Truck Festival 25-28 July 2024

Truck Festival is a festival we have been meaning to attend for a while and this year we finally managed to get there. Faced with the prospect of a line-up of fantastic bands and the promise of good weather, our pre festival excitement was at fever pitch. It says a lot about a festival when you have bands of the stature of The Mysterines and Idles as the acts on the Thursday opening. Sadly, we only arrived in time for Idles but they played in front of a crowd hungry to party! It will come as no surprise that the band were more than happy to feed that hunger. Having not seen them before, we were pleasantly surprised how they managed to retain an element of melody alongside the in your face delivery of their politically charged music and messages. Ferocious but excellent. A great start to what promised to be an awesome festival!

Given the festival’s support of new music it felt appropriate to be starting the festival ‘proper’ with a young act by the name of Nieve Ella. The amount of people in the tent suggests that many felt the same way. She had caught our interest thanks to the festival’s Spotify playlist (credit to the organisers for one of best line up apps with Spotify playlist that we have ever experienced). It took a time for the stage sound to settle, but when it did the music had an indie pop feel that you could easily see exploding. The huge crowd reaction certainly suggests you’ll be seeing her higher on festival bills in future. We followed that with Car Sick, maybe not the most attractive band name, but don’t let that put you off! They were well suited to the general flavour of the festival as their sound was  punk rock with an infusion of rap style. Imagine a punkier Jamie T or a slightly mellower and more punk pop Idles!

In contrast, Overpass offer a mellower sound which was ideal for a mid-afternoon set on a pleasant Friday afternoon. They seemed to specialise in feel good indie songs that the crowd were keen to sing, clap and dance along to. They end with a song called ’Beautiful’ which neatly summed up the afternoon and could be the song they need to hit a wider audience. We were probably alone in our hope that New Dad would be a Gay Dad cover band! But they are very different to that band in both style and tone. Indeed, New Dad bring a different tone to all the bands seen so far. It’s a darker and more intense sound and probably one that would be better experienced in a dark venue rather than a sunny festival field. But this still felt like it was an opportunity to see the band before they hit much bigger heights. The size of  the crowd supported that but also the tightness and professionalism of the band. It’s really easy to see why they’ve been getting plenty of interest from BBC 6 music and the music press.

Amongst all the new ish acts playing, Peace are probably the first ‘known’ band of the day for us. That in itself is a credit to the festival and their love for new music and giving bands a chance. It’s no wonder that Peace pull a crowd from all over the site to the main field in front of the Truck stage. They’re playing to the converted with their predominantly indie rock sound but perhaps with a bit of a psychedelic edge as their name suggests. Antony Szmierek then offers up something very different but perhaps still a style that appeals to the Jamie T fans at the festival. He has a mainly indie band set up but with a drum machine. There’s certainly as much a rap as indie rock influence on the songs. Throwing in a cover of ‘Step On’ by the Happy Mondays and a walk into the crowd was always going to win over the audience. Post that point the whole set lifted and the packed tent loved every moment.

The K’s offer up another complete change in pace and style. The first band of the day to perhaps have a greater focus on the rock part of indie rock n roll. It feels a fitting shift as we start to move from the day to the evening. The tent is also absolutely rammed. The well ‘fuelled’ crowd are certainly up for it and it feels like there are quite a few potential stadium anthems in the set.

We then have a pretty impressive coup for the festival with Declan McKenna on the main stage. He’s potentially into pop star territory but meets a receptive crowd. Again the fine weather is the perfect accompaniment to his pop tinged indie rock sound. The fact it’s been seven years since his debut album is something of a surprise. But the reaction his early songs get, suggests that a lot  of the crowd have grown up along with his music.  Other than the fact they have both had some chart success, it does appear a bit of an unusual choice ahead of Jamie T. That’s not to say there wasn’t lot to admire in the set and he clearly has a star quality/confidence. Songs like Beautiful Faces and British Bombs get the whole field bouncing and singing, so he’s definitely a hit.

When Jamie T announces that this is his first ever headline show it comes as a bit of a surprise to say the least. As big fans of his work this appearance came as a welcome relief. When we last saw him at Glastonbury he didn’t seem to be in a great place. At Truck he appeared genuinely pleased to be there and welcoming of the warm and enthusiastic reception he got from the audience. The set reminded us that as well as being a great songwriter he is also a class musician and guitar player. There was a touch of inconsistency and it would certainly have been good to hear more of the upbeat, punkier numbers (but maybe that’s just because we were gutted he didn’t play Tescoland). Instead,  it dwelled on some slower songs and the breaks in between songs made it a bit stop start. But when he (and the excellent band) break out the top tunes like Sticks ‘N’ Stones, Sheila and Zombie etc  they are  met with rapture by the crowd and it results in a triumphant end to a wonderful day.

