CALL OF THE WILD DAY 1 Review

Call Of The Wild Festival 2026: And the Wolfpack’s - Lincolnshire Showground, Grange De Lincs, Lincoln, Lincolnshire, 28^th to the 31^st May.

Well this festival did not disappoint, what a wonderful time was had here.

The COTW festival was blessed by the universe as well, to have the most glorious summer weather you could have ever wished for, with air temperatures ranged from 25c to 29c, it was fabulous, with beautiful blue skies and brilliant sunshine throughout the days, with the odd humid light little shower to refresh, but that passed over quick.

And the evening sunset with glowing orange, pink and purple, set the backdrop to the fabulous music that was pleasing our ear’s.

The festival is set on a fabulous facility, which used to be back in the day, a local RAF air base and land of theirs. There still is a working RAF airbase very close by, and on the Friday afternoon we also had an amazing pass of the renound Red Arrows air flying formation team, who were practicing in the area.

The showground now, and has been for years, used for various events throughout the year. So it is wonderful that Call of the Wild festival is now a firm favourite at the Lincolnshire showground now too, with people traveling from all over the UK and the world, with audience rockers there from Ireland, Australia, Finland, Sweden, Scotland, Wales, that I knew of, and other places too I’m sure! A great integrated festival for all ages, gender, race, nationality and disability, everyone is included.

With great facilities for anyone wanting to camp onsite, with posh fun glamping tents, your own tent, caravans, vans, motorhomes. There are plenty of toilet and shower block facilities, and on an evening when it got dark there were fairly light lights lighting the way of some of the paths, which just looked so mystical and atmospheric to add to the mix, all kept so clean and tidy. Surrounded there with the views of the lovely countryside of the Lincolnshire Wolds. And I must say this of the Rock community, that all is kept clean and tidy, and it is a total credit to them in their environments and rock scene gatherings.

And a huge shout out goes out to all the organisers at COTW 2026 …

To Raz White, and Dave O’ Hara, Upstaged, and everybody who has worked tirelessly to put this great event on, to deliver the exciting goods to us Rock music lovers.

The COTW festival opening started on the Thursday evening, with the V.I.P Welcome Party - Rock Riot Party in the Trailblazers marquee, which saw Dean Fox kicking the evening off, doing a brilliant set, getting the crowd going, singing along and warming up the vibe. He was well received.

Next up was the wonderful band - This House We Built, from Scarborough, who are now getting recognised on a huge scale, and are very popular with an audience, playing songs from their 1^st album, including “You’re the voice”, which was influenced by Danny Vaughn of Tyketto fame, who THWB supported on some of their touring shows. The emotional song ”Fly me up to the moon”. And from their latest 2^nd album release “Better man”, “Addiction”, “Coming home to you”, under their own independent record label called … ‘Get Out Of The Rain’

This House We Built’s set was very well received, with the crowd participating along to choruses, with an array of their fans in This House we Built T shirts, sway dancing, clapping and fist pumping the air, enjoying themselves, as they whole audience did too. The band are well liked and rightly so, and Scott - Vocals & guitar, never fails to deliver and entertain, with his volcanic explosive, cheeky but very loveable stage persona presence. Though Scott has a good mix of emotion and fun all rolled in together, with Andy on guitar and vocals, Chris on drums and Wayne on Bass.

They were joined by a lady on stage late in the set, who was a fan who had come all the way from Australia. They saw her and plucked out of the crowd, to come up on the stage and sing with them. She couldn’t believe her luck, and was loving every minute of being on stage with them, to a huge raw of applause from the crowd who were willing the fun party atmosphere along.

Scott was the perfect front man bringing a multitude of emotions to the stage throughout the bands performance, and a joy and uplifting set to hear and watch. They are an upcoming band to take notice of, check them out.

Then next to take the stage were the Takeaway Thieves who are Blackpool based and formed in 2018, they are Peter on Lead vocals, Neil on Rhythm Guitar, Ben on lead guitar, The Rev - Bass guitar and Max on drums. with their old school hard rock sound with glam swagger. They are under the All About The Music Management, on the Coffee N Mint Record Label, playing their songs of the likes of, “Gypsy”, “Kickin’ My Heart Around”, “Sundance”, and “Soothe Me”, - check them out too, as they gave a strong charismatic rocking vibe to their set - a band to take notice of.

The final band of the evening was The Needful Things – a UK based rock underground supergroup, featuring a rotating line up of musicians from bands like The Wildhearts, New Generation Superstars and Enuff Z’nuff. They cover material from members past bands and are known for their high energy, good – time rock N’roll.

