Kendal Calling 2020: No Taste’s Ones To Watch

Kendal Calling, one of the UKs biggest festivals returns this summer with a blockbuster line up. Headlined by the likes of Stereophonics and Foals it really sells itself, however, the team at No Taste have put together a little article to let you know about a few of the artists in the posters smaller font, the hidden gems, the artists that you randomly stumble across while wandering your way aimlessly around the festival grounds waiting for the chart topping acts you’ve purposely paid to see. 

Before we get to the 9 sets you’d be foolish to miss out on because you were pre-drinking outside your tents, let me give you a brief history lesson on Kendal Calling. 

Originating in 2006, Kendal Calling was created by a small group who wanted to put on a social gathering so big that the entire country would hear it calling (Cheesy, I know)! So there it was, born in the lake district, a 2 day festival, they wasted no time in dishing out their ambition by landing artists such as Pendulum and British Sea Power to come in and headline to a then capacity crowd of 900. It only took them 2 years to get that number to 4000 attendees due to the pull of acts including Dizzee Rascal, but always sticking to their roots by showcasing local artists alongside. Fast forward to 2020, now with a capacity crowd of 25,000 people coming from all over the UK and more than likely further afield, a 4 day show piece in the lake district, just like the small group of organisers had envisaged back in 2006.

Now, this is what you’ve come here to see, let No Taste take you through our ‘ones to watch’ at Kendal Calling 2020.

The Lottery Winners

The Lottery Winners are a group of 4 that are the real deal, after a meteoric rise in 2019 they’re set for a big 2020! 

They’re upbeat indie sounds topped with lyrics of working class hardships, the perfect pumped up festival sound. I only have one gripe with this band, being a proud Yorkshireman myself, they’re from the wrong side of the Pennines… 

I can’t recommend this band highly enough to bring anyone’s festival experience to life, whilst currently being the perfect warm up band, it won’t be long until they’re revelling in the headline slots of the big stages! 

If you don’t wanna take my word for it, check out the banger below, That’s Not Entertainment is the perfect example, it has a funky blur feel that will get anyone with a beer in hand lairy and bouncing around… 

Massive Wagons

Massive Wagon are a quintet who originate in Lancaster, now this band gives off an immediate Offspring vibe, which is perfect for going back and reliving your old teenage punk days in a field with alcohol in hand. 

They’re a band that lives for their music and that’s portrayed in their live sets, if I’ve learnt anything from watching their shows, they never stand still, ever… they play head banger after head banger, which come on, let’s face it, It’s perfect for a festival… 

If you miss the good old days of AC/DC or the likes, get on down and have a listen to these fellas, you won’t be able to resist the energy they ooze from the stage! 

DelaGrave

Now DelaGrave has a slower, more tranquil beat, equally beautiful though, this is the perfect soundtrack to ease yourself through the hangover or to mellow out before losing yourself and going wild! 

Originally starting as a solo artist, Lauryn Graves, has previously played Kendal Calling in 2018, there’s a steadily growing hype around DelaGrave, being touted very much for bigger things.

The perfect group for anyone seeking the more chilled vibe of the festival, you can just imagine yourself sitting there in the beating sun with a cold one, taking in the beauty a festival has to offer, listening to the harmonic tones of DelaGrave. 

Jaguar

So you want to see some DJs, but don’t want your ears to be pummeled by indistinguishable beats for hours straight? I hear ya, there’s a time and a place for that, but for now we just want a boogie. 

Well listen here, I’ve got just what you’re looking for.

Jaguar, she goes by. The rare thing that Jaguar manages to pull off is playing records you’ve never heard before, yet you instantly love. Many record spinners master the unknown part, but fall short of the audience-loving-it mark. Not Jaguar.

Jaguar is that refreshing DJ you wish you stumbled across earlier. The one that turns an event from good, to dancing about swinging your shirt around your head. 

There aren’t many days you’ll wake up to a beer this summer (unless you’re an animal). There also aren’t many days where you find a DJ like Jaguar. And the two events complement each other beautifully. She’s backed by Annie Mac who is an absolute legend as well. Make sure you go and see her.

PS. Jaguar Skills is on the lineup, too. Just a reminder before you’re at the wrong end of the festival.

Bandoke/Barrioke

Oi, no, I’m not joking. Make it to at least one of these. This is your situation. You’re in a big group of pals. The biggest group you’ve been in for a while, you realise. Actually, when was the last time you saw Tim? Christmas? Shit, yeah it was. Well isn’t this great!

