Truck Festival comes back with a bang for its 25th Anniversary, giving both indie lovers and ravers something to shout about
The renowned Oxfordshire festival celebrated its Anniversary with some of the biggest names in indie, including Sam Fender, Sports Team and Orla Gartland.
Photo: Terry Harris
Hailed as one of the UK’s best village fetes, Truck Festival lived up to that promise, presenting a festival that gave revellers from far, wide and local an exuberant four-day affair. With everything from top-notch headliners, camping, silent discos, and skank-hard raves to poetry and yoga, and even plenty for the kids, Truck had it all this year.
Set over an expansive chunk of Hill Farm, Oxfordshire, the sold-out event welcomed 25,000 people to 5 stages, with plenty of tasty food options, shopping, workshops and everything in-between.
Pulling festival attendees in with their hefty lineup of big-name indie talent, the main stage was definitely the main attraction with stars like The Kooks, Kelis, Easy Life, Bombay Bicycle Club, Sigrid, Sam Fender, Inhaler, Sports Team, Sea Girls, Kasabian and many more gracing the stage during the event.
Nevertheless, other stages across the festival provided perfect experiences for rock enthusiasts to ravers, giving everyone in attendance ample opportunity to enjoy all they had to offer; featuring a wide range of acts from Wilkinson, Deep Tan, Kara, Wax Works, TPD TV, JAWS, Fonda 500, Beach Riot to The Subways.
The festival kicked off Thursday afternoon with CARSICK, Tom A. Smith, Brooke Combe, Vistas, Black Honey and a memorable set from Blossoms — all on the main stage.
Friday saw the festival hit its stride with Chiika, Joely, Lauran Hibberd, Only the Poets, Noisy, Spector, Sea Girls, Sigrid and Bombay Bicycle Club all taking the main stage by storm.
We caught the ones to watch, Sea Girls, just in time.
Bursting onto the indie scene with their popular track Call Me Out, the group have been on a steady accession, noted in the crowd’s instant uproar when the band hit the stage, highlighting their devoted fan base, as they sang along to some of their older and new releases.
Next up on our agenda was Sigrid, who, with her natural confidence, owned the stage with the electro-ballads she’s become known for. Gelling with the crowd, she flowed through her set despite the impending dread of hard rainfall that the grey sky threatened us with. Regardless, she compelled us to stay watching her electrifying set, with the audience compellingly shouting along to her hit A Driver Saved My Night.
Last on the main stage was indie giants Bombay Bicycle Club, with special guest vocalist Saint Clair, a welcome addition. Through a blazing set, the band summoned revellers back to the main stage despite the now heavy rainfall, playing some of their signature hits, new releases and covers with the aid of their guest vocalist, closing out the Friday evening with a bang and leaving us all feeling euphoric.
Later that night we decided to check out what was happening elsewhere. The Nest tent quickly became a hot late-night scene for TPD TV’s silent disco which had revellers queueing for miles and passers-by ensuring they pencilled in the after-hours event in their next-day festival schedule. Then, heading over to the Truck tent, we danced the night away to Bru-C and Mollie Collins’ party-hard sets before calling it a night.
Easing into the Saturday festivities, we saw some brilliant morning and early afternoon sets from newcomers Daze and an enticing set from Lime Garden in the larger Truck tent.
After doing some much-needed relaxing (i.e. trying out a food stall and shopping), we made our way back to the main stage to see Sports Team. The band gave us a magnetic performance as they finally took to the main stage, having previously played the smaller Nest tent three years prior.
Following on from their set, it was Kelis’s turn to dazzle us. Easing onto the stage, the singer graced us with her buzzing energy, giving us slick remixes to her classics with jammin’ renditions of Milkshake and Millionaire, and knew exactly how to get the crowd going with her thoughtful set list that evening.
The Kooks (indie festival regulars) were also up that night, sending the crowd erupting in cheers as they took the stage. Mosh-pitting to anything that band played, The Kooks clearly had a solid space in the hearts of the crowd, and rightfully so. Holding a steady hand on British youth culture in the mid-2000s, the band didn’t disappoint live. Being sure to include their widely-loved Naive and Junk Of The Heart, the band also debuted their new single, Connection, from their latest album 10 Tracks to Echo in the Dark, released just last week.
While we couldn’t see everything, Truck Festival was truly an experience to behold. From their heavy-hitter line-up to camping to food, the festival is a must-attend scene — at least once, anyway. A pioneer in their wide-scale support and appreciation for indie and alternative artists, Truck Festival is the perfect place to expand your horizons, discover new acts and see some of your dearest indie idols. Whether you’re a rocker or raver, want to go with family, friends, or a significant other, it doesn’t matter because Truck Festival has something for everyone.
Buy your Truck Festival 2023 ticket here.