It’s early access here at Kendal Calling. A day before the weekend proper begins, the lucky few had the opportunity for an extra helping of summertime shenanigans and a whole host of iconic bands to get their musical bones singing!
Corella
While the festival was still fresh, we were treated to a fresh new band - Corella. The mancunian quartet have been going from strength to strength since entering mainstream consciousness with their debut album, Once Upon a Weekend, a little over a year ago. The four-piece offer the warm embrace of the indie sounds we grew so fond of in the noughties and early 2010s, citing influences such as Foals and Two Door Cinema Club for their bright and accessible sound, perfect for the Kendal Calling Main Stage!
The lucky band, who commanded most of the early arrivals in their fortified crowd, were treated exactly as the promising stars that they are. Their control of the performance glanced back to the formations of bands such as Catfish and the Bottlemen. The energy was high in the early evening sun, with plenty of playful mosh pits breaking out as the fans bounced to their new heroes. Joel Smith, Corella’s lead vocalist, explained that Kendal Calling was swiftly becoming his favourite festival and it's easy to see why! The vibrant young prospect tore the house down and will surely be invited back in the years to come!
Sophie Ellis-Bextor
From a band that's new on the scene to a blast from the past, noughties icon Sophie Ellis-Bextor is back with a vengeance and was sure to cause a “Murder on the Dancefloor” of Kendal Calling’s opening day!
The show was an absolute hits fest, with the phenomenal front woman belting out some of the biggest hits in pop, such as “Lady (Hear me tonight)” by Modjo, “Gimme, gimme, gimmie (A Man After Midnight)” by Abba and “Like a Prayer” by Madonna. And if the star studded lineup of covers wasn’t enough, we even had a proposal live on stage! (He said yes). Closing with a huge singalong to her career defining hit “Murder on the Dancefloor”, the show ended as it started, a complete and utter success!
Sophie Ellis-Bextor not only continues to show that she’s got it, but that she’s even one of the very best, her voice hasn’t weakened one iota and she is as glam as ever in her sparkly tassels. There’s no chance that we’ve seen the last of this esteemed musician and nor should we! Let's roll it back next year for another one please!
Kaiser Chiefs
Many of the bands hitting the stage this weekend won’t be strangers to Cumbria’s finest musical showcase event. Headlining our first night in Lowther Deer Park are the Kaiser Chiefs, returning for their third appearance in the hallowed fields. The ever present relic of noughties music brought their tried, tested and beloved stage show, bursting with vibrance and wholehearted singalongs as the band celebrated 20 years of their record Employment that thrusted them to stardom.
With no expenses saved, the timeless band were welcomed onto stage by Richard Attenborough! Well, a crude imitation of him at least. The five-piece entered and gave their bow before launching into their massive back catalogue of singalong hits that spans multiple decades. All of the usual songs were present like “Ruby”, “Oh My God” and “I Predict a Riot” along with some pleasant surprises, such as “Blitzkreig Bop” by the Ramones or “Pinball Wizard” by The Who.
The tenacity of the show would be no surprise to anyone who has seen a Kaiser Chiefs show before, it’s commonplace to see frontman Ricky Wilson legging it from side to side on stage just to prove this point. It is equally unsurprising that the performance was faultless, a jam packed set of adored hits performed by a band with decades of stagemanship experience. They’ve been here before and I’m sure they’ll be back, but right now I’m thrilled to have caught the boys one more time.