We arrived at Truck Festival to be ushered into the car park by a friendly group of stewards who set the precedence for what was a thoroughly welcoming festival with a great community spirit. 

The Truck site is set up like bigger festivals with an arena feel but on a much smaller scale. A 5 minute walk from the car park to the tent and from the tent to the arena was a major relief from the queues and the treks we had previously experienced from other festivals and meant that the whole experience started in a relaxed and very chilled out manner. With music from the 2^nd stage carrying over into the camp site we relaxed by the tents in the sun before making our way into the main arena. 

We were able to take drinks into the arena which was great and a nice change from other festivals. Again this added to the relaxed, welcoming atmosphere of the whole festival. Friday afternoon we sampled the local ciders, made sand castles in the beach bar, caught an acoustic set in the merchandise tent and explored the local stalls selling vintage clothing. At not one point during the weekend did we have to queue or avoid crowds- we meandered our way through the site without any pressure or obstructions- it was like we had VIP access to our own personal festival! 

The tranquil atmosphere of the festival was cemented by the amazing array of talented acts on the Truck line up. The daytime acts filled the air with melodic tunes whilst the crowd lay in the sun or danced as they made their way around the arena. Josh Kumra, who featured on Wretch 32’s single ‘Don’t Go’, seduced us all with his incredible voice which was one of the highlights of the festival- with such an amazing talent we predict lots of future record sales coming his way! The Guillemots set was hampered slightly by the lead singer's sore throat, but he coped extremely well and treated us to a more laidback set which had the crowd swaying to his softer, more gravelly vocals. Mystery Jets headlined on the main stage with another great set which had the crowd dancing away under the stars. Their set finished around half 11 so we moved onto the ‘dance tent’ where those who wanted to prolong the night could do so with a live DJ orchestrating the proceedings. 

That was Friday. When we awoke to glorious sunshine on Saturday morning we couldn’t believe our luck after the terrible ‘summer’ we had been experiencing. On went the sunnies, shorts and sun hats and off we went for a second day of Truck fun. Bacon sandwiches and tea from the Rotary Club, who provided all food and drinks for the festival, washed away any lingering headaches from the night before. A special mention and thank you to the Rotary Club who were absolutely fantastic with a great community spirit – we loved them and not just for their amazing burgers! 

Saturday we experienced ‘The Barn’ stage, with My First Tooth rocking out in the cow shed with a very energetic set. We spent the rest of the afternoon lying in the sun by the main stage and caught sets from Dog is Dead and Emmy the Great.  

Lucy Rose kicked off our Saturday evening on the 2^nd stage, she has a beautiful voice and I really hope to hear more from her in the future. After Lucy one of the coolest guys on the planet- King Charles- took to the stage. He was truly brilliant and my personal highlight of the festival. Love Lust and Polarbear were performed with such contagious energy and enthusiasm you couldn’t leave his set without a huge grin on your face. His set prepared us perfectly for Saturday’s headliners Temper Trap. Saturdays crowd was more energetic than Fridays and when the band performed their signature tune- Sweet Disposition- the atmosphere in the crowd reached it’s height of pure exuberance. 

How to sum up Truck Festival? One quote as we left the camp site was ‘one of the best weekends of the year’ and I’d have to agree. The community feel, the relaxed atmosphere, the incredible talent on display and the family feel (lots of babies and very cool kids running around!) made Truck a complete escape from the stresses of reality. It was a balance of all the good things from larger festivals but with the personal touch of a family orientated smaller festival.   

Truck Festival- you were amazing and we would love to do it all again.

Review by Alexandria Hingley, Photos Claire Williams Photography