Truck Festival 2026 is here - and it’s my favourite weekend of the year. Being back on Hill Farm in Oxfordshire surrounded by the best indie bands around, and this year is no different. The glorious UK weather continues, with temperatures in the late 20s, which means no wellies, no puddles and no worries (except hydration!).
Being an Oxfordshire local and attending Truck Festival back when it was a small 5,000 capacity event, it’s amazing to see how this little festival has grown into a 27,500 big hitter, but still retaining its intimate nature, being able to get between stages in a matter of minutes always helps with those all important clashes during the weekend.
Those who had upgraded to Thursday entry had the pleasure of seeing O’Phantom opening the main stage, who reminded the audience of how important stages like the Truck one are after the closing of the BBC Introducing tent at Reading & Leeds festival which was announced last week. The band said they’d won a competition to be here, and it was great to give them their moment on the main stage.
Everything Everything had the honour of being night one's sub-headliner, and they knew how to get the party started. Dressed in matching bright yellow jump suits with big grins they took to the stage as the sun started to set with big hitters like ‘Distant Past’ & ‘No Reptiles’ which had the crowd bouncing along enjoying that first festival evening.
Over on the This Feeling stage, first day appearances from Lizzie Esau and The Cases had the early revellers pleased they had paid extra to be here, before The Slates headlined the evening. They came out all guns blazing to ‘Freed from desire’ with lead singer Louis heading straight for the barrier to interact with the crowd before a single note was even played, things you love to see!
But Thursday night really belonged to CMAT and her ‘very sexy CMAT band’. Playing a mid afternoon slot last year at Truck Festival, it’s great to see her make the step up to headline the evening. An incredible voice and an amazing sense of humour had the crowd in stitches, joking with the audience she needed to ‘pull the knickers out her bum’ as well as singing a bit of Everything Everythings ‘No Reptiles’ saying she loved the band. She also mentioned she recognised a sign in the audience from last year which read “CMAT my mum loves you more than us” which got a big cheer. Just like last year, another incredible sight watching a field full of people doing the dance to ‘Take a sexy picture of me’.
Cannot wait until tomorrow.
Check out our other reviews of Friday, Saturday, Sunday.
Photo Credit: Russ Fujak
