Oxfordshire’s Truck Festival, now in its 14th year, is one of the UK’s longest running small independent festivals.  Whilst the festival now extends over 3 days it has retained its welcoming local village fete feel and continues to attract a loyal following of local families through to music enthusiasts enticed by the eclectic mix of bigger and smaller name artists. 

Following on from previous years, the local Rotary Club still hold a reasonable stake in the provision of sustenance to the masses in the form of burgers, fries and vegetarian curries.  A recent addition to the foodie side of the festival included a large marquee serving a lush range of hog roast rolls, tagine chicken and salad buffet, and a number of small tents serving tea and cakes, all adding welcomed gastronomic variety compared to previous years. 

The Clash tent curated over the weekend by record labels including Transgressive Records and Heavenly Records showcased a brilliant mix of talent and musical genres and held the most interest for us across the weekend.  Johnny Flynn was a welcome discovery channelling distinctive thespian lyrics against resonator guitar lead folk rock.  Graham Coxon’s noisy yet gregarious pop punk didn’t disappoint the large crowd of revellers he attracted on Friday night.  UK country rock veterans The Rockingbirds stirred up a lively foot stomping Gram Parsonsesque ho-down on Saturday afternoon.  Cherry Ghost channelled haunting reverb drenched country and surf inspired guitars against deep vocals and driving drums fixing them firmly as our favourite band of the weekend.  Edwyn Collins delivered a storming set in the headline slot on Saturday and seemed in good health despite the brain haemorrhage he suffered in 2005 playing a lively mix of newer material including “Losing Sleep” as well as older classics. 

The main stage played host to an eclectic mix of bigger name acts over the weekend.  On Friday evening The Duke and the King played their distinct blend of rock, soul and blues and looked great doing it.  Headlining on Friday evening Bellowhead pleased revellers with their upbeat multi instrumental folk soundscape   On Saturday afternoon Two Fingers of Firewater played the main stage and channelled upbeat bright vintage inspired country rock peppered with great vocal harmonies. Former US truck driver Nathaniel Ratecliff was the unexpected main stage highlight of the weekend.  Armed only with an acoustic and an exquisitely soul yet powerful voice he captivated the audience from start to finish with his soulful southern flavoured songs. 

The cabaret tent played host to several wonderful vintage tinged and quirky acts over the weekend.  Truck Festival regular Thomas Truax fascinated crowds by playing his array of home made instruments layering soundscapes using a looper pedal to construct quirky blues and rock n roll inspired songs.  Saturday night was a particular highlight with the evening’s acts and DJ sets being curated by local Oxford band The Long Insiders.  The high energy London based skiffle band The Severed Limb who got the crowd moving to upbeat accordion and washboard flavoured rock n roll.  Oxford’s slickly dressed Rabbit Foot Spasm Band set the tent alight with its brass lead swing jazz and jump blues.  Hosts The Long Insiders also treated the crowd to their distinctive surf tinged rock n roll made sexy with the addition driven Gretsch guitar and sultry his and hers vocals. 

In addition to providing an excellent array of music and merchandise to select from, the Truck Store tent also treated customers to short sets by artists otherwise playing larger stages over the course of the weekend.  Deer Park laid down a soulful stripped down acoustic set finishing off with a sing-a-long cover of “Take the Skinheads Bowling”.  Dreaming Spires played a supercharged set setting feet tapping and attracting a large crowd. 

This year’s festival also saw the addition of a dance music tent and associated late night cafes (either that, or we missed it in previous years!) pumping out heavy beats and attracting all kinds of costumed revellers including a team of lycra clad Supermen, a gang of gregarious monkeys and even a group of older gentlemen doing what appears to be high speed aerobics!   

Article By Cath Yong & Dave Wilson