2024/08/22 – 2024/08/25 – Camper Calling – Ragley Hall, Warwickshire

Review: D. Griffiths & Photos: G. Rossington.

There are music festivals, there are campervan festivals, and then there is Camper Calling — an event that has gradually established its own identity somewhere between the two.

Returning to the beautiful grounds of Ragley Hall in Warwickshire for its eighth edition in 2024, Camper Calling once again demonstrated that its greatest strength is not simply the quality of the artists on its stages. It is the feeling of being part of a temporary community for four days: families wandering between activities, friends sharing food and drinks, children discovering live music, campervan owners relaxing outside their vans and thousands of people simply enjoying themselves.

The 2024 line-up gave people plenty of reasons to make the trip. Travis, Jessie J and a Groove Armada DJ set headlined the Lakeside Stage, while Kula Shaker, The Beat featuring Ranking Jnr and From The Jam provided three very different headline experiences on the Arrow Stage. Around them came a wonderfully eclectic supporting cast including Sophie Ellis-Bextor, The Zutons, Professor Green, DJ Yoda, Woody Cook, Hothouse Flowers, Bhangra Smash Up, The Kairos, Dirty Blonde, The Rosadocs and Old Time Sailors.

And that was before considering the non-musical entertainment: Mr Motivator, Barrioke, Hacker T Dog and Katie Thistleton, family activities, creative sessions, food stalls and bars. Camper Calling has always been about more than simply watching bands, and 2024 was a particularly good example of that philosophy.

DJ Yoda’s inventive approach to hip-hop sampling and genre-hopping made him an ideal Camper Calling booking. Professor Green then added British hip-hop and grime to the musical mix, demonstrating that the festival was willing to move beyond the indie and pop sounds that might traditionally dominate a family-friendly event.

On the Arrow Stage, From The Jam provided a healthy dose of timeless British guitar music, with their set appealing to those looking for a more traditional rock experience.

Then, on the Lakeside Stage, came Groove Armada. The festival’s Friday headline DJ set was a clever choice. Groove Armada’s catalogue crosses generations and genres, with tracks such as “Superstylin'”, “I See You Baby” and “At the River” instantly recognisable even to those who might not consider themselves dance-music fans. The result was less a conventional headline show and more one enormous party.

That is something Camper Calling does particularly well. You can spend the afternoon watching a heritage indie band, wander off for food, let the children burn off some energy, and then return to find thousands of people dancing together beneath the evening sky. The music never feels like the only reason to be there.

Saturday was arguably the most diverse day of the weekend. Sophie Ellis-Bextor and The Zutons were among the Lakeside highlights, while Kula Shaker took headline duties on the Arrow Stage. It was a day that moved effortlessly between pop, indie, psychedelia and dance.

The Zutons were particularly well suited to the Camper Calling audience. Their catalogue, including “Valerie”, “Why Won’t You Give Me Your Love?” and “You Will You Won’t”, provided the kind of familiar indie singalong that can bring together people of very different ages.

“Tattva” and “Hush” were exactly the sort of tracks that could transport an audience back several decades, while the newer songs ensured that the performance felt like more than a nostalgia exercise.

But Saturday night’s biggest Lakeside attraction was undoubtedly Jessie J. The festival promised “seismic vocals”, and Jessie J delivered the sort of powerhouse performance that can make an outdoor stage feel like an arena. Her catalogue is packed with huge, instantly recognisable songs, including “Price Tag”, “Domino”, “Flashlight” and “Bang Bang”. That made her an especially strong Camper Calling headliner.

Her music appeals to multiple generations, and the festival environment allowed parents who had grown up with her songs to sing alongside younger fans discovering them for themselves. The enormous choruses were made for a crowd of thousands, and her vocal ability gave the performance a genuine sense of occasion.

One of the most important things to understand about Camper Calling is that the music is only part of the story. The 2024 programme was packed with children’s entertainment, creative workshops, wellbeing activities and other diversions away from the stages. The festival was designed so that families could spend an entire day on site without needing to structure their time entirely around bands.

Woody Cook added another energetic presence, while Dick and Dom brought a huge dose of nostalgia for parents who had grown up watching them on television. And then there was Mr Motivator.

His inclusion might seem surprising on a conventional music festival poster, but at Camper Calling it made perfect sense. The event is as interested in getting people laughing, dancing and participating as it is in watching musicians perform.

Barrioke took that idea even further, handing the microphone to the audience themselves. There is something wonderfully democratic about karaoke at a festival: while professional singers are performing on the major stages, anybody can become the entertainment for a few minutes.

The result was a programme that worked for different members of a family simultaneously. One person could be watching a band while another was enjoying an activity, and everyone could meet up later for food or a drink.

