the town including Tom Odell, Busted, and Sam Ryder. Sadly, it didn’t take place in 2025 due to funding and economic issues, with the organisers saying that it was difficult for the festival to make any money, whilst also keeping ticket and merchandise prices reasonable for festival goers. I’m sure this is an ongoing problem for many of the smaller/independent festivals, trying to keep ticket prices at a somewhat affordable level, whilst also still making enough for the festival to be economically viable.

I hope it comes back in future years as it was always an exciting point in Lancaster’s annual calendar!

Leeds Fest

I couldn’t do a post about festivals in the North without a little bit about Leeds Fest. Leeds Festival is actually an Northern offshoot of Reading Festival, which started in 1971, with Leeds being added in 1999. The Festival has been growing in size for the twenty-five that it’s been at Bramham Park, and whilst it hasn’t been without it’s problems, it’s still one of the largest rock and punk festivals in the UK.

It’s also, traditionally, one of the last festivals of the season, taking place on August Bank Holiday weekend – of course, that’s always a bit of a risk, as it’s a well known British trope that it always rains on August Bank Holiday weekend. And Leeds has certainly had it’s fair share of muddy moments; there are many photos of “trader’s alley” turned into a mud slick, or tents sinking into muddy puddles. The year I went camping at Leeds, in 2011, the British Summer lived up to it’s reputation, and it hoyed it down. I was absolutely soaked to the skin, but I still got to see loads of amazing bands that I loved, including My Chemical Romance, Frank Turner & the Sleeping Souls, Muse, and The Offspring. I went again in 2013 (to see my absolute faves Green Day), but only for a day – camping is definitely not my thing!

In recent years, the festival has diversified further from the “rock/punk rock” sort of line up (although it has definitely had lighter rock/indie on in the past), and included headliners from lots of different genres. Case in point, this year the headliners are due to be Travis Scott (rap), Bring Me The Horizon (hard rock), Hozier (softer rock/singer-songwriter), and Chappell Roan (pop). So plenty of different things to choose from!

Have you been to any of these festivals? Which was your favourite? Who did you see? Are there any other Northern Festivals that you think should be featured?

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