Truck Festival 2016. It’s upping its game to a 3 day festival, a bigger capacity (10K - still sold out), and testing out a new lay-out. Oxfordshire’s Independent Music Festival is stretching its local festival roots towards the broader festival market.

As smaller music festivals go, Truck is a purist, with music not only at its core, but running the show front and centre. Apart from the 2 big stages (Main and Market), there are 3 smaller marquees, a barn and a Wild West bar stage – so plenty of musical variety to dip your toes into!

The down side of the music-focussed event was that the timing of sets meant that acts often finished simultaneously, so there was down-time to fill, and not a lot to fill it with. If you’re into glitter and temporary tattoos, there were stalls where you could get them done (££), and this year did bring the Nighthawk Cinema, (like channel-hopping at a festival – catching bits of classic films between bands), and rather ill-fated silent disco. But perhaps as it continues to grow it will bring in more non-music-based entertainment, too, like some of its compatriot smaller festivals.

Food-wise, I really liked the mix of local community- (rotary club) and charity-run food stands, with surprisingly good food! (Shame on me and my preconceptions). Dahlicious, Pig Roast, Toasted Corn, Return of the Mac, and the Porridge and Eggs breakfast stands were all delicious, and all with profits going to charity. Of the commercial stands, the BBQ and gelato stalls were seriously yummy (and needed in the heat) and a little more ‘glam’ than their charity counterparts.

Now on to 2016’s line-up [Disclaimer, I only arrived on Friday night, so can only vouch for Saturday and Sunday]

Truck almost feels like 2 festivals simultaneously – a fairly local, folk and country, daytime-leaning set-up for older festival-goers and families, and a more pop-based, big-name evening line-up for teenagers.

For me, Dagny was my absolute favourite discovery of the festival. Playing on the Market stage on Saturday afternoon, she delivered upbeat pop reminiscent of Ellie Goulding and La Roux, with a performance so happy it gave you a grin from ear to ear.

Another great find was the country stylings of Luke Tuscherer in the merch tent – leading us to his set later in the saloon bar. His witty chat paired with a strong mix of covers and his own numbers made a fun and intimate set.

My Highlights across the weekend from the Market Stage – Emily Barker (soothing folk, perfect for the setting), Danny & the Champions of the World (Folksy and fun),Fickle Friends (Dancey and upbeat), all competing with and winning over a sun-baked and sleepy crowd, apart from a few energetic survivors at the front.

While Young Fathers (Saturday Night’s Market Stage big-name) weren’t necessarily my cup of tea musically, I would still recommend them as a fascinating live act. It’s more like watching modern dramatic theatre than classic band!

Unfortunately on the Sunday the Mystery Jets took to the Market stage 45 minutes late without any excuse, meaning those who had skipped out on Everything Everything on the main stage missed out on their final few songs, only to get stuck in a sweaty marquee, full of increasingly frustrated crowd for nearly an hour. Not cool.

Over on the Main stage, my most memorable acts over the weekend were Judas (Band App winners – a wash of reverb-y rock guitars and vocals), Formation(energetic performance with plenty of cowbell), and Ratboy (rap meets indie – hard to find a comparable act!), with such different, but amazing shows in the blistering sunshine.

Pre-headliners on Sunday, Everything Everything , drew a big crowd with their spacey electronic Indie sound that was great for the warm sunset slot.Kodaline’s love-in Sunday headline slot was a great way to close out the festival. And a beautiful sing-along for the crowd.

But by far the most polished & cohesive performance of the weekend came, unsurprisingly, from veterans Manic Street Preachers. Their set mixed hits, new tracks and classics, plus they had the shiniest lights, the best (and only) confetti cannon, and united the festival more than any other act with the biggest, most energetic, age-diverse crowd.  

A limited number of earlybird tickets are available for £86.50

Review & Photographs by Lizzie Rogers