We at We Shoot Music had been looking forward to Call of the Wild all year, as there is always a great atmosphere and a really diverse lineup, with plenty of choice to keep everyone entertained (not to mention the amazing food and drink options and stalls to browse!) The organisers are top notch and there’s a real sense of community, with so many friendly faces.
By the time we arrived at Lincolnshire Showground and got set up, the VIP welcome party was in full swing. We got some food and a beer and listened to everyone rocking to This House We Built, Takeaway Thieves and The Needful Things, then chilled at the tent with a few more beers to start the festival weekend off right.
On Friday morning there were some sore heads in the arena but everyone soon seemed to recover with a good breakfast in them, and the festival proper kicked off with the bluesy rock tones of Beggars Bliss on the Southall Lawless stage and party vibes of Dead Zebras on the Kilmister stage, with the first confetti cannon of the weekend.
The great thing about Call of the Wild is that the two main stages are right next to each other, so as one band finishes there is a quick soundcheck on the other stage and then the next band can begin. There is also the Trailblazer stage which is undercover at the back of the Wolfpack bar, giving even more choice. I nipped off to see Dead Reynolds on Trailblazer and they got a very good crowd in. I hadn’t seen them before and really enjoyed their set.
I only caught the end of Foxx’s set, unfortunately; we’d chatted to Dean Marshall at the welcome party and he was a very entertaining guy, so I wish I’d caught more. Great voice!
Next up were Matted, young alt grunge-rockers with a captivating sound and stage presence.
Straight for the Sun came charging in, bringing the alt metal with heavy riffs which I loved.
The Hot One Two are a band I’ve seen many times and was really looking forward to, and they certainly didn’t disappoint. There was pyro aplenty, and guitarist NIck Manners joked ,“as if it wasn’t hot enough, we brought our own fire!” They proved a very popular choice, with everyone singing along and having a great time.
I headed back to Trailblazer to catch Thieves of Liberty (another personal favourite) headlining the stage, and many other people had the same idea. The tent got very hot & sweaty with everyone packed in, and you could see the lads getting rather sweaty on stage but it didn’t affect their performance at all. They gave it everything they had, and were clearly another very popular booking.
Back outside it was finally cooling down, but the bands were still red hot. York Metalcore icons Glamour of the Kill, who had returned from a lengthy hiatus, were right up my street with weighty riffs and melodic choruses combined with dirty vocals. I can’t believe I hadn’t seen them before and will definitely be checking them out further.
Main headliners, South Wales’ finest 3-piece Florence Black, delivered a flawless performance with plenty of pyro and confetti cannons, and the crowd were loving it. A great first day which finished on a real high.
On Saturday morning we got the news that Pyroclast unfortunately couldn’t make it so the day began with Catalysis on the Southall Lawless Stage followed by Survivalist on Kilmister. There’s nothing like a bit of metalcore to start the day off right, and both bands killed it and got the pits going.
Crowd favourites Ransom brought the stadium rock vibes to CotW with a cracking performance as always, (there was even line dancing!) followed by another favourite band of mine, Recall the Remains. I tried to be in front of the stage as much as I could, but the blazing sun and my black RtR t-shirt weren’t mixing too well so I had to hang back in the shade for some of it unfortunately. It was a blistering set in every sense of the word!
I then headed off to Trailblazer to see Beautiful Freakin Weirdo, three characters played by one man, Michael Pritchard, who sings and plays guitar to backing tracks which could fool you into thinking there was a full band on stage. I really enjoyed the electro rock vibes with a deep message, against the psychedelic backdrop. It was great to see people dancing and swaying at the front and everyone was mesmerised by the performance.
We’d known for a while that there was a surprise band on Trailblazer in the afternoon, and found out earlier in the day that it was the brilliant SoCal rockers Bullets and Octane, who were partway through a UK tour. Of course the tent became packed out for their set which did not disappoint. One highlight was when a very sweaty Gene Louis made his way into the adoring crowd and invited Ryan from Liberty Slaves to join in on vocals. Such a great addition to the festival.
I found out later in the day that Spike from The Quireboys appeared on stage with Trailblazer headliners Soho Dukes, so I was really sorry to have missed that, but I was watching Muddibrooke tear up the Southall Lawless stage – what a strong performance from a band who get better every time I see them.
Wolfsbane headlined the Southall Lawless stage and brought all the Howlin’ Mad S**”heads to the front, me included, for a brilliant set with loads of singalong songs, then it was time for the Saturday headliners, the mighty Onslaught to bring the thrash and pyro. I always love the variety of acts at CotW, and Onslaught were a great choice.
Another surprise performance we’d found out about earlier in the day was Danny Vaughn on the Trailblazer stage at 10:30 pm, so as much as I was loving Onslaught, I did sneak off a little early to catch some of his set. Once again, the tent was packed out – in fact the busiest I’d seen it so far. Dany chilled us all out after a heavy day.
Sunday began with young band RetsecroWs (that’s Worcester backwards, with an extra s to make it plural!) who intrigued the crowd with lots of trees on stage and a dramatic spoken intro. They played a cracking set and I saw people afterwards with saplings that they’d given out in the signing tent.
Popular three-piece Apriori rocked the crowd with their hard rock anthems and catchy choruses. Another band who I have seen a few times now and always enjoy being entertained by.
Australian heavy metallers Wicked Smile were a new discovery for me and I’ll definitely be checking them out further. There were huge hooks and powerful vocals reminiscent of 80s power metal bands. Cassidy Paris made a guest appearance and her amazing voice lent itself so well to the band’s style.
Next up were Fireheart who have a huge online community, and I saw lots of merch around the arena all weekend, so I wasn’t at all surprised that they drew a big crowd to the stage. Fireheart entertained us with catchy, singalong choruses and a strong message of hope and resilience. Cassidy Paris once again appeared on guest vocals and totally smashed it.
Headlining the Southall Lawless stage were Australian brothers Sisters Doll who brought the glam rock with big melodies – and probably the highest flames- to Call of the Wild.
The weekend was rounded off in great style by the amazing Von Herzen Brothers, another band of actual brothers, who are celebrating their 25th year as a band. The Finnish rockers, known for their folk influences and soaring harmonies, were a perfect finish to the festival and everyone was awed by their performance.
I needed an early-ish night after all the excitement, but I enjoyed hearing the Sisters of Spin after party, and everyone singing along
We had a great weekend at Call of the Wild, as we always do. The warmth and sunshine this year brought a holiday atmosphere to the festival, and the addition of a large shelter in the arena was extremely welcome. We discovered new bands and sang along to some of our favourites. The organisers, volunteers, medics and security staff were all amazing and couldn’t do enough for us. Bring on CotW 2027 ❤️
Words: Rachel McMurdo
Photos: Fiona Turner
