Every summer, Truck Festival becomes a meeting place for indie music’s past, present and future. Across one weekend, beloved favourites return to adoring crowds, tomorrow’s headliners stake their claim, and thousands of fans happily drift between the two. It’s a balance few festivals manage quite so effortlessly.
Around the site, old digital cameras from yesteryear hang from a new generation’s shoulders, capturing memories that will live far longer than another faded festival wristband. Some have come to relive the soundtrack of their youth, others to find their next favourite band before everyone else does. Most manage both.
Another year of glorious sunshine certainly helps. Friday begins with the Market Stage already bustling before lunchtime. Shale ease everyone into the weekend with an eccentric blend of early-noughties theatrics, twisting together LCD Soundsystem grooves and Bloc Party-esque guitars into something impossible not to dance to. Moments later, Girl in the Year Above provide the perfect contrast. Their ethereal songwriting slowly envelopes the Truck Stage before a beautifully restrained cover of Massive Attack’s ‘Teardrop’ creates one of those early-afternoon festival moments where conversation simply stops.
The North. Photo by Daniel Lincoln
Divorce. Photo by Ethan Jones.
If there was any doubt that The North belong among Britain’s most exciting young guitar bands, Truck quickly puts it to bed. By the time opener ‘I Can’t Sleep’ crashes into life, the Market Stage is overflowing. Every movement radiates confidence, not arrogance, and the assurance of a band who know exactly who they are. Their soaring melodies and driving guitars continue to sharpen with every appearance, while the audience respond with the kind of devotion usually reserved for bands much further into their careers. Plenty of artists are staking a claim to lead indie’s next chapter; few make a stronger case than The North.
Truck has always excelled at making the early afternoon feel just as important as the headline slots. Divorce‘s warm blend of indie and Americana feels perfectly at home beneath the sunshine before The Nest offers something altogether heavier. SLAG are captivating. Their set veers effortlessly between intricate math-rock passages and crushing walls of noise, never allowing the audience to settle for long. Just as one rhythm takes hold, they’re somewhere entirely different. At the centre of it all sits one of the most compelling vocal performances of the weekend, comfortably shifting between delicate introspection and full-throttle intensity.
Slag. Photo by Ethan Jones.
The Cribs. Photo by Ethan Jones.
Back on the Market Stage, Good Health Good Wealth inject a completely different energy. Their swaggering, Streets-inspired grooves loosen the crowd immediately, while their charismatic frontman prowls every inch of the stage as though there was never any doubt it belonged to him. By the time their dancefloor-ready closer arrives, the afternoon has become one long celebration.
As the sun begins to dip behind the Oxfordshire hills, Truck naturally shifts towards the bands whose songs have become woven into British indie history. Few do it better than The Cribs. Whether it’s your first time seeing them or your twentieth, the formula never loses its impact. Newer material slots seamlessly alongside classics, every song delivered with the same ragged intensity that’s defined them for over two decades. Few bands make a festival set feel so effortless, balancing chaos and melody with absolute confidence. They remain one of Britain’s great indie live bands, proving once again why they’ll always have a place at festivals like Truck.
Getdown Services. Photo by Daniel Lincoln.
Primal Scream. Photo by Ethan Jones.
Getdown Services follow with one of the weekend’s purest celebrations. ‘Dog Dribble’ sends the Market Stage into complete delirium, the packed tent bouncing from front to back. After years of relentless touring, this feels like a genuine moment for the duo, rewarded with one of Friday’s loudest receptions.
Primal Scream bring quiet authority to the Truck Stage, their catalogue needing little introduction. On a stage that has become something of an indie pilgrimage site over the years, their presence feels entirely fitting. English Teacher then arrive to one of the fullest Market Stage crowds of the weekend. The new songs hint at a band determined to keep evolving rather than repeat themselves, while ‘R&B’ already feels destined to become one of this generation’s defining guitar songs.
English Teacher. Photo by Daniel Lincoln.
The Maccabees. Photo by Ethan Jones.
Then comes the moment many had waited years to see. The Maccabees‘ debut headline slot feels like everything Truck represents distilled into one set. Felix White effortlessly draws the crowd into every song, with thousands moving as one during ‘Can You Give It’. The set closes with ‘Pelican’. Arms lock around shoulders, voices drown out the band and, for four unforgettable minutes, the entire field becomes one. It’s the defining moment of Truck 2026, cementing not only the set of the weekend but one of the festival’s finest performances in recent memory.
Saturday belongs to the next generation. Truck has always had a knack for catching bands just before they explode, and the second day is packed with artists who feel destined for much bigger stages. Casual Smart impress with intricate musicianship reminiscent of Black Country, New Road without feeling derivative, while Florence Road‘s soaring choruses drift effortlessly across the farm, the crowd happily obliging every raised hand and singalong request. Brooki‘s rich, commanding vocal stops passers-by in their tracks before the Market Stage welcomes one of the weekend’s standout performances.
Brooki. Photo by Daniel Lincoln.
Bleech 9:3. Photo by Daniel Lincoln.
From the opening riff of ‘Jacky’, Bleech 9:3 own the tent. Arms shoot skyward before the first chorus even lands as bodies surge towards the barrier with every riff. By the time ‘Ceiling’ arrives, every lyric is being hurled straight back at the stage, the tent transformed into one enormous choir. Most impressive of all is the reaction to the unreleased material. Rather than losing the audience, it draws them even closer, sung back with the conviction usually reserved for songs that have soundtracked people’s lives for years. It no longer feels like Bleech 9:3 are breaking through. Truck confirms they’ve already arrived.
Friendly Fires provide the perfect soundtrack to another sun-soaked afternoon, their shimmering indie-electronica proving just how many understated festival anthems they’ve quietly accumulated over the years. By early evening, the Market Stage has become Saturday night’s biggest party. Adult DVD don’t simply play to the crowd, they take complete control of it. Every groove is met by a sea of moving bodies as the tent transforms into one giant dancefloor. It takes a special kind of band to have hundreds of people dancing without hesitation, but Adult DVD pull it off effortlessly. Their chemistry, confidence and ability to command a festival crowd continue to mark them out as one of Britain’s most exciting live acts.
Adult DVD. Photo by Daniel Lincoln.
Radio Free Alice. Photo by Ethan Jones.
The Vaccines‘ celebration of ‘What Did You Expect From The Vaccines?’ offers a welcome dose of nostalgia, every chorus greeted like an old friend as thousands fill the main stage. Fifteen years later, those songs still feel as immediate as ever. If The Vaccines celebrate the past, Radio Free Alice point firmly towards the future. The Melbourne quartet possess the kind of live swagger that can’t be taught. Every movement feels effortless, every song delivered with the confidence of a band who know exactly where they’re heading. ‘Look What You’ve Done’ sends bodies onto shoulders as the Market Stage erupts once again, their timeless songwriting matched by a performance that feels destined for far bigger stages than this.
Closing the Truck Stage, Two Door Cinema Club provide the perfect end to Saturday. Hit follows hit as thousands dance beneath the Oxfordshire sky, bringing another glorious day to a close with the kind of joyous celebration only a festival favourite can deliver.
Theatre. Photo by Daniel Lincoln.
Gans. Photo by Daniel Lincoln.
Sunday arrives with the usual bittersweet feeling that another Truck is beginning to slip away. Lemondaze slowly build dark, atmospheric soundscapes across the Truck Stage before Theatre provide one of the day’s standout performances. Effortlessly cool throughout, Maeve O’Shea’s voice cocoons the Market Stage, every note drawing the crowd further in as the band move seamlessly from delicate, restrained passages into towering climaxes. It’s the kind of set that never demands your attention, yet somehow ends up completely holding it.
Across at The Nest, however, silence is impossible. Gans unleash one of the weekend’s most chaotic sets, finally sparking the kind of full-blooded circle pit that had been threatening to erupt all weekend. Soon after, Westside Cowboy cram The Nest beyond capacity. For one of Britain’s most talked-about new bands, the hype feels entirely justified, every song greeted like another step towards something much bigger.
Westside Cowboy. Photo by Daniel Lincoln.
The Libertines. Photo by Ethan Jones.
As the weekend reaches its conclusion, The Libertines deliver a typically enjoyable and classic filled performance before The Wombats send everyone home with one final burst of indie euphoria. The final hours see a world of familiar choruses ripple across the farm as thousands squeeze every last drop from another unforgettable weekend.
By Monday morning, those grainy digital camera photos will begin appearing online. Some will capture ‘Pelican’ echoing across the Truck Stage, others Adult DVD turning the Market Stage into one giant dance floor, Bleech 9:3 hearing unreleased songs sung back like old favourites or Radio Free Alice carrying themselves like future headliners. They won’t just document who played. They’ll capture exactly what Truck has always done so well: celebrating indie’s past while giving you your first glimpse of its future.
All photos by Daniel Lincoln and Ethan Jones. Header photo by Daniel Lincoln
The new issue of So Young is out now. Buy in print here. Read the digital edition below. Subscribe to receive every issue here.