Live music festival returns to Kendal for second year, hoping to give a boost to local businesses
Kendal Live is back for it's second year, bringing live music and culture to the town.
This year the festival has expanded from one day to two days, with around one hundred bands performing across twenty venues.
It will mainly be happening in pubs and clubs across Kendal but there will also be three outdoor stages.
The festival takes place from 6 to 7 October and is being organised by the Kendal Business Improvement District (BID), a not for profit organisation which aims to improve Kendal town centre, by supporting local businesses.
Josh Macaulay, the chair of Kendal BID, explained that 90 per cent of the acts would be from within a ten-mile radius of Kendal and the ones from further afield had been chosen because they regularly played in Kendal or had a strong following in the town.
“There will be all sorts of genres featured, from original music to covers, jazz, folk and acoustic, so something for everybody to enjoy.”
Acts performing will include OTT, Drum Nation and Thieving Magpies.
Other venues hosting performances over the two-day festival will include The Horse & Rainbow, The Shakespeare, George & Dragon and 19 The Wine Bar
The festival was intentionally organised for October to give local businesses a boost in a traditionally quiet month.
According to Mr Macaulay: “In September the town is still feeling the positive effects of the summer, in November you have the Kendal Mountain Festival and in December you have Christmas but October is a ‘dip month’, particularly since the Lakes International Comic Art Festival moved to Bowness”.
There will be three outdoor stages on the Saturday, including the main stage and a marquee in Market Place.
Kendal Bid have said that there will also be a student stage at the Birdcage for young musicians to perform.
It is run by Kendal College’s music department to introduce new young talent in the area.
Organisers say that for most of them it will be the first time they have performed at a festival and hope that it will help to boost their confidence.
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