So great that you have to make the most of it before the end of the festival. Make every minute count. What’s the wildest, most memorable, undeniable hilarious thing you can do? 

Yep. Go on, smash it.

P.S. If you hit up Barrioke, it’s Barry Evans from Eastenders as the host. Strange? Kinda. Great? Absolutely. No Taste? 100%. Bandaoke is Karaoke with a live band. Now you’re spoilt for choice.

Sister Sledge

Now, I’ve always missed these… but only because I’ve not been at the festival. And I’m always miffed because I’ve heard they’re UNREAL.

Think about it, they’re probably the happiest group out there. Whether you need a pick me up from your hangover the night before, or you want to take your Kendal Calling experience to the next level, Sister Sledge are the ones for you.

Festivals are different to any other type of concert and I’m not just stating the obvious about there being a glut of musicians and food stands. They’re an adventure. A story of your own pissed up antics landing you in scenarios not possible in the outside world – and what better soundtrack to it than Sister Sledge. At least you know it’ll be a happy ending…

Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs

This five-piece out of Newcastle will grip you by the earlobes and give you a good scragging. Lead singer Matt Baty’s bellows rise and fall across each track, bursting out of the white before fading to nothing, like the last furious cry of a hapless skier careening off a thousand-foot cliff. Riffs so thick you could scoop them from a jar and spread them on toast churn a path through both albums – the sonic-tar pit that is Feed the Rats, 2017, and the rusty incinerator that’s King of Cowards, 2018.

Recommended for: anybody who fancies whipping their top off, windmilling into a crowd of hairy nutters, and slipping into a distortion-induced trance for the next 45 minutes before emerging into the afternoon sunshine, exhausted, pummelled, and thoroughly basted in other people’s sweat.

Kongo Dia Ntotila

Pure auditory sunshine. The band describes their genre as Kongo Jazz. What does Kongo Jazz sound like? An endlessly inventive, uplifting, nigh-irresistible fusion of Congolese rumba and jazz. Every few bars brings a new chant, a sky-brightening brass melody, an ochre-tinged flourish on the guitar – half the fun is waiting to see what comes next. Now, I’ll be straight with you: I’m no expert on Congolese rumba, nor jazz. If the music makes you smile though, what does it matter? Head over to see them. Take a cool can of cider and don some ridiculous sunglasses. Bring a boy or a girl you fancy and spin them around in the mud. Do that, and see if it’s not the highlight of your whole damn festival.

Oh, and if you dig the tunes and feel like trying your hand at a little seben rhythmic guitar, ​here.

Tom Mcguire & The Brassholes

It’s a fuckin’ festival! The atmosphere’s good, you’re smiling, maybe you’re dressed like a pirate or a horse or whatever. You’re stumbling along off your bean, real jolly, when you hear a groove. It rolls up one arm and down the other, giving you a cheeky squeeze on the bum as it passes by. You pause, and sip your lager, an inquisitive eyebrow raised. Que?

On the summer breeze comes the toot of a brass band, weaving around the thud of a wandering bassline. Whoops and hollers and a slide trombone bob around your ears and draw you into a big, warm tent, filled with people in feather boas and wellington boots. They’re dancing around like nobody is watching – and nobody is watching, because the groove is too infectious. On stage, as the lights flash, you see the mob responsible for such outrageous vibes: why, it’s only Tom McGuire and the Brassholes!

Bonus: Flex 80s Disco Workout

I mean, you’ve got to, haven’t you? Bopping around like a disco goblin, glitter smeared across your face like the white hand of Saruman, busting spooky dance moves to Tainted Love. Jogging on the spot to the chorus of Rio, screaming the lyrics with your hands in the air, arse cheeks wobbling steadily further and further out of your crimson leotard. Chugging cider from a giant plastic funnel as Sussudio blasts overhead. Snogging someone twenty years your senior to Billy Joel singing Uptown Girl, as your friends film everything. Motorboating a breathtakingly sweaty man in slow motion to ‘I Think We’re Alone Now’, while a spandex-clad crowd hold hands and skips in a ring around you both.

Let’s fucking go.

So, there you have it, the No Taste ‘ones to watch’ at Kendal Calling 2020. Get yourselves up to the Lakes this summer for a line up dripping with talent throughout. Check out the full line up and more for Kendal Calling here: Kendal Calling 2020 Lineup