“I wanna go where the people go” was just one of the songs that sent the crowd wild!

The Rock Riot Party gig carried on into the early hours, with a rock disco until the COTW revellers eventually departed of to their tents and accommodation, to then just dream of the next day of fabulous music to arrive.

Day 1 of the main bands: Friday the 30^th May 2026 Call of the Wild Festival.

The sun was up and shining early and ready again for the COTW festival 2026, for another blazing show of the talent that was performing there.

The showground was buzzing with excitement and familiarity, and everyone was there who had arrived setting up again in their favourite spots on the main grass area with their friends and family, or chatting also to who they had met too while pottering around the field looking about and socialising to the mesmerising sound of the festival vibe, and getting in position for their great views of the Southhall Lawless Stage, and the Kilmister stages, which you could actually see pretty much from any viewpoint of the showground field which was great.

Festival smells filled the air, from the food stalls, to the patchouli from the hippy stall, and scent’s from the other stalls, to the test smoke from the pyrotechnics, which set the scene, and the vibe that was felt was just an electric feeling of anticipation and excitement, and a bit of giddy happiness, as you waited for the bands to be announced and to burst onto the stage.

The first band to come onto the Southhall Lawless stage were Beggars Bliss, which are a blues driven rock outfit from Derby, formed in 2024, with a one rule ethos ‘if it’s not fun then it’s not worth doing’. The 4 band members are Henry John - Vocals, Milly Ayesha - Keyboards and vocals, Dan Griffths - Bass and vocals, and Chris West on Drums. They opened the stage with impressive solos and near constant 3-part harmonies, with plenty of opportunities for audience participation.

The next band to appear and grace the other stage - The Kilmister stage - named after Lemmy.

It was the turn of the energetic Dead Zebras. They burst on to the stage getting the crowd going from the go! This band who have signed up with Upstaged, are a London based band, blending 80s hair metal swagger with modern UK radio rock - with George Alex on lead vocals, wearing the most amazing zebra print rock pants, and the other members in black and white assembles. Ky Underhill on Guitar, Jamie Cottrell on Bass, and Lukas Pietraszewski on Drums, belting out their tracks – “Heartbreak”, “All night long” and a cover of Queens “ Keep yourself alive”, with the crowd loving their stage swagger rockmanship.

For their finale there was a huge canon explosion of paper confetti that shot up into the sky and looked like a snow shower, with the crowd reacting with a huge cheer. A band definitely to keep and eye on and go and see.

Back over to the Southhall Lawless stage, the band Foxx - put together by lead singer/ guitarist Dean Fox, Joss Riot - lead guitar, Jordan Allen - Bass guitar, a female backing singer, and Cory J Hall on Drums. They are blues rock influenced band, with a tight flowing set. Playing songs like “I’m back” and “Back Street Romeo”. Foxx are a good crowd pleasing band, which went down well.

Matted which is a UK band, played the Kilmister stage from 1pm, and are a grunge/hard rock band.

On lead vocals is Max Walker who’s say’s his star sign is a Cancer, and his favourite colour is anything bright and colourful, and he likes smiles, rainbows and the smell of baked bread!

Jake Slack is on Guitar, who is a Libra. Who like’s his dog and the other band members. Jacob Swan on Bass, who is a Scorpio. Like’s AC/DC, heavy rock music, football and having a good time with the lads in the band!

On Guitar is Oscar Paulley, his sign is an Aquarius and he likes the colour green. He likes song writing and experimenting with different ideas, and going for beers with his band mates. On the Drums is Tom Walker, he’s also an Aquarius. He loves the colours Silver and Teal, likes loud snare drums, guitars and amps - even though he can’t play those, trimming and decorating clothes, and anything that sounds industrial………….so they are quite a creative lot!

Matted played the songs, “Gaslight” which is a drum lead track and a heavier sound, “Flowers and chains” which was a storytelling song, leading to a punchy chorus, and “Material” which was a slower paced song, but still with a heavy grindy sound to it.

Straight For The Sun took the 2pm slot on the Southall Lawless Stage and by this time the weather was a soaring 25 degrees Celsius - though they bounded onto the stage like troopers.

These are a 5 piece band, hailing from Birmingham, the metal city of the late Ozzy Osbourne fame. They are a heavier sounding rock band, known for heavy guitar riffs, fast paced drums, and melodic vocals, blending modern alternative metal with punchy elements with their layered rawness, with a comparison to bands like Alter Bridge and Life of agony similarity. Known on the circuit for their energetic live shows, and for their rememberable songs “Walk” and “Remember me”.

