INDIE-rock bands Bombay Bicycle Club, Catfish and the Bottlemen and The Kooks have been confirmed as headliners for this summer’s Truck Festival.
The bands top a long list of successful and up-and-coming acts who will play the music festival at Steventon, near Didcot, from July 30 to August 2.
Also appearing are Oxford’s Rhys Lewis, Grammy winner and synth-pop star La Roux, Mercury Prize nominees and Bombay Bicycle Club touring mates The Big Moon, Blossoms, Sundara Karma, DMA’S, Pale Waves, Easy Life, The Pigeon Detectives, The Hives, Swim Deep, Shame, Sports Team, The Magic Gang, Dinosaur Pile Up, The Lathums, Matt Maltese, The Hara, The Snuts, Chappaqua Wrestling, Fickle Friends, Lazarus Kane, Lauran Hibberd, Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs, The Orielles, Kawala, Genghar, Working Men’s Club, Buzzard Buzzard Buzzard, The Pale White, Noisy, Lola Young, The Goa Express, Aaron Smith, Abbie Ozard and The Oxford Symphony Orchestra.
Also returning are TV fitness instructor Mr Motivator for his traditional morning crowd workout, and ‘Barryoke’ presented by Shaun Williamson – better known as Barry Evans from EastEnders.
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This year’s event will mark the 23rd instalment of the festival, held at Hill Farm. The headliners had previously been ‘teased’ by organisers who had printed out the names of bands, baked them inside Chinese fortune cookies and sent them out to the music press and newspapers including the Oxford Mail, and to a handful of festival-goers.
Londoners Bombay Bicycle Club, who ended their four-year hiatus with the release of new album Everything Else Has Gone Wrong, launched their current tour at Oxford’s O2 Academy earlier this month. They will top the bill on the Friday night.
Brighton band The Kooks will do the same on the Saturday, performing hits She Moves In Her Own Way, Always Where I Need To Be and Ooh La.
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The band said: “We’ve been waiting a long time for this one. What an immense party it’s gonna be. Truck Festival is where we belong.”
Catfish and the Bottlemen close the main stage on the Sunday. The Welsh rockers last headlined Truck in 2016, and organisers say there have been repeated demands to bring them back.
Blossoms
South London five-piece Shame had been due to perform last year but were forced to cancel due to flight delays. Mystery Jets took their place.
Blossoms, who tomorrow release their third album, Foolish Loving Spaces, will play on the festival’s Thursday night, performing to audience members who have purchased special early opening tickets.
Festival organiser Matt Harrap said: “We’re extremely excited to announce our first wave of artists for this year’s show. Having artists of the calibre of The Kooks and the forever-requested Bombay Bicycle Club coming to headline the event after many years of asking is truly humbling. Their sets will no doubt live long in the memory.
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“We are also over the moon to have indie heroes Catfish and the Bottlemen return to Truck to close off Sunday night. I’m also thrilled to have Shame back in 2020 after being unable to perform last year, La Roux closing our Market Stage and, of course, indie royalty The Pigeon Detectives in the Nest.”
La Roux
Fellow organiser Conor Burns said: “It wouldn’t be Truck Festival without support for local acts. As ever we have great up and coming local talent including the absolutely brilliant Rhys Lewis.”
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He added: “With ticket sales four-times ahead of this time last year, we really recommend not hanging around!” Truck’s Band App, where artists can directly apply to play the festival, will open soon.
Details and tickets from truckfestival.com/
Weekend ticket prices are £120
Thursday entry add-on passes are £25+bf
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