Truck Festival 23-26 July, Hill Farm, Oxfordshire

We arrived in blue skies and with an immediate sense of a great atmosphere and the promise of a weekend that would be a celebration of indie, pop, punk and rock discoveries. We spent the first few hours happily drifting around the campsite and soaking up the good time feeling.

It is a credit to Truck, that on the early entry Thursday they had still secured CMAT as the main stage headliner, something that felt impressively bold. CMAT’s star quality now feels undeniable. The set had sing-alongs, personality and showmanship, she has a knack of instantly having the whole festival crowd eating out of her hand. But for all the ‘razzmatazz’, the most impressive thing remains her wonderful voice. Even at this very early stage, “Sexy Picture of You” felt like one of the weekend’s great sing-alongs.

Friday began in beautiful sunshine, with Southern Heights giving the main stage a confident early lift. Their indie rock felt perfectly made for Truck, and they looked ready to climb festival bills quickly. Daisy Peacock pushed things towards the pop side of indie pop, but in a cool, Blondie type way. Daisy has a real presence and is a confident and charismatic front person, while the band’s harmonies really lifted the songs. Amongst all the great songs, “Glad You’ve Got a Girlfriend” sounded like it could easily become a huge commercial hit.

From there, the day became a run of discoveries. Love Buzz brought ragged Irish indie-pop energy, somewhere in the spirit of Sultans of Ping (for you older readers). Although the alternative pop style and quirky nature of the band also had us thinking of the legendary Redd Kross. Whilst Slow Country added a raucous folk and Celtic flavour to indie rock that grew stronger as the set went on. The impressive run of ‘new to us’ bands continued with The North. They had made the relatively long trip down to Oxford, and the size of the crowd suggested plenty of people were keen to see them. There was a hint of Alex Turner in the vocals, but also a broader US alt-rock influence running through the set.

Eighty Eight Miles High looked genuinely moved to be on the main stage after playing in a tent the previous year. In the afternoon sun, their Fleetwood Mac-inspired smooth rock felt like the perfect fit, and they sounded like a band whose rise up the bill could continue until they are eventually headliners. Certainly the crowd lapped up their sound and we noticed quite a few of their t-shirts that had been newly bought over the weekend.

My First Time, great band name, were a marked change from what came before and gave the day a welcome punk edge. That contrast is exactly what festivals should offer and it gives people the ability to easily experience a whole variety of style and music. By the end of their set, they already felt like a strong candidate for ‘find of the festival’. Having seen and really liked Slag at 2000 Trees, it was great to catch them again. Whether word had spread after 2000 Trees or maybe this festival crowd simply suited them better, the tent was absolutely rammed, and they sounded even rawer and more angsty than before.

Later on, Thrill Collins supplied familiar festival fun with their set of kooky covers of pop and UK garage. The band highlighted it has been some time since they changed their set. For those of us who have seen them numerous times, it would be nice to see them adding some new songs into the mix. But despite that, the packed out cow shed (!) was full of people singing along and really enjoying themselves.

We’re never sure what to expect with Primal Scream as we’ve seen both brilliant and quite ‘average’ festival sets from them before. This time at Truck they took things somewhere looser, groovier and far more rock ’n’ roll than expected. It felt like a proper greatest hits set perfectly aimed at this festival crowd who were left in absolute ecstasy. In fact, they produced one of the best festival sets we have EVER seen!

Saturday began with a retreat into the shade of a tent during peak temperatures, where Sterling Press provided a ferocious opening. Their sound had grunge elements but also keyboards and an electronic undercurrent that made them more interesting than a straightforward alt-rock act. Florence Road followed with an anthemic indie-rock sound that suited the main stage. Their growing reputation was obvious from the crowd, many of whom already seemed familiar with the material.

The Lottery Winners then turned the afternoon into pure entertainment. Their front person could probably make it as a stand-up comedian if he decided to leave music behind. The songs were great fun, and the crowd was completely ready to go with them. “Letter to Myself” added an emotional moment to what was a brilliantly uplifting festival set.

