CallHome Music Festival Delivers Record-Breaking Weekend in Brantford, ON [Photos]

CallHome Music Festival kicked off its second year under the festival’s newfound name, after having had its name changed from WTFest to Crewfest. This year’s festival was marketed as the biggest yet and saw names coming to Brantford, Ontario, that the city has never seen before.

Night one kicked off on July 24th with an interesting mix of artists. With a mixture of ’90s alt rock and 2010s pop, the show brought in a few fan favourites that had people singing along all night.

The main stage kicked off with the winner of the battle of the bands, which took place the week prior. This year’s winners were a pop-punk band from London, Ontario: Full Throttle.

This band has been performing together for a few years, forming in high school, and has taken over the hearts of pop-punk fans with a sound similar to Blink-182, especially the track “Third First Date,” where they throw out some ‘your mom’ jokes just like Blink would.

When you’re in this position, you have to get the crowd started, and Full Throttle definitely got the crowd started and packed in an attractive crowd. Their job was done well; they had the crowd started and ready for an evening of music.

Fefe Dobson was next. For anyone who was born in the 2000s, including myself, you know that Fefe Dobson was all over pop radio. Whether it was “Ghost” or “Stuttering,” when I told my parents to put on 99.9 Virgin Radio, I knew I was going to hear Dobson eventually.

Her set featured a mixture of new songs with the old songs sprinkled in, and everyone in the crowd knew the words to the old songs. She brought lively energy to the stage and had the crowd’s voices warmed up for an evening of singing.

Next up was Matthew Good, who took it down a notch and focused on the vocal delivery rather than the on-stage antics. Something that he’s known for the past few years.

Rather than jumping around the stage, Good interacted with the crowd by having the crowd sing the chorus, while he sang the verse on some of his massive hits like “Load Me Up.”

Good’s vocal performance was impressive, and his voice hasn’t aged at all. People can say what he wants about his lack of on-stage entertainment, but in return you get an authentic vocal performance that’ll take you back to the ’90s.

The headliner for night one was legendary ’90s band Bush. These guys end up in the province a couple times a year, but this was the first time I managed to catch them at a festival, which makes frontman Gavin Rossdale’s off-stage antics a little difficult.

The set focused mostly on the new album I Beat Loneliness, which was released just a little over a year ago. The album delivers a more melodic sound in my opinion, and focuses significantly on the topic of mental health.

Despite focusing on all of the new work, the band still makes sure they pay their homage to the old stuff off of Sixteen Stone that took the world by storm in 1994. Kicking the set off with “Everything Zen” and pulling out “Glycerine” midway through the set.

The second-to-last track, titled “Flowers On A Grave,” saw Gavin Rossdale hopping off the stage and running through the crowd. In an arena, it’s a little easier for him to do this compared to an open festival. But he made it work and eventually got back on the stage.

The set concluded with the final track on the new album “I Beat Loneliness,” and with an abrupt end, the band cleared the stage for a few minutes before returning for an encore that gave the crowd a singalong session with “Swallowed,” “Machinehead,” and “Comedown.”

Night 1 of CallHome concluded after a mixed lineup that took fans down a music era of modern pop-punk, 2010s pop, and ’90s alt rock. Night 2 was expected to have 1,000 to 2,000 more people, according to Jamie Stephens, as the festival features one of the biggest artists to come to Brantford.

Night 2 kicked off with local talent Cyco Sumo, featuring Skye Sweetnam. A former pop singer from the 2000s who changed paths and became a rockstar later in life. The group delivered an energetic start to the day and brought in all the locals from Brantford.

Next up was Econoline Crush, the Canadian industrial alt-rock band best known for their 2001 release “You Don’t Know What It’s Like.”

The band has gone through a long history of lineup changes, with the most recent change happening in 2026. The band now features Steph Seki on bass, Keith Heppler on the drums, Brett Carruthers on guitar, and vocalist Trevor Hurst, who has remained the only original member since 1992.

The group has been touring extensively in 2026 to celebrate the release of their 2026 self-titled compilation, a collection of all of the band’s greatest hits. The setlist in Brantford was a celebration of the band’s history, with songs from the beginning of the band to the most recent release.

The second-to-last band of the festival brought the crowd a sound that was closer to the headliner than the bands prior. After taking almost a year break from touring, Gob is back on the road and ended up playing with The Offspring in Timmins the night before heading to Brantford.

Guitarists and singers Tom Thacker and Theo Goutzinakis brought a high-energy, silly stage presence that Gob has been known for. The group brought in a large crowd, as Canadian fans of pop-punk music have been listening to Gob since the ’90s.

The stage was more than warmed up with the help of Gob, Econoline Crush and Cyco Sumo. Lions Park was filling up, breaking the record attendance for the festival, and with a one-hour switch between bands, fans were eager to experience history.

With the park filled front to back and fans ready, The Offspring took the stage as the largest band to play in Brantford, Ontario. The crowd erupted when they walked out, and it didn’t end as the band kicked right into “Come Out and Play.”

The Offspring delivered an electric set all night long, and you know they had to include some stage banter. Including a part where they talk about breaking the all-time record with… three million people in the crowd, including three people giving birth during the show. Craziest bit of banter I’ve heard at a concert!

Midway through the set, the band had a cover section. They first paid homage to Ozzy Osbourne with short covers of “Electric Funeral,” “Paranoid,” and “Crazy Train.” The band then took off except for Noodles, who played “In the Hall of the Mountain King” by Edvard Grieg. The whole band came back out and played a full cover of “Love Story” by Taylor Swift. Taking the crowd back to the days when Punk Goes Pop was relevant.

The band continued to rip through the setlist until they all took off again. But this time they left drummer Brandon Pertzborn, who entertained the crowd for a little bit. After delivering a long drum solo that had the crowd in awe, the band kicked into their best hits for the remainder of the setlist.

With beach balls flying around the crowd, the set ended with “The Kids Aren’t Alright.” But with a couple of hits missing from the setlist, the crowd knew they were coming back out for an encore.

It didn’t take long for the band to take the stage again; this time it was the true ending as they finished it off with “You’re Gonna Go Far, Kid” and “Self Esteem.”

The 2026 iteration of the CallHome Festival broke records and brought the largest act ever to the festival. With a weekend of rock and roll, bringing a community together, and breaking more than one record, music fans in Brantford enjoyed a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity and can only hope for the same result next year.