Simon RushworthCall Of The Wild sets the benchmark for the perfectly formed British summer rock festival. Day two of the 2025 edition successfully raised the bar.
Imagine walking into the main arena of your favourite festival on a sunny Saturday afternoon and the first act you clap eyes on is the sparkling Austin Gold.
Talk about setting the standard on day two of this fabulous shindig at Lincolnshire’s Showground.
David James Smith and the gang rarely dip below a lofty classic rock standard established by Free, Bad Company, Deep Purple et al.
And tunes hewn from 2024’s Ain’t No Saint suggest the best is yet to come from this classy quartet. It seems all that glitters really is gold.
White Tygër are celebrating a decade doing what everyone else did three decades before that.
But their Delorean-injected 80s-styled hair metal could give the increasingly lame Steel Panther a right old kick up the Spandex.
A high-energy, low mentality set sent Call Of The Wild into a retro-fuelled frenzy — suddenly Eastern England felt like West Hollywood as soaring solos and clichéd choruses soundtracked Super Saturday.
The Beastie Boys refrain of No Fucks Given stuck up a defiant middle finger to those fans who didn’t quite get it. The rest of us had a ball.
This House We Built crashed the Rushonrock radar at Call Of The Wild a couple of years ago and we couldn’t wait to check in on our new favourite band.
Safe to say Scarborough’s finest (we’ll allow them the accolade in lieu of any Little Angels reunion) continue to make giant Def Leppard-styled strides towards the top.
The quality of the band’s musicianship is jaw-dropping — heavy blues rock jostles for position with on-point pop rock as frontman Scott Wardell delivers singalong anthems for fun.
An exceptional cover of John Farnham’s AOR banger You’re The Voice and a pin sharp rendition of Coming Home To You capped a standout set.
Black Lakes look like the nastiest bunch of blokes you could ever have the misfortune to bump into.
But don’t let the carefully pitched black uniforms and even darker stares distract you from the brilliant music: the Romesh Dodangoda-approved alt rockers are the real deal.
Angular riffs and pounding rhythms underpin some seriously thought-provoking lyrics: Burn and Avarice are brutally forthright.
Did the Southall Lawless stage just witness South Wales’ next big thing?
Could well be. Black Lakes are awash with visceral potential.
Falling Red gigs are few and far between these days but when the Cumbrian sleazemeisters do get back together then the sparks inevitably fly.
It was entirely fitting that the Southall Lawless stage hosted a band of brothers forever united by the passing of former members Mikey and Ringo.
And with the memories of those two rock and roll renegades refusing to die, this was a triumphant tribute to fallen heroes.
If the songs were the focus then the camaraderie shone through. Rozey and Matty Penn (the latter was up and at it again after the previous day’s Heartbreak Remedy set) batted some quality banter back and forth.
And stand-in axe slinger Marc owned the space to Rozey’s right after just one rehearsal with his ole buddies.
A boisterous version of Bryan Adam’s Run To You was riotously good fun. But Falling Red are the lords of fun.
Bonafide are back! Well, they’ve never really been away but this was the Swedish band’s first trip to the UK since 2018.
And it’s safe to say absence really does make the heart grow fonder.
Crafting singalong rock and roll in the vein of classic AC/DC is in Bonafide’s DNA and it appears Pontus Snibb and co. are getting better with age.
Malmo’s answer to Rose Tattoo looked like they were having the time of their lives readying the crowd for fellow countrymen Royal Republic.
Hero To Zero or Smoke And Fire… take your pick as track of the weekend. Two Bonafide bangers exploding with energy.
At some point on Saturday night — and without warning — the Trailblazer Stage was transformed into Call Of The Wild’s very own comedy tent.
The individuals responsible for this distinct if unexpected switch in tone? Quireboys frontman Spike and his dependable sidekick/straight man Willie Dowling.
Those expecting 100 per cent rock and roll from a ‘surprise set’ (the details were leaked just a few hours before the curtain came up) were either sorely disappointed or, judging by the majority view, absolutely delighted.
Whether it was planned or not (and Spike, let’s face it, isn’t famed for his preparation) an hilarious turn brought the house down with many hailing it the set of the weekend.
Flitting between Quireboys’ classics and folk-inspired throwbacks, the bandana-wearing frontman ensured there wasn’t a dry eye in the house thanks to his witty one-liners and savage put-downs.
Somehow an exasperated Dowling held it together long enough to enhance a spine-tingling version of I Don’t Love You Anymore and Spike’s do-it-all wingman surely deserves a pay rise.
Maybe he’ll settle for a long lie down in a darkened room.
There are festival headliners and then there’s Royal Republic.
If any band defines the relentlessly optimistic Swedish invasion then it’s a quartet whose ambition simply knows no bounds.
Genre-fluid and proud of it, this preposterously good band veered from Eurovision-styled pop rock to pulsating trad metal and everything in between.
Stripped back acapella ballads jostled for position with weighty thrash covers as Royal Republic sought to satiate a collective appetite for the unpredictable.
A feast for the senses was founded on an impossibly slick light show and pin-sharp production: flawless just about sums it up.
LoveCop and Lazerlove pushed all the right buttons as a right Royal knees-up gathered pace. This was all killer and no filler from the kings of cool.
And finally…
…Juliet’s Not Dead were a late addition to this year’s Call Of The Wild line-up but fresh from a triumphant trip Stateside the band formally known as Twister invaded the Trailblazer tent with hurricane force.
Stevie Stoker’s always been a compelling frontman but it’s like a switch has been flicked these last few months. The vocals slay, the moves live long in the memory and it seems like he’s taking his charisma cue from Coverdale.
There are moments in a band’s evolution when everything appears to point to future success: this was one of those nights when one of the NWOCR’s most tantalising prospects looked like they could take on the world — and win.
Watch this space.
Catch up on day one from Call Of The Wild Festival 2025 here.
Check out Rushonrock’s YouTube channel to see all of 2025’s Call Of The Wild action plus playlists from previous years.
All images courtesy of Call Of The Wild.