Having partied the night away in the indie disco and spent a morning recovering, Night Bus were the first band we saw on the Saturday. It proved a good start to the day where their slower and more restrained sound (at least compared to many of the bands) was a kind re-entry to the land of the living. There was a touch of the gothic to some of their songs, but they also added a dance beat to a couple of numbers which gave an additional lift. Lime garden can put themselves down as the unluckiest band of the day as their set on the main stage was reduced to 3 songs as The Pigeon Detectives were moved to that stage. They were allocated a later slot at the Nest and we planned to check them out there but that ended up clashing with the secret Frank Turner set! It was a massive shame as we were really enjoying their punk indie sound. The 3 songs promised a lot and on the basis of those they were one of best bands we’d seen so far! We will definitely have to check them out at another point.

Been Stellar keep the punkier vibe going,  although the first thing we noticed was how scarily young they looked! Their sound was a great amalgamation of alternative US rock  but with a hint of English baggy. They actually reminded us of American Culture (a band who themselves have only recently come on our radar but that we really love). Been Stellar were certainly contenders for our favourite new (to us) band of the festival.

The shift in  the main stage line up allowed us to catch the end of SOFY which was a bonus. The songs we heard were upbeat and contagious. They were well suited for a bop in the sun which is what the entire field appeared to have been doing. Definitely a band to check out.

Sundara Karma kept the crowd on their feet with their upbeat, feel good, indie rock n roll. It’s a sound which back in the brit pop heyday would have seen them being top 10 chart contenders. They also ‘look’ like a band which is always a good thing in our opinion. Certainly a band we’d be tipping for really big things. When the Pigeon Detectives do hit the big stage there is (surprise, surprise) a really large crowd! Way bigger than the Nest could have handled. It was still a short set which meant they blasted through a whole host of fan favourites. ‘I Found Out’ was probably the biggest singalong of the festival so far. They also benefit from having a lead singer with proper showmanship, something which is sadly rare in indie bands on the whole.

Sophie Ellis Bextor did exactly what we hoped she would and turned the entire field into a disco full of dancing and love. You really have to admire how she has revitalised her career and brought disco pop to a whole new audience. She was probably one of  the most anticipated artists of the weekend and is a  master of harnessing the crowd’s enthusiasm. She beat the Pigeon Detectives to the singalong crown with classics like Gimme Gimme Gimme and Like A Prayer. It’s also truly emotional to just witness so many people  singing Murder On the Dancefloor with such genuine joy….Top class !!

Just when you think things can’t get any better, whilst queuing for food we hear the dulcet tones of the great Frank Turner. A quick walk over to the V & V  small tent confirms it is indeed Mr Turner doing a secret guest slot. It offers up the opportunity to see him doing a brilliant set of fan favourites in a festival venue far smaller than one he has played for years and years. It’s an acoustic set which is a great reminder of why we have loved him all these years. It was also a chance to see him looking splendid with festival glitter on his face. Truck festival coming up trumps again!!

Wet Leg draw a wide ranging crowd to the main field and seem to have an appeal for all the festival goes regardless of age or musical taste. Since we last saw them at a festival their sound has got bigger and they appear more self-assured. That probably shouldn’t come as a surprise as they have now had over two years to nail the set. It always comes as a bit of a surprise when they drop ‘Wet Dream’ in just two songs into the set. But it’s an early banger which helps to get the crowd going. The next really notable song is ‘Loving You’  which is a poignant and dramatically delivered number. A real reminder of the quality and class they delivered with just their debut album. They certainly looked like they were loving the appearance and certainly seem to have no fears over doing a headline set….but we do need a new album soon!

If ever a band name was perfect for the final day of this festival then it’s Delights. It was a new day and surprisingly a new stage as we saw them over at the Nest. Bravely they started with a new song (and their next single). The fact it began with a cowbell meant they immediately won us over! It appears they’re well know by the local crowd as their previous single ‘1989’ is greeted by cheers from the crowd. They prove to be the perfect start to a Sunday with a set of songs that were firmly focused on melody.