Office Party therefore had a difficult act to follow, but they did a really good job. Their catchy indie rock drew a large crowd to the This Feeling stage, and for a first festival appearance they played with real confidence and style.

The Vaccines arrived with the Ramones as an intro and it’s rock ’n’ roll energy reminded us why expectations around them were so high when they first emerged. “Post Break-Up Sex” remains a great festival song, and the rammed field showed how loved they are by a whole generation of indie fans. The Cavs kept that classic indie-rock thread going, boosted by youthful energy and the sense of a band hoping for bigger stages ahead.

Away from the main-stage run, the Taproom delivered a glorious late-afternoon disco: indie hits, pop and soul classics, everyone dancing and singing in the late sunshine. It was exactly what festivals are for — people having fun and forgetting all their troubles.

The day was not only about new bands either. The Schla La Las, were apparently back after 20 years! They brought female punk energy with as much Ronettes influence as Ramones bite. Finally for us that day, Black Honey felt modern, immediate and commanding. They looked like a proper rock band, had a strong front person, and channelled punk energy into catchy but distinctive indie-rock songs. It felt like a rare chance to see them in a relatively small tent before that becomes impossible.

Sunday began with Chest from Norwich, whose bio references Superdrag, a band that we love but not one we have ever seen referenced by a UK band before. At first, the power-pop connection was not obvious, but as the set developed the melodies grew stronger. We’d like to see them add a few more harmonies in the group, as you sense they would then have something really promising. Hestia were billed as continuing the alt-rock theme, but there was more flamboyance in the guitar playing and smoother, more soulful vocals than expected. It is a credit to their performance that as the set went on, more and more people were drawn into the tent.

Deco were an obvious Sunday-afternoon choice after being endorsed by the legendary Nile Rodgers. Their disco-tinged pop and yacht-rock sound suited the sunshine perfectly, and even anyone still suffering from the weekend could not help but be lifted by their joyful sound. Punchbag offered a sharp contrast, bringing trashy pop-punk energy and songs built for shouting along to. We loved them, and they ended up as one of the true finds of the festival.

Picture Parlour were one of the bands we were most looking forward to. When they first emerged, along with others we were guilty of making lazy comparisons to The Last Dinner Party. “Judgement Day” still has an epic ballad quality, but the rest of the set was far more rocking, raucous and full of energy. They offer something quite different and unique in the current music scene. They have developed into an almost glammy but dirty rock ’n’ roll band, which suited us perfectly. They had only just returned from Miami and a US tour with Louis Tomlinson which suggests their profile will only get bigger and bigger.

Willie J Healey provided a more relaxed alternative to Rizzle Kicks on the main stage. The Beatles and Elvis Costello comparisons in the bio set a high bar, but there was an easy-going pop charm to his songs. The Ripples, from Mallorca, were a brilliant festival surprise act. They had a sound that was americana but with a garage-rock flavour and had the look of a band that had stepped out of a 70s American dive bar. They reminded us of a great band called The Flaming Sideburns that we used to listen to many years ago. The beauty of festivals like Truck, is the opportunity to unexpectedly stumble into your latest favourite band.

The Libertines closed the weekend for us and they hit the stage faced with huge anticipation, judging by the number of T-shirts in the crowd. It was great to see them back as a band and performing at their best. In particular, it was heartwarming to see Pete looking healthy and enjoying himself on stage. They remain a far better band than many of the others who have tried to imitate them over the years. “Don’t Look Back into the Sun” gave the weekend one of its biggest sing-alongs, and it was fantastic to see the love for the band, not only from fans of the original era, but from a whole new generation too.

Overall, Truck Festival feels like it is becoming a festival for everyone: young fans, families, new band seekers and what we like to call veteran rock ’n’ rollers (us!). As every year, there are loads of ‘big band’ names on the main stage which helps in attracting the vast number of fans for these acts. But for us, the beauty of Truck is the opportunity to find new favourites along the way. And we hope that lots of the crowd took the time to just wander around all parts of the festival to find new discoveries. Once again it was a hugely successful weekend and we are sure many have already purchased their tickets for next year. Something you should do if you love indie rock n roll.