The band line up is - Callum Green - Vocals, Pauly Barter - Lead Guitar, Tom Haywood - Rhythm Guitar, Oz Jackson - Bass, and Jamie Human on the Drums.

They certainly made their mark on the COTW festival, with a huge round of applause at the end of their set.

Back on the Kilmister stage, it was the turn of The Rachet Dolls, who came all the way from Texas, U.S.A.

They burst onto the stage looking like they were going to really enjoy themselves, and they did. They are a high-octane hard rock and heavy metal band, heavily influenced by the great sounds of the 1970s and 1980s, and were formed late 2010 in Texas.

Their latest works and notable singles, include “The Enemy” and “Take me Down” and the punchy rhythm lyrical song “Loud! Loud! Loud!”

And their four permanent members are, Keven Sauceda – Vocals / Lead Guitar, Sam Longoria - Rhythm Guitar, Frank X. Salinas - Bass, and JJ Gomez on the Drums.

The band has been touring internationally, with their current schedule taking them to here in the UK at the COTW, Sweden, and Norway, then followed by a wide-range US tour, so they are jet setting very busy guys.

They made an impact here at the Call of the Wild festival and were very well received by the audience.

The crowd was very warmed up by now and just loving the music …

And once again then it was back over to the Kilmister stage, for The Hot One Two, and although it was warm weather for these bands to play in, the temperatures did rise once the pyros were set off, though they kept doing it with style and rock grit.

The Hot One Two are a hard rock quintet hailing from Cambridge, UK, founded in 2017 by Bassist/Vocals - Nick Blackburn (Known as ‘Bibble’), Lead Guitarist/Vocals - Nick Manners, and Drummer Joe Chivers, Vocals - Simon West, and Matti - Rhythm Guitar.

The band is known for their heavier sound blending with 80s rock swagger though with heavy riffs.

They signed with TowerRok Band Management in 2022.

Following 2 successful Eps (Come whatever May and Unrestrained) They dropped a out their critically acclaimed debut album Superbia in 2023.

They reeled their song off such as, Alive Again, Let the Good Times, Grindstone, Tie me down, a mix of their albums Superbia and their new album Virtues.

And some of the crowd I was near was saying to me that so far it was the performance of the day for them. So, they went down very well with their performance.

The Chuck Norris Experiment (Kilmister Stage - 5pm)

This band is from Gothenburg, Sweden, often abbreviated as the CNE - and formed in 2004. Despite the name, they are actually a tribute to the American blues guitarist Charles ‘Chuck’ Norris. And are comparable to bands like the Hellacopters and AC/DC sound.

The band compromises of, Chuck Ransom on Vocals, Chuck Rooster on Guitar, Chuck the Ripper on Guitar, Chuck Daniels on Guitar, Chuck Dekota on Bass, and not forgetting Chuck Buzz on the drums.

The Chuck Norris Experiment is a high octane mix of hard rock, action rock, lyrical rock, and punk rock rolled into one.

They were loving it up on the stage and shouted ‘The Call of The Wild is one of the nicest festivals we’ve played at’ and the crowd gave them a huge cheer back, and straight back into the music, with the crowd loving their vibe too, with songs like “You got it coming” “Handgrenade”, “All my friends are dead”, “Stairway to the stars”, “Kill the Night”, “When the dust settles”, and “Where Eagles dare”, the crowd definitely got behind them, to a huge applause at the end of their set.

Tomorrow is Lost, is a hard rock band formed in 2017 in Newcastle upon Tyne in the North East of the UK, and recently reforming after a 4 year absence, and their second time playing the festival 6 years apart.

Their line up is, Cass King - Lead Vocals, Ryan O’Hara - Guitar, Joe Mac - Guitar, Josh Forden - Bass, and Marc Rush - Drums.

They played a good all rounder set, playing tracks from their debut single ‘Insane’ their Shadowman EP, and their full-length album Therapy.

Great to see them back on stage once again.

And so, it was back over to the Kilmister Stage, for the appearance of Glamour of the Kill. The band was formed in 2007 and hail from York, the North East city of the Vikings.

After nearly 20 years together , GOTK have made the hard decision to move forward without their founding drummer Ben Thomson as the band ramps up its activity, and have recruited Josh Hardy.

The band is known for their heavy metalcore sound.

They’ve gained prominence supporting major acts over the years and now are here playing at the COTW festival.

After a little bit of time away to explore other careers, the band announced their reunion in 2018, playing a string of sold-out shows comeback shows across the UK, including a highly anticipated gig at London’s Camden Underworld.

