Stereophonics among headliners as Kendal Calling returns for 2021

Stereophonics picking up the prize for best indie act Award at the Global Awards in London in March last year (Photo by John Phillips/Getty Images)

Welsh rockers Stereophonics are among the headliners this time round at the festival, held at Lowther Deer Park, near Penrith, making it one of the handiest events of its kind to get to for music fans in the Borders.

Topping the bill on other nights will be veteran indie act Supergrass and rappers Dizzee Rascal and the Streets, alias Mike Skinner.

Subject to no further coronavirus lockdown or travel restrictions being imposed in the interim, it will be on from Thursday, July 29, to Sunday, August 1.

Rapper Dizzie Rascal at the Kiss Haunted House Party 2020 in London in October (Photo by Gareth Cattermole/Getty Images for Bauer Media)

Also on the bill are acts including Blossoms, the Kooks, Pale Waves, Frank Turner, Tom Grennan, Slow Readers Club and the Lancashire Hotpots, with others yet to be announced.

Festival co-founders Andy Smith and Ben Robinson say they’re delighted to be bringing the event back after being forced to cancel last summer due to the coronavirus pandemic.

In a joint statement issued today, they say: “It’s a great feeling to be able to announce the return of Kendal Calling in 2021.

“Not being able to celebrate together in the fields last year has only heightened anticipation for our return this July with a line-up that truly captures what Kendal Calling is all about.

“It’s an honour to welcome back the Streets to headline this year’s show, along with Supergrass, Stereophonics and Dizzee Rascal all ready to make new festival memories, as well as massive names like Craig David’s TS5, Blossoms, the Kooks, DMA’s and Tom Grennan, to name but a few.

“It’s sure to be an unforgettable moment stepping back into Lowther Deer Park this July, and we can’t wait to have you all join us.”

Stereophonics, formed in 1992 in Cwmaman in the Cynon Valley, have seven No 1 albums to their name, the most recent being 2019’s Kind, their 11th LP. They’ve played at Kendal Calling once before, in 2017, and were lined up for last year too.

Supergrass, formed in Oxfordshire the year after and together from then until 2010 and since 2019, will be making their debut at the festival, though they were also on the bill for 2020. They’ve topped the album charts once, with their 1995 debut, I Should Coco.

Rascal, 36, alias Dylan Mills, has two appearances at Lowther Deer Park on his CV, in 2008 and 2012. The Londoner’s best-selling album is Tongue n' Cheek, his fourth, a No 3 hit in 2009.

West Midlands-raised Skinner, 41, is also no stranger to Kendal Calling, having appeared there previously in 2009 and 2017. He’s notched up two No 1 albums. 2004’s A Grand Don’t Come for Free and 2006’s The Hardest Way to Make an Easy Living.

This year’s festival, the 15th altogether, will be the 12th to be held at its current home, 35 miles south of the England-Scotland border and just a two-hour drive from Selkirk, Kendal itself having hosted the first three.

Tickets are available at https://www.kendalcalling.co.uk/