The group of tents next to us conducted their own frog olympics – leaping and bouncing their way down the hill, followed swiftly by a camping trolley race and lastly a raw egg fight. Welcome to Truck Fest 2026 where the weird and wonderful happens and mayhem ensues, squeezed in between some life altering music and fun.
Welcome to Truck Fest 2026 where the bizarre, ridiculous and genius pan out and anything goes, over 27,000 festival-goers flocking back to Steventon for another week of rocking sets, mosh pits, singing and general debauchery.
As demonstrated by this year’s theme ‘What I Want To Be when I Grow Up’, cue a whole family of dinosaurs, cheer leaders, chefs, crayons, Telly Tubbies, Mario Brothers, Hobbits, Where’s Wally, blow up cows and Scooby Doo and so many bananas running round that the supermarket aisles must be empty.
Considering the heat was unrelenting and the sun shone down, it was impressive, the run club still packed on Saturday morning. Put it this way, we emerged on Monday morning hoarse, sunburnt, dirty and jubilant.
It’s always a great crowd at Truck, everyone up for it and friendly, hitting the Cxunty School Disco en masse on Friday night, bouncing around like maniacs, hands in the air as the great DJs got the crowd to sit down waiting for the beat to drop before jumping up and dancing like maniacs.
Which meant some of us didn’t want to leave to see CMAT on Friday night, although we ripped ourselves away for her catchy songs, exciting set, purple polka dot dress theme and interactions with the crowd, hyping up the opening night crowd – an amazing start to the festival.
Swiftly followed by Primal Scream and headliners The Maccabees – the crowd roared into action, fans jumping on shoulders and singing along when Pelican came on.
Only Oxford Symphony Orchestra could have revitalised us on Saturday morning, our hangovers dissipating as the whole crowd began rowing like the Norwegians, ballet pirouetting, the mosh pits in action, people crowd surfing, and then Gaz Coombes from Supergrass came on to sing All You Need is Love, as if it couldn’t get any better.
Fully revved up the acts then came thick and fast; memorable moments being Florence Road, who played on The Nest at Truck last year returning triumphantly, this time to the main stage, the all-girl band’s nostalgic mix of rock and catchy pop, moving from quiet, emotional lyrics to big chorus anthems and taking the crowd with them.
Royston Club in The Market Tent were another memorable Truck highlight, their set such a great vibe, the crowd chanting the band’s name between songs. And even though we’d never come across them before we loved every minute. We do now!
As for Kaiser Chiefs, frontman Ricky Wilson enveloped himself in the crowd, the atmosphere dynamic, so many hits powering out, creating a electric atmosphere, a master class in stage presence.
But then came Two Door Cinema Club, back after a three year hiatus, and another massive draw, crowds gathering way before their set began, rewarded by their first song mimicking their first appearance at Truck 17 years ago, drawing everyone in, right through to the dying notes of their latest single Rookie.
Everyone then rushed to the silent disco, where the late festival-goers congregated keen to keep the party going, conga lines snaking through the tent, the four music channels keeping us dancing until the early hours, every musical genre getting its moment in the sun, in contrast to the predominantly Indie festival programming.
We were somewhat broken on Sunday, but luckily the food offering at Truck was incredible – the hash brown van attracting queues to rival the Selfridges sale, the Duck Duck rice bowls defying belief. Most of the time though you could find us chowing down at the charity tent, which opened before everyone else, where some epic bacon baps, iced banana smoothies and cheese toasties were being handed out to the masses, their price point and quality a big attraction. We’re still fantasising about the steak sandwiches!
The heat was pretty relentless though with little shade available, but then Sunday’s line-up kicked off and our grumbles were suddenly forgotten. Rizzle Kicks were so good, their alternative hip-hop hyping up the crowd, giving us a legendary performance lapped up by the crowd.
How could The Wombles top it? With a wombat playing a trombone, their indie rock and interactive set, Murph vibing and chatting constantly with the crowd, closing with Let’s Dance To Joy Division and Moving to New York as the Truck fireworks went off, a legendary final and rousing set.
So have we got Truck Fest blues? Absolutely. Have we got a stack of new playlists? So many! Mainly new artists we’d never heard before. But then that’s Truck Fest’s super power, mixing the new with the old in a mad kaleidoscopic weekend of music. Did we need several showers and two days sleep after? We are still recovering. Have we already signed up for Truck Fest 2027’s pre-sale? Hell yes. Have you?
Bea Payne
SUPER EARLYBIRD TICKETS ON-SALE: FRIDAY AUGUST 1 https://truckfestival.com/2027-super-early-bird-sign-up/
PRE-SALE SIGN-UP TICKETS: 10AM
GENERAL RELEASE TICKETS ON-SALE: 11AM