They returned to the studio and released the single ‘Fire Flight’ and now they’ve continued on to craft new material. With songs under their belt like, Vengeance, Second Chance, Resurrection.

Some of the crowd formed a mosh pit at the front of the stage crowd area and enjoyed getting into their own world with the music appreciation.

And the band had great pyrotechnics – I should have taken some marshmallows!

And they said in their closing speech that their dreams had come true playing at the Call of the Wild Festival.

They didn’t disappoint, and sure we’ll be seeing more of them about on the current Rock scene.

Myke Gray and his band were the final band on the Southhall Lawless Stage.

Myke Grey had a vast heritage in the UK and International rock music scene, from be it his band in the late 80’s Jagged Edge that he first found rock music status fame in, spectacular guitar playing skills and stage personality found another home in his next band Skin, the band should have broken through more than they did, as they made some brilliant albums.

Now Myke is back, and has been these past few years’ building up with his memorable music, touring the UK, and now with his new line up, featuring Myke Gray on Lead Guitar and vocals, Henry Gottelier on main lead Vocals, Tony Lang on Guitar, Colin Parkinson on Bass, and Neil Ogden on Drums.

Tony Lang is also a part of the band Apriori, who also played at the festival.

And it was then time for Myke Gray and his band to burst onto the stage, and that they did, with a huge roar from the crowd.

The bands sound was crisp lyrical and pure rock ‘rock n roll’ , with Myke looking like his guitar was a part of him, and rhythmically moving to every beat of music he was playing too. Frontman Henry was on point delivering fabulous vocals, with Tony on rhythm/lead guitar and making the notes just float out into the crowd with his style, Neil on Drums kept the beat and tempo, and Colin on Bass kept the bottom end drive, and together they sounded like they had been together years!

They reeled off all the favourites, “House of Love”, “Raised on Radio”, “Stronger”, “Money”, “Take me down to the river”, “Tower of Strength”, and “Shine your light on me” to end and the lighting to this set was amazing and made the whole Myke Gray Band experience very atmospheric, against the beautiful Lincolnshire evening sunset sky.

The weather for the evening was still absolutely gorgeous, it couldn’t have been any better if you’d tried, the sky was just pastel pearly in the warm 22c air and seeped in light blue, orange, purple and light pink hues and the sun was starting to set but was a beautiful glow orange colour of the sunset lit the skyline, and a few evening star’s were starting to appear, and the perfect que for the headlining band to take the stage, so it was back looking in the direction of the Kilmister Stage at 21.40pm for the explosive rockin entrance of the mighty Florence Black.

The firework pyrotechnics lit the stage, lighting up the sky, and vertical illuminated smoke flares blasted up, and a flashing light show burst out and up across the stage, setting the scene for an impressive arrival.

As Florence Black roared into their set list, and performed a mix of track’s from their “Weight of the world” and “Bed of Nails” Eps, with songs “Bird on a Chain”, “Take My Word”, “Coloured In”, “Start again”, “The Deep End”, “Smoke”, “On the Ropes”, “Stuck in the Corner”, “Warning Signs”, “Sun & Moon”, “Rockin Ring”, the songs kept on coming, to the Rocas call and response roar of the Call of the Wild crowd.

The band members are, Tristan Thomas - Lead Vocals/Guitar, Jordan Evans Bass/Backing Vocals, and Perry - Davies Drums/Backing Vocals, who had just celebrated his Birthday.

The hard rockin rock power trio come from Merthyr Tydfill in South Wales, and are Childhood friends, and have been playing together in this band since 2012.

They opened to thunderous guitar riffs, drums, and vocals, and the crowd went wild! The crowd were in good form too from their day of supporting all the bands of the day and evening, and there was a fabulous atmosphere in the evening air. Crowd fists punching in the air at every chance they got, to the beats of the music, and shouting for more.

Florence Black did not disappoint, and the stage once again lit up with pyrotechnics, glittery paper confetti and smoke blasts, in time to the lighting show. What an amazing show it was, as they took to the front of the stage to take their encore bow.

With the crowd of all ages, gender, colour, creed, shouting in appreciation and Joy, at the fabulous experience of live music they had soaked up and seen, then, and throughout the day too.

What an amazing end to day 1 of The Call of The Wild Festival, and the buzz in the air was still apparent, in the glow of the evening sky, and the festival lights, with the showground still full of happy music festival goers, just loving life, while other band members now were also mingling about too, enjoying the social side of the festival life too, as one big happy rock family, it was such an heartwarming sight to see.