Eighty Eight Miles hit the  stage with an energy few bands would muster so early on a Sunday. There’s a bit of a West Coast America rock pop feel to the sound. It’s perfect for the sunny afternoon and the sound and the bands enthusiasm draws an increasing amount of people out of their slumber and into the tent. They have an air of confidence and rock out more than many of the other acts that appeared over the weekend. There’s no doubt everybody who entered that tent left a fan of the group… a cracking band. Juice Pops are another band who it seems have been coming to the festival for years and  were delighted to now be playing it. So it would appear that Truck is a fertile ground for growing indie pop bands like the neatly named Juice Pops.

It says a lot about the quality of the festival that it’s not until our fourth band of the day that we make our way over to the main stage.  Coach Party have been a band we’ve liked since we saw them outplay the Mysterines at a gig a few years back. Despite the blistering heat they share their grunge flavoured indie rock with the usual energy. Having been stuck on a coach for over 2 hours getting here they seem determined to take out any frustration on their instruments. It’s a passionate set with them really belting out their songs. The good bands just keep going at Truck festival with the next one being M60. One of the things we really like about the festival is that they keep the early sets to just 30 mins which allows a flow of bands all day. M60 benefit from an absolutely packed tent and make the most of the opportunity to delight existing fans but also attract many new ones.

Apparently CVC have band members related to James Dean Bradfield and Shirley Bassey (although we need to check if that’s true!). Somewhat appropriately they do have a sound that seems to blend many influences…although not necessarily the Manics and Dame Shirley! Although their sound is indie rock with a very danceable beat. But equally there are elements of rock, blues, soul and a lot of funk, sometimes all in the same song! The fact they have three singers doing the harmonies is always good as far as we are concerned. They certainly offer something a bit different to many of the other bands at Truck. Perhaps most importantly, they seemed to be having a lot of fun. They were quite a surprise and for some reason not what we expected to hear in an Oxfordshire field, but definitely one of the best bands we saw all weekend.

Black Honey’sfront person is wearing the outfit of the festival which is a full Union Jack dress (no NOT that Geri one!) complete with Union Jack hat! Their sound is more melodic than we were expecting but still packs a punch. It’s actually quite similar to Coach Party but with more of a grunge crunch and slightly harder punk edge. Our seeing Divorce live has been a long time coming as they had to pull out of Bearded Theory earlier in the year. It is easy to see why they’ve gathered a lot of press attention recently. They’re a super tight band  and clearly quality musicians. They’ve also already got some tunes that you could easily see being blasted across the main stage a lot later  in the day. They were definitely worth the wait.

Corella were a bit more of a ‘rock band’ compared to the more ‘indie’ music acts. That means loud guitars and crashing drums. It also includes the ability to capture a crowd’s attention. There’s certainly an ‘anthemic’ feel to their songs which is great for getting the whole tent jumping and singing along to their songs. Given the level of crowd participation it would appear many people are already familiar with their material. For those that weren’t, there was still plenty of melody to enjoy and choruses to join in with.

We’d heard good things about Sea Girls and we had seen loads of their t- shirts around the festival so it would appear lots of people were eager to see them. So, not surprisingly, the main field was pretty much the fullest we had seen it all weekend. As it happens the band and their sound ended up being the perfect accompaniment to having a good time (and a few beers!) in the sun. If ever there was a song that seemed written for this festival, both in terms of style and title,  then it would have to be their ‘Too Much Fun’!

Given The Streets have never really been up our street! We ended this wonderful festival with The Kooks. They’re a band that seem to have had a resurgence recently, evident not only by their position in the festival line up but also the reaction their tunes get at indie discos these days. That, of course, means that the field is absolutely rammed. What’s probably more important is that the band sound as fresh now as they did when they first hit the indie scene so many years ago. There won’t be many finer moments this summer than being in a field full of people, on a beautiful summers evening, singing along to ‘She Moves In Her Own Way’. Having had a pretty damp festival season to date, the organisers must have only dared to dream about such a wonderful scene for the last day of the festival as the band end their set with ‘Naïve’. Great stuff!

We lost track of the number of bands who made comments such as ‘we used to come as a punter and can’t believe we are now playing’ or ‘this is our x year of playing Truck’ or ‘this has been our favourite gig of the year’. That tells you a lot about the festival in terms of the crowd, the bands that play and the organisers. It was our first year and we absolutely loved it. Definitely one of the best festivals we’ve attended and we will definitely be back next year.