Thousands of music lovers attended Brantford’s CallHome Music Festival at Lions Park on Saturday, July 19, 2025.
Residents and out-of-town visitors spent the entirety of the two-day event enjoying a selection of Canadian bands, beverages and tasty treats from around 14 different vendors.
The event kicked off on Friday afternoon with a stacked lineup. The main stage featured performances from k-os, Bedouin Soundclash, USS and headliner Walk Off the Earth, while over on the side stage, Harm & Ease, Chiara Savasta and Brantford musician, Julian Hache, all took turns performing in between.
Fans returned to the park on Saturday evening for another round of live music from Canadian artists, the only exception being American-based band Pop Evil.
Ash Molloy, Barstool Confession and New Friends all hit the side stage while Wild High, Rusty, JJ Wilde, Pop Evil and headliners, The Glorious Sons, took over on the main stage.
Throughout the event, attendees played games of corn hole or tried their hand at axe-throwing over in the VIP section, lining up for refreshments, shopping from various vendors on site and rocking out to their favourite and new-to-them artists.
Jeff Gould, Carrie Wise, Barbi Gray and Rob Gray, said they traveled from the Kitchener area to attend Saturday’s event and see The Glorious Sons.
“We’re very excited to see them, I’ve been a big fan since 2015 so I can’t wait,” said Wise.
Barbi added that while they’ve never been to this particular festival before, they were enjoying it and would likely attend again.
“We’ve never been to this before so we’re just getting a feel of the place but so far, we’re loving it,” she said. “Really happy that there’s been a whole lot of Canadian talent here too, that’s always great to see.”
Jeffrey O’Donnell, another long-time fan of The Glorious Sons, said he was eager to see his favourite band, and that the event was his first-ever concert.
“I’m just getting chills thinking about it, I’m really excited,” he said.
When asked what he thought of the overall experience so far, O’Donnell said “I just love it, I absolutely love it.”
During the show on Saturday, Jamie Stephens, organizer and co-founder of the event, thanked attendees and his team for all their support. He also made a comment about the festival’s most recent name change.
Stephens and his business partner, Lance Calbeck, first launched the event back in 2015, and the two originally called the festival “WTFest” or “What The Fest.”
The event ran with the name for several years before it was rebranded to “Crew Fest” back in 2023, but following the success of last year’s festival, the organizers asked their fans to submit suggestions for a name that would stand the test of time.
Supporters ultimately voted in favour of the “CallHome Musical Festival,” an ode to Brantford’s reputation as the Telephone City.
“Thank you so much for supporting our festival. I know we keep changing our name… but we are now called CallHome Music Festival and I swear it’s never changing. Feel free to buy merch, you won’t have to worry about it being obsolete because it’s going to stay CallHome,” said Stephens. “We have an amazing team of staff and volunteers. I can’t name everybody without missing certain people, but it takes a village to put on this festival, guys, so round of applause for all the staff and volunteers.”
Kimberly De Jong’s reporting is funded by the Canadian government through its Local Journalism Initiative.The funding allows her to report rural and agricultural stories from Blandford-Blenheim and Brant County. Reach her at kimberly.dejong@brantbeacon.ca.
