Every July, for a single weekend, Hill Farm in the charming village of Steventon, Oxfordshire, becomes the backdrop for the renowned Truck Festival. Established by the Bennett family in 1998, Truck has grown to be a mainstay of the UK festival scene, featuring some of the nation’s prominent indie artists alongside a diverse lineup of emerging talents from across the globe. As we head to the 2025 edition, CLASH set out to discover if Truck truly lives up to its label as "the UK's most warped village fête"...
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Thursday
This writer’s first experience at Truck unfolds this weekend, and upon arrival at the campsite and chatting with fellow festival-goers, it becomes clear that we aren’t the only ones sharing initial impressions. The impressive lineup this year has brought many attendees for their first visit to Hill Farm, and it’s easy to see why the festival has such a stellar reputation. With its family-friendly environment and welcoming vibe, the site is compact enough to navigate effortlessly yet spacious enough to accommodate the 25,000 attendees without feeling overwhelming.
Once we set up our camp, we venture into the arena for the first time to catch the indie rock band Corella from Manchester. Frontman Joel Smith expresses that performing at a festival main stage during sunset has always been a dream for them, and you can feel the significance of the moment throughout their set. They dedicate ‘Lady Messiah’ to “the women in your life,” and tracks like ‘Drifting’ and ‘Barcelona Girl’ energize the enthusiastic Thursday night audience, setting the stage perfectly for the headliners of the night – Bloc Party.
Despite a year of relentless global touring in celebration of the 20th anniversary of their iconic album, Silent Alarm, the band appears energized, with frontman Kele Okereke in high spirits. They launch into favorites like ‘So Here We Are’, ‘Hunting For Witches’, and ‘Banquet’, and Kele playfully asks, “Who feels like a disco?” After an enthusiastic response from the crowd, they perform rare gems like the fan favorite ‘One More Chance’ from 2009 and ‘The Love Within’ from their more polarizing 2016 album Hymns, both getting attendees moving. They wrap up their main set with a thrilling finale of ‘The Prayer’, ‘Helicopter’, and ‘Like Eating Glass’, and conclude with a euphoric encore featuring ‘Flux’ and ‘This Modern Love’. A spectacular opening to Truck 2025!
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Friday
Truck’s late-night activities are notably impressive for a festival of this scale, featuring multiple silent discos, drum and bass DJs, along with on-site pubs – The Taproom and The Tipsy Cow – both playing indie classics and pop hits well into the early morning. However, this may leave you feeling a bit worse for wear the next day, so caution is advised!
After shaking off the hangover, we return to the arena to kickstart our Friday with Cornish singer-songwriter Polly Money. Fresh from her Glastonbury headline performance this summer and having toured with The 1975, Polly showcases her talent with a laid-back set of R&B-flavored dream-pop. Perfect for a sunny afternoon, we then head to the This Feeling tent for multi-instrumentalist Harriet Rose. “Can we go a bit yee-haw?” she asks at one moment in her set, and the audience enthusiastically embraces her catchy Country/Americana style, especially during ‘Good Time Honey’. Drawing comparisons to Sheryl Crow and Alanis Morrissette, she establishes herself as an act to watch.
Next on the main stage is London indie band The Big Moon. “I shouldn’t be here… I should probably be in a swimming pool somewhere,” comments frontwoman Juliette Jackson, referencing her pregnant belly on this warm Friday evening. She invites the crowd to be their choir, aiding her on songs like ‘Wide Eyes’ and ‘Take A Piece’. They then get the audience singing even louder with a fantastic cover of Fatboy Slim’s ‘Praise You’ before concluding with their own sun-kissed anthem, ‘Your Light’.
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One of the highlights of Truck is unexpectedly discovering rising stars in various tents. At the V&V BBC Introducing stage, we find Oxford's Secret Rivals, who impress with their lo-fi indie punk sound and shared vocals, delivering standout tracks like ‘Cassidy’, ‘Ghosting’, and ‘Ataxia’.
Over at the Market stage, we catch the much-talked-about Irish folk group Kingfishr. Frontman Eddie Keogh informs the crowd that their equipment didn’t arrive on time, so they’re using borrowed instruments from other bands. “That means no banjo,” he laments, which clearly disappoints the audience.
However, as they begin playing, any disappointment quickly dissipates. Young fans climb the tent’s support pillars for a better view before security ushers them back down. Midway through the
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Every July, for one weekend, Hill Farm in the charming village of Steventon, Oxfordshire, hosts the renowned Truck Festival. It was established by the Bennett