Truck Festival 24-27 July, Hill Farm, Oxfordshire.

It’s immediately a joyful experience arriving at Truck Festival – no queues, no hassle and camp site staff volunteering help with finding a place to pitch our tent. That’s helpful as the camp site was already busy and clearly everyone is in a fun, festival mood.

It’s also appropriate that the opening act of the festival is June Holland who got that slot due to winning a fan vote. It’s clear from the off that she certainly deserved all those votes as it’s a confident and entertaining performance from her and the band. Made even more remarkable given the band haven’t been together that long. It’s also fitting that her songs blend a whole host of styles from singer/songwriter to blues and even a little bit of funk. That matches the eclectic style of the festival. We certainly expect to see June Holland appearing further up the festival bill in future years. Truck does a fantastic job of promoting new artists like June and also booking high profile acts like Bloc Party. Indeed, the fact that such a big band are playing the Thursday night is an early testament to the pulling power of Truck. Their set sees them playing Silent Alarm in full. As you’d expect, it’s a top show which is lapped up by the revellers who are making sure they enjoy ever single moment of the festival. The night then spirals into a hectic night of music and dancing across the various ‘discos’ taking place at all the stages across the site.

Girl Like That start the Friday for us and attract a sizeable crowd to the market stage. Mind you, it’s not surprising as they’re a great band playing a modern but rocking sound. We really loved that they had a lot of style and charisma as a band, something many (even established) indie bands fail to have. Definitely a band we can see getting rapidly bigger and featuring much higher up the bill in the future. The festival guide description of Alphabet references The Cure and that’s certainly appropriate with the vocalist having a voice that certainly bears resemblance to Robert Smith. The band’s sound also has that downbeat tone and there is a ‘weight’ to their songs. Although we can also hear a US slacker rock influence in there as well..

The tent is absolutely rammed for Cherym, a band who clearly give it everything. Their sound is definitely very in your face but underneath, there is a melody and we loved the fact that all 3 members sing. It’s impossible not to get caught up in their enthusiasm as they blast through some great pop punk tracks. Behind the intensity, there’s almost an All American Rejects feel to their sound. The Clause appropriately use Oasis for their walk on music as they certainly play indie anthems. They’re songs built for headline festival appearances. And they already play the tunes as if they are headlining the main stage! They’ve nailed the indie rock sound and the only question is can they differentiate themselves from established bands (ironically like the Courteeners who are headlining the next day). They get a huge reaction from the crowd.

The afternoon seems pretty set up for The Big Moons performance. The weather is wonderful; the crowd is plentiful and sufficiently lubricated. Not surprisingly the band don’t disappoint. Their sunshine filled indie rock perfectly matches the moment for all the fans gathered to see them. The cover of Praise You that they throw in is a surprise but a great one. It’s interesting seeing Secret Rivals so shortly after The Clause. They are also a band that have nailed their indie rock sound. They deliver a great set to an appreciative crowd in the V and V tent. They may be on one of the smaller stages, but in terms of song quality and musicianship there’s no reason why they shouldn’t be on one of the bigger ones.

Nothing But Thieves are the Friday night headliners and there is a real air of anticipation before the band hit the stage. You can really tell that this is a band that has fans who love them. It’s no surprise then that they give a polished performance worthy of an act booked to do an exclusive festival headlining show. This feels like it’s a homecoming gig for them and they feed off the hugely enthusiastic reaction they get from the crowd.

Macenzie are the first act we see on the Saturday and again, fair play to the crowd who have made their way over to the Nest for a relatively early start (at a festival anyhow). They’re rewarded with a set of quality pop flavoured songs. She certainly has a great voice and you could easily see her having a wide appeal. It’s then time for our first visit to the Feeling stage to see Sleeping Together. Their indie rock sound seems a perfect fit for Truck festival. They’ve got some catchy tunes that get the crowd clapping and swaying. They do a great job of engaging the crowd and we’re sure they made a lot of new fans with this gig.

We can’t make up our mind if Canned Pineapple is a great or terrible name! But the band are definitely excellent and they bring a dash of glam pop to the stage. They declare they want to change the world with rock n roll. That’s a big ask, but their catchy songs certainly help to make the world a bit better. Any band with a song about Elvis Costello is bound to be a big hit with us! They’re certainly up there as one of our favourite bands of the festival. Next on the list was Westside Cowboy, anyone turning up for some country and western would’ve been disappointed. We’d seen them at Glastonbury after they won the emerging artist award there. This was actually an even better and more dynamic set. They kind of remind us of the band Divorcee BUT if all that bands songs were as good as their first few singles. Westside are certainly a band who you feel are just a few BBC 6 music airplays away from being huge.

Scouting For Girls are a band built for a mid-afternoon festival session. They attract the largest afternoon crowd of the festival and everybody loved it and sung all of the songs. It makes you feel good to be alive to see people of all ages and regardless of musical taste just loving their set. Then, just when you think you can’t love them any more, they throw in a cover of Come On Eileen!! They never were and never will be ‘cool’ but we’ll fight anyone who denies they weren’t the best and most fun band of the festival!!

Cmat is probably the only person who could follow that in terms of songs, stage presence and charisma. This feels like a case of an artist who has risen hugely since she was booked on the bill. You can’t help feeling she should be headlining. Indeed, next year you can guarantee she’ll be headlining festivals even bigger than this. Sexy Picture is surely this summer’s pink pony club in terms of being a cheeky anthem that everyone from daughters to grandmothers will be singing and dancing along to. She is just a wonderful performer and true star.