The food and drink offering was another important part of the weekend. Camper Calling promoted a wide variety of street food alongside its music and family programme, and this variety matters at a festival where people may be spending several days on site.

It is not simply about arriving for a headline act in the evening. There is a whole day to enjoy: coffee in the morning, activities during the afternoon, something from the food traders before the evening performances and drinks while wandering between stages.

The food areas also contribute to the festival’s social atmosphere. Families can stop for a meal, friends can meet for a drink and people have plenty of opportunities to sit down and watch the world go by. That relaxed approach is one of the reasons Camper Calling feels more like a weekend away than a traditional concert.

Sunday brought some of the most memorable performances of the weekend. Sophie Ellis-Bextor was one of the day’s major Lakeside attractions and delivered precisely the kind of set that Camper Calling audiences could embrace.

It was impossible not to join in. The renewed popularity of “Murder on the Dancefloor” made the finale particularly appropriate, while the mixture of disco, pop and dance classics ensured that even casual listeners had something to sing along to.

Hothouse Flowers provided a contrasting musical experience, while Bhangra Smash Up added another cultural and musical dimension to the programme. The Kairos, Dirty Blonde and The Rosadocs also deserve recognition for representing the festival’s emerging talent, ensuring that the weekend wasn’t simply built around established names.

On the Arrow Stage, The Beat featuring Ranking Jnr brought ska, reggae, soul and punk to the party. The band’s infectious rhythms made them another natural fit for a Sunday festival audience, with the emphasis very much on dancing rather than standing still.

For a festival built around communal experiences, Travis were almost the perfect closing act. The band have accumulated more than two decades of songs that have become part of the soundtrack of British life, and their performance was built around the sort of emotional, melodic material that works brilliantly in front of a large outdoor audience.

Travis have a particular talent for making melancholy sound uplifting. Songs that might feel intimate in a theatre become enormous communal moments at a festival, with thousands of voices joining together.

As the weekend drew towards its conclusion, the audience was no longer simply watching a band. It was sharing a soundtrack. That was the perfect way to close Camper Calling 2024.

The Old Time Sailors provided theatrical entertainment, while The Kairos and Dirty Blonde demonstrated that the festival was still interested in discovering newer artists. Even the inclusion of Mr Motivator, Hacker T Dog, Katie Thistleton, Dick and Dom and Barrioke made perfect sense when viewed as part of the overall programme.

Camper Calling isn’t trying to be Glastonbury, Reading or another traditional British music festival. It has its own identity.

The setting at Ragley Hall is a huge part of Camper Calling’s appeal. The Warwickshire estate provides a spectacular backdrop and helps create the sense that the festival is an escape from everyday life rather than simply a collection of temporary stages in a field.

The open surroundings encourage people to slow down. You can wander between stages, sit with a drink, watch the children play, grab some food or simply listen to music drifting across the site. That atmosphere contributes heavily to the festival’s friendliness.

It doesn’t need to be the biggest or wildest festival in Britain. Its appeal lies in being welcoming. Parents can enjoy the music while children have their own entertainment. Friends can meet for drinks. Campervan owners can socialise around their pitches. Different generations can enjoy completely different acts before coming together for the headline performance. That sense of shared experience is difficult to manufacture.

The Arrow Stage was equally strong, from Kula Shaker’s psychedelic celebration to From The Jam’s timeless British guitar music and The Beat featuring Ranking Jnr’s ska and reggae party. But the headline acts were only part of the story.

Sophie Ellis-Bextor delivered one of the weekend’s most joyful performances, The Zutons supplied an indie singalong, Professor Green and DJ Yoda broadened the musical palette, while Hothouse Flowers, Bhangra Smash Up, The Kairos, Dirty Blonde and The Rosadocs added variety.

Woody Cook, Hacker T Dog and Katie Thistleton, Dick and Dom, Barrioke and Mr Motivator ensured families were never an afterthought. The Lancashire Hotpots and Old Time Sailors added plenty of eccentric fun, while the food and drink provision helped turn the arena into somewhere people wanted to spend the whole day. Above all, there was the atmosphere.

Ragley Hall provided the setting, the artists provided the soundtrack, but the audience provided the soul. And perhaps that is the real secret of Camper Calling.

It isn’t simply a festival for campervan owners, and it isn’t simply a family festival or a music festival. It is a long weekend built around the rather simple idea that good music, good food, plenty to do and friendly people make for a very good time.

Camper Calling 2024 proved that when those ingredients come together, you don’t necessarily need to be the biggest festival in the country. Sometimes, all you need is a beautiful estate, a campervan, a few great bands, a happy family and somewhere to dance until Sunday night.