The Charlatans‘ Tim Burgess will be recording a live album straight to vinyl during his Kendal Calling 2026 set.
- READ MORE: The Charlatans tell us about “euphoric, transcendent” new single ‘We Are Love’ and first album in eight years
This year’s instalment of Kendal Calling will mark 20 years since the live event launched in 2006, and will return to the Lake District’s Lowther Deer Park from Thursday July 30 to Sunday August 2.
Burgess is set to play the festival’s Tim Peaks Diner – the stage he hosts each year – on Friday July 31.
Now, Burgess has announced that the set will be recorded live, then mixed, mastered, and pressed for sale on vinyl at the festival on the Sunday morning, when he will also be doing a signing session at the same venue.
Only 400 copies will be available at the festival, and a limited number will also be up for grabs online on Wednesday August 5.
Other acts to have done a similar ‘Straight To Vinyl’ set on the stage include The Lathums, A Certain Ratio and Inspiral Carpets, though it’s Burgess’ first time doing so himself.
Speaking about the album, Burgess said: “This is the fourth year we have worked with Press On Vinyl and Swift Mastering with a Straight To Vinyl recording and we are looking to set a personal best – exactly two days from finishing the set to having vinyl available on site, without anyone getting a speeding ticket”
Alex Balzama of Swift Mastering explained of the process: “Every stage of vinyl production normally has breathing room built into it. Here, everything happens at full speed. If one link in the chain fails, the whole project stops. That’s what makes it exciting.”
The recordings will be “rushed back to Teeside” after Burgess’ performance, says Kerry Todd from Press On Vinyl, where Balzama will work “through the night to master the audio and cut the lacquers.”
“Those lacquers are then passed to Emily Skipper in the galvanics department, who creates the metal stampers through electroplating before they are fitted to the presses and production begins,” Todd explained. “The entire process relies on every stage running perfectly. A problem during mastering, lacquer cutting, plating or pressing could force the project back to the start, making it a genuine race against time.
“By the early hours of Sunday morning, the finished records are taken back to Tim Peaks. It’s amazing to be a part of such an invigorating project,” Todd added.
Alongside Burgess, other acts on the Kendal Calling line-up include Biffy Clyro, Wolf Alice, and Two Door Cinema Club.
The opening night of the Lake District festival will be closed out by indie legends The Kooks, who are underway with celebrating their debut album ‘Inside In/Inside Out’.
Other new names added to the bill include fellow indie legends The Cribs, The Libertines, The Vaccines, Jamie Webster, The Lathums, Doves, and The Snuts, as well as pop giants like Scissor Sisters, Gabrielle, Groove Armada and Vanessa Carlton.
You can visit here for any remaining tickets.
In other Burgess news, the musician recently spoke to NME about the legacy left behind by The Stone Roses’ icon Mani, and explained how the late bassist managed to “inspire generations” with his work.
It came as he took to the stage at the BRITs 2026 to introduce the ‘In Memoriam’ segment, which remembered the artists and industry giants who died over the last year. His speech predominantly centred around friend and Manchester music icon, Gary ‘Mani’ Mounfield.
Speaking to us about how honouring Mani on stage, Burgess said: “I’m feeling pretty good about it, I’m not really saying anything that people don’t already know, though. I just think it’s important to recognise Mani… His legacy is in his songs, but it’s also [good] to be able to do that here too.”
Burgess also spoke about the new rerelease of The Charlatan’s debut album ‘Some Friendly’ – explaining that he wanted it to stand out from other reissues by having it “fully remastered” to sound “gorgeous” – and also shared insight into how the band joined forces with Dev Hynes (AKA Blood Orange) on their new material.
The Charlatans enlisted Hynes to co-produce their 14th studio album, ‘We Are Love’, which arrived last October and marked their first new album since 2017’s ‘Different Days’.