We probably saw as many Wunderhorse T shirts as any other band at the festival. It’s quite a shift in tone and sound compared to the more fun previous couple of acts. There’s a darkness to their songs which neatly juxtaposes the sunny afternoon weather. The tunes have a real epic ness to their sound which you imagine generates the kind of infatuated fans that the likes of Radiohead enjoy. The start of virtually every song is greeted by a huge cheer from the crowd. It’s an intense and passionate set but it has to be said that Jacob Slater didn’t seem that happy with it and sadly they ended up finishing about 10 minutes early.

Similar to Wunderhorse, there felt like an air of anticipation around the Fat Dogs set this weekend. It’s therefore no surprise that the market tent is absolutely rammed. Indeed you wonder if the organisers didn’t think of shifting them to main stage at some point .But sadly it seems that our experiences of Fat Dog are somewhat fated. Having seen them have to play a curtailed set at Bearded Theory, here they are 20 mins late so we have to abandon them as there was no way we were going to miss out on seeing The Last Dinner Party. You’ve got to love the drama that they bring to their performance right from the off. There’s a beautiful grandeur to it all, which is so unlike any other recent bands. Given they had to take some time away from the industry for a while, it’s also good to see a band who seem to be really enjoying performing. They’re certainly loved by the crowd who are watching them as the sun sets at the festival. We get treated to a new song which suggests the band are just going to just get louder, bigger and better.

Kasabian have of course been playing and indeed headlining festivals like this for years. They’ve got the big songs that just soar across a festival field. Although even with their vast collection, it’s still a classic like Club Foot that really gets the crowd going. It’s easy to forget just how many brilliant songs they have done and it’s amazing how many of their songs you recognise. It’s a fittingly upbeat end to the day which sees the whole crowd joining in the feeling of euphoria as they sing their hearts out. A fitting way to end a brilliant festival day.

Sunday starts with possibly the biggest crowd we’ve seen at the main stage at the start of a day. It’s surprisingly the Oxford Symphony Orchestra that are the big draw! Mind you, alongside the classical music there’s a great session where they deliver some classic pop bangers like Wannabee, Valerie and Love Machine. Along with some opera classics (that we only know as the football chant ‘your grounds too big for you/is this a library’ and the one from Italia 90!!) An unexpectedly brilliant start to the day.

Sadly, National Playboys aren’t the glam rock band that their name may imply! In fact they’re a post punk band with a dark sound. The singer is immediately up against the barrier, whilst the band back him with a heavy and menacing sound. The pounding bass is certainly not for anyone still suffering from a hangover induced headache. Although maybe it works like the hair of the dog for those at the front of the stage who seem very happy moshing along. They come from Scotland and certainly the guys in the band look like they’ve fallen off the set of Trainspotting!

Lime Garden probably also occupy that wide genre known as post punk. But in comparison their songs have a hell of lot more melody in them. That’s not to say they’re not also intense but it’s certainly a more appealing sound that has indie disco crossover appeal. Better Joy were one of the bands we were looking forward to seeing, having really liked their “Heading Into Blue” EP. They don’t disappoint and certainly up the melody quota even further. Whilst still indie there’s definitely some strong pop hooks in there, which is always a winner for us. That’s even before we get to the New Radicals cover! We’d be very surprised if you don’t find them much further up festival bills in the near future

Coincidentally the next artist on the same stage, Chloe slater, is someone else we have been following for a while. There’s a bit more indie rock n roll to her sound. The melodies and tunes are still really strong but it’s amped up into a more rocking feel. She plays her forthcoming single which has huge hit written all over it and really gets the tent shaking. One of the best artists we saw all weekend and definitely someone you need to be checking out on her club gigs in October so you can say you were there first when she’s headlining these types of tents.

Whilst we love music we also have an equal passion for football so it was great that the Festival decided to screen the Women’s Euro final. Some will say it’s wrong to do that, but we think it’s great that they’re supporting the women’s game. Watching in the field with an amazing atmosphere was fantastic. And the joyous celebration at the end is what a festival is all about, even if it is normally inspired by the music…..but well done the Lionesses!!!

Franz Ferdinand may have lost some of their crowd for a bit, but at least the result (literally) was a buzzing crowd who were well up for a good time! The band respond with a host of songs that are just perfect for singing and bouncing along to. As you’d expect, Take Me Out gets an absolutely massive reaction. It’s also a great reminder of how brilliant a front person Alex Kapranos is and how good a band they are. Once again a huge credit to the bookers for getting such a fantastic band who surely would more often than not be the headliners. 

Once again Truck has proven itself to be one of the best events of the year. A fantastic array of brilliant artist who all seem to share the crowd’s joy of just being there. Of course, the wonderful weather helps but the whole atmosphere is just one of positivity and fun. The event is perfectly organised and hosted with everyone involved being friendly and welcoming. Early bird tickets are already on sale now (see below), so get them now and give yourself something to look forward to over the next 12 months.

Truck Festival returns in 2026, taking place between the 23rd-26th July. Super Early Bird Tickets are on sale this Friday (1st August) with General Sale Tickets available from 11am. To gain presale access and the first chance to get tickets at the best price, sign up now at https://truckfestival.com/2026-super-early-bird-ticket-launch/