Despite the wet conditions, Truck Festival made for four enjoyable days of live music – we look past the mud at some of the best bands and artists from the weekend.
DEADLETTER
Deriving from South-London, post-punk outfit DEADLETTER left fans longing for more following their Market Stage set. A packed-out tent didn’t fail to deliver and nor did the band, records like Binge and Pop Culture Connoisseur were met with great reception as frontman Zac Lawrence formed an engrossing connection with his audience, crowd surfing his way through the tent and dictating mosh pits. DEADLETTER command a sound that forces you to listen – it’s noisy, entrancing and there’s no question to the direction they’re heading in.
Lock-In
Coming off the back of their biggest headline show at The Garage (and some hefty tour dates), Lock-In’s Saturday night headline on the This Feeling stage was a huge success. Fans trudged through the mud to make it in time for set opener and latest single Easy. The band brought a huge party to the stage with dance anthems like Vandross and Do You Like Good Music?, not to mention their three song cover medley including Lady (Hear Me Tonight). Benjy Leak made the set a memorable one, signing off with an almost signature crowd-surf.
The Last Dinner Party
The aftermath of Saturday’s downpