News Truck Festival: ‘It’s A Back-To-Basics Year’

DIY’s favourite Oxfordshire festival, Truck will this year be celebrating its fifteenth anniversary: and - as you can see from the poster above - we’ll be joining them. The much-loved event returns to Hill Farm in Steventon on 20th - 21st July, with acts such as Temper Trap, Mystery Jets and British Sea Power performing; a high quality line-up at a very reasonable price. DIY catches up with the organisers to ask them about this week’s new additions, how the festival coped with almost going out of business and just what makes Truck so special.

Who are the latest additions to the line-up, then?

The Temper Trap, British Sea Power, The Low Anthem, Guillemots and Little Comets have recently joined Mystery Jets, Villagers, Get Cape. Wear Cape. Fly and 65 Days Of Static on the bill, amongst many more quality artists. Tim Minchin and Frightened Rabbit are the latest acts to be added.

How will they fit in to the bill as it currently stands?

The Temper Trap will headline the main stage. Once everything’s finalised we’ll be able to announce who will be on the Truck stage, who will be in the barn and who will be in the big top. We do know that Three Trapped Tigers and the Alcopop/BSM takeover will be in the (legendary) barn.

Are there any further announcements to be made?

Yes. Some exciting and surprising names!

What artists on your line-up can you see making the biggest impact during the festival season?

It’s a big summer for The Temper Trap, returning with their second album, and there’s a lot of excitement about their Truck appearance.

This year marks your 15th anniversary, have you got anything exciting lined up for it?

As it’s our first year organising the event, we’ve looked through the history and picked out artists who have made legendary appearances in the past at Truck – such as Mystery Jets, 65 Days of Static, Get Cape and British Sea Power – and added some fresh names who are new to the event; we’ve also brought back the famous barn stage. It’s a back-to-basics year featuring everything that’s been best about Truck over 15 years and a sprinkling of new magic.

What marks Truck out as a special festival?

It’s a pioneer in the independent festival scene, one of the first on the scene (in 1998), and inspired many to follow in its wheel tracks. It is also has a lot of community involvement, with the local Rotary club serving burgers, and a strong connection to Oxford’s thriving music scene.

Does the little creature on all the Truck designs have a name?

He (or she) is known only as the Truck Monster. A mystery wrapped in an enigma; nine feet tall but very warm and cuddly.

The festival had some financial trouble last year, how have you bounced back from it?

We have brought a fresh team to the event and will apply the techniques which have worked well for [their other festival] Y-Not, simplifying things and keeping a close eye on details. Unfortunately the company which ran the event last year went into liquidation; our goal is to provide a sustainable future for the event.

What have you done differently this time around?

We’ve brought back the barn. Fortunately, it has a new roof hosting a giant array of solar panels - we’ll be able to use that power at the event. After some site expansion last year, we’re using a layout closer to that of a couple of years back. The organisation is a smaller hands-on team.

What did you look to keep from previous Truck festivals?

The Truck Stage, the improved family camping and facilities, the reputation for discovering and supporting new artists, and the community spirit.

The festival has reverted back to two days rather than three this year. Are there plans to expand it back to three days further down the line?

Y-Not is a three day festival and it fits, but Truck worked well as a two-day event for its first ten years. So we shall see how it goes.

Given the recent cancellation of Sonisphere, what is the mood amongst UK Festival organisers at the moment?

It’s cautiously optimistic; the important thing is to provide something distinctive at a fair price, which we certainly think Truck offers.

What advice would you give to someone who is coming to Truck for the first time this year?

Come with an open mind, you’re bound to discover some great new music and make many new friends. Make sure you’re there for the first band and you don’t go to bed early!

Tickets for Truck Festival are available now. For more information go to truckfestival.com.