TRUCK FESTIVAL REVIEW: Speedoman, Coldplay Kiss Cam, Tic Tac togs, crowd surfers and moshing marvels. Truck nails it as Early Bird 2026 tickets sell fast!

As 25,000 Truckers arrived at Steventon’s TRUCK FESTIVAL 2025 over the weekend, expectations were high. Could it beat last year’s infamous experience, TRUCK FESTIVAL 2024 REVIEW: ‘Another epic year at a monumental Truck’ would the line-up send us into spasms of excitement, and would the weather hold?

Yes on every level. In fact it’s taken this long to recover from the four day music frenzy of big names, japes, moshing, crowd surfing, fancy dress and Speedos that made Truck a whirlpool of immeasurable fun, with some major stand out moments.

Top tip – arrive on Thursday, bag the best camping spots and hunker down for some top notch entertainment without the massive crowds. By the time everyone else arrives on the Friday you’re already a Truck pro.

By the time everyone else arrives on the Friday you’re already a Truck pro

The Tipsy Cow tent is new and had everyone throwing some shapes, singing and chatting to fellow compadres, thanks to the immense DJ sets. Headliners Bloc Party enhanced the musical magic with their rocking set, while The Thatcher’s tent DJs were also massively popular. Throw in the Drum & Base tent, enhanced sound and better lighting all round, and the scene was set for a legendary weekend.

The Silent Disco was enlarged this year to include several tents, head sets selling out a few days before (it used to be free) but for those who didn’t get the memo it was a no-go area, while those who did had to go every night. The new roller disco was also dense with wobbly party-goers.

Blossoms followed suit with a calmer vibe and lots of jokes about Gary The Gorilla, and then a UK exclusive – headliners Nothing But Thieves

Come Friday when the crowds began arriving en masse, we headed out to the markets to check out the great vintage clothes, jewellery and festival paraphernalia. Kids were kept busy in their own activity area, before we all went back to our tents to prepare for a big night ahead. The Reytons really got the crowds moving with their Indie rock classics, crowd surfing aplenty.

Blossoms followed suit with a calmer vibe and lots of jokes about Gary The Gorilla, and then a UK exclusive – headliners Nothing But Thieves, as lead vocalist and guitarist Conor Mason got everyone clapping along, bringing everyone on board with alt rock treats like Trip Switch and Amsterdam, and everyone went crazy.

Fish56Octagon was ripping it up in the Drum & Base tent – great music, real stage presence, top special effects, he was absolutely brilliant and his fans and converts went absolutely mad. We loved his energy and stayed all night. Definitely one of the highlights.

Fish56Octagon was ripping it up in the Drum & Base tent – Definitely one of the highlights

By Saturday we were well in our stride everyone dressing up in something beginning with T! What amazing outfits from Tictacs, Trolls, and turtles to toothbrush and toothpaste, Teletubbies and tennis ball and players, people really went to town!

We headed straight for our favourite food tents – first up The Feel Good Food Hall where over 15 local charities cook everything from steak sandwiches, Mac n cheese, cheese on toast, smoothies, pizzas, jacket potatoes and dosas. In 2024 alone the Food Hall raised £220,000 for good causes, but it’s also great value for money – £3 for cheese on toast, £2.90 for a smoothie, all ingredients donated.

Those pushing the boat out ventured further afield – food units scattered around the perimeter from churros to bao buns, pies, hot dogs, crumble, paella and even a roast in a Yorkshire pud. Whatever you craved was on hand. Drinks were definitely pricier this year though, something everyone noticed.

Saturday night’s big names kicked off with Scouting for Girls who blasted on and got us all jumping, crouching, sitting on shoulders, and even launched a two-sided singing competition which really broke the fourth wall.

Speedo man revealed himself in all his glory and cape, standing above the crowd for a good 10 minutes to some mighty cheers as ‘She’s So Lovely’ soared above Steventon

A great live band. And that’s when Speedoman revealed himself in all his glory and cape, standing above the crowd for a good 10 minutes to some mighty cheers as She’s So Lovely soared above Steventon.

CMAT, who blew up on TikTok recently, was enjoying her moment in the sun; cracking jokes, dancing, screaming, we felt like one big, happy family as she hyped up the crowd, saving Taking A Sexy Picture Of Me for last.

CMAT, who blew up on TikTok recently, was enjoying her moment in the sun; cracking jokes, dancing, screaming, we felt like one big, happy family as she hyped up the crowd

Wunderhorse was another memorable act, loads of mega fans ensuring the mosh pits were firing on all cylinders. Even when their guitar broke, they carried on regardless – it was absolutely amazing.

It was a massive coup for Truck to nab Last Dinner Party, their popularity blowing up this year, the perfect precurser to Kasabian, and having toured with the likes of Hozier, were naturals on the festival stage, the British indie rock band blasting out the likes of Nothing Matters which they sang at The Brits.

It was a massive coup for Truck to nab Last Dinner Party, their popularity blowing up this year, the perfect precurser to Kasabian

As for Kasabian, what a set list, the likes of Fire, Underdog and Club Foot sung at the top of our voices. You could hear the crowd from miles away.

And just when we thought we’d peaked too early, Sunday morning greeted us with one of life’s greatest treats The Oxford Symphony Orchestra – attended by everyone, whatever the state of our hangovers, bringing a whole heap of day time joy, japes and frolics to Hill Farm – the audience singing heartily through the mix of classics and pop until our vocal cords hurt.

“Here’s one from the 80s’, their conductor shouted out, ‘the 1780s'”

Concluding as always with a Queen song which would have lifted the roof had there been one, Kermit got passed around, festival-goers picked up and surfed toward the stage in rapid succession and the orchestra looked like they were having a whale of a time. “Here’s one from the 80s’, their conductor shouted out, ‘the 1780s’.” Hard to beat!

Natasha Bedingfield was another big pull – her vocals insane, the clarity of notes off the scale, but her humanity and gorgeousness shone through so it seemed only fitting the she concluded by bringing a group of kids (all wearing earphones to cope with the noise),on stage to their great excitement and awe.

the Coldplay Kiss Cam was shown on big screens, panning in on couples in the crowd who had to duck or turn away from the camera

Then Franz Ferdinand – what a line-up – the Coldplay Kiss Cam keeping the throng hugely amused, shown on big screens panning in on couples in the crowd as people had to duck or turn away from the camera warming up the crowd before the Scottish rock band came on and owned it, everyone who’d been watching the Euro final rushing to join the action, swelling the numbers, three mosh pits running simultaneously, a vision to behold, families dancing at back. It was insane.

A hard act to follow then for The Courteeners, who brought Middleton to Steventon for Truck’s closing night and rocked it, proving that Manchester has got more than one famous band, their energetic live performance belting out Not Nineteen For Ever alongside tracks from their new album Pink Cactus Cafe as well as some Madness covers, to a riotous reception.

And as the fireworks began raining down on TRUCK ,and it dawned on us that we were going to have to wait a whole year until the next epic TRUCk festival, we pledged to return next July for some more of Truck’s fabulous hospitality and entertainment. Absolutely up there with the best of Trucks.

Super Early Bird tickets were released this morning and are already selling out fast, so you’d better get your skates on if you want to join in next year. We’re so there, Speedos at the ready.

Bea and Tilly Payne

Truck Festival returns in 2026 from July 23-26. Super Early Bird Tickets are on sale today (1st August) with General Sale Tickets available from 11am. To gain presale access and the first chance to get tickets at the best price, sign up now at https://truckfestival.com/2026-super-early-bird-ticket-launch/