Saturday 30th August
Enjoy a WILD adventure at Yorkshire Wildlife Park followed by an incredible evening of LIVE music from Sam Ryder & special guests; Aston Merrygold & The Wanted 2.0!
Sam Ryder
Joining us on the Wild Live Stage this summer, British singer, songwriter and viral sensation - Sam Ryder will be joining us on Saturday 30th August fresh off his American tour with special guests Aston Merrygold & The Wanted 2.0!
Our excitement is up in Space, man!
30th Aug 2025
- Enjoy all day entry to Yorkshire Wildlife Park from 9:45am
- Followed by an evening on incredible live music!
- All included in your Wild Live Concert tickets
Concert tickets INCLUDE all day entry to Yorkshire Wildlife Park!
Explore the lands of the park with some of the world's most endangered and incredible animals before heading down to the venue field for an incredible evening of live music from Björn Again!
Plus, Shop - Dine - Play - Stay at The Yorkshire Hive, Doncaster's newest resort destination, adjacent to the wildlife park entrance, brimming with independent shops, boutiques and delicious eateries.
After an awesome evening of live music, lay back in luxury at the Hex Wildlife Hotel.
Truly a destination on the wild side!
Sam Ryder
The last couple of years? Sam Ryder has been on a journey. Another one.
If the long, decade-straddling slog from wedding singer to open-mics, to TikTok virality to major label, to Eurovision to chart-topping album to Christmas Number One race to Emmy nomination for Ted Lasso song Fought & Lost weren’t crazy enough… Well, the two years since he sold out Hammersmith Apollo have been a different kind of crazy. You can hear as much in the honest, vulnerable, bruised and ultimately life-affirming new songs he's written for his second album, a collection crafted with fresh collaborators across London, LA and Nashville, the latter of which the Music City that Ryder now calls home for half the year.
“It's always been a dream to live there,” he says, “so we bought an old, original cabin. Being part of the neighbourhood in somewhere that I've visited back and forth for 12 years has been an important part of the album-making process.”
In a feat of bittersweet timing, his crowning-glory gig at the end of a 2023 sell-out UK tour (in support of his #1 2022 album There’s Nothing But Space, Man!) coincided with the termination of a team at the label who had helped Ryder become one of the brightest, breath-of-fresh air, breakout stars of the last five years. For this most personable of solo artists, it was a blow.
So, declining the option to re-sign for a second album, he headed for the door, too. Luckily, the label execs who had nurtured and supported him launched a new set-up, Artist Theory. There, Ryder would begin a new journey. One in which he's alchemising victories won, lessons learnt and challenges endured into an album of authenticity and commitment. An all-time great vocalist, with the songwriting to match.
The first single is White Lies, a soul tune with a sky-high chorus. “This is the life, or so they keep telling me,” it begins. As an opening statement of intent, it’s instructive, Ryder reflecting on the wild ride of the last couple of years.
“There's an effortless quality to it,” says Ryder of the song, written in Nashville, in his friend Nick Lobel’s studio a few minutes’ walk from Ryder’s new home. Lobel is a long-standing collaborator, one of a hand-picked few (see also: Steve Mac) who have stuck by Ryder’s side for another reset. "Another goal I had for this record was to work with less people. I was working with so many writers over the last three years. They're all amazing, but I noticed a disparity between sounds in the record and directions.”
So, this time it was, again, about going back to the source, to a different kind of small room, not least the two studios (for music and filming) that he built with his dad back home in Essex. “It came down to backing myself more and knowing that, before all this happened, I would write songs myself in my studio, or in my shed in my parents' garden. It's about finding a small handful of people that I felt comfortable with, and exploring this new genre that I wanted to create.”
This, then, to use the name the musician came up with, is the Frontier Soul of Sam Ryder. You can hear it, too, in Up Down, written when he flew into LA for one day for a writing session. That speed is baked into the song’s DNA, a finger-popping belter written with hitmakers who’ve worked, variously, with Adele, Amy Winehouse, Miley Cyrus, Charlie Puth, Coldplay and Myles Smith.
There’s a change of pace and era on Better Man, a mid-tempo piano stomper written with prolific hit machine Mike Elizondo (Gwen Stefani, Twenty One Pilots). Then, in bold contrast, is Armour, a minimal, acoustic-guitar-and-vocals-and-the-truth ballad that sits at the countryend of Frontier Soul. His voice at its rawest and realest, Ryder sings: “You don't need that drama, you don't need that pain… it's OK to feel afraid, take off all that armour, you can't carry all that weight. ” For a man renowned for his nuclear-powered positivity, it’s a remarkable admission. Because while armour stops stuff getting in, it stops stuff getting out, too.
“I wrote that song about someone who used to be a member of the team. And now, after a few months of reflection, I realise I wrote that song about myself, about the very thing you're talking about.”
That honesty and self-awareness are what power Sam Ryder’s brilliant new songs. “It is a quest for the truth,” he says of his mindset as he puts the finishing touches to a second album made entirely to his own principles and passions. “It really is a heart-led space. I need the process to be pure, to be able to tap into that flow state of singing. Into that vocal that makes me sink into the moment completely. Because it's actual magic that you're creating.”
Aston Merrygold
Known for his incredible stage presence as a band member of JLS, it is not surprising that the band has gone on to sell out countless arena tours and sell over 10 million records, including five Number 1 hits and numerous awards. When the band took a seven-year break, Aston made strides in his career appearing on the West End, Strictly Come Dancing and released his platinum debut single ‘Get Stupid’ as well as singles ‘Overboard’, ‘How Many Times’ and 'Sweat'. Aston has previously headlined his own sold-out solo tours and made appearances at many festivals throughout the summer.
Alongside pursuing his musical ambitions and being a husband and father to his two sons and little girl, Aston has continued to remain at the forefront of entertainment, becoming a judge on the Sky 1 talent show, Got To Dance.
He was also unmasked as Robin in the Semi Finals for the 2020/2021 series of Masked Singer UK and joined the cast of CBBC’s comedy drama, ‘Almost Never’, playing Jordan, the new manager of ‘The Wonderland’. More recently, Aston was a panellist on the Masked Singer Live tour across the UK, starred as Willard in Footloose the Musical and the Tin Man in the Wizard of Oz.
Aston has utilised his social following and uses his platform to create comedic, upbeat, and entertaining content across Instagram and TikTok. His engaging personality and quick wit has opened many doors to working with global brands including the likes of BMW, Amazon and Spotify.
The Wanted 2.0
Get ready for… The Wanted 2.0. The next chapter in the history of one of Britain’s biggest ever pop bands, who are ready to take to the stage with their explosive energy and chart-topping anthems. Founding members Max George and Siva Kaneswaren now carry the torch as ‘The Wanted 2.0’, the definitive place to hear all the global smash hits by this powerhouse UK band.
With over 20 million record sales worldwide, The Wanted notched up 10 UK Top Ten singles and 2 UK Number 1 singles. The band still boast almost 7 million monthly listeners on Spotify and have a huge worldwide following. The band’s catalogue contains pop masterpieces that defined an era, including the Number 1 Singles ‘All Time Low’ and ‘Glad You Came’, alongside fan-favourites like ‘Chasing The Sun’, ‘Walks Like Rihanna’, and the electrifying ‘Warzone’.
Event Info
Please Note: Fans should only purchase tickets from official ticketing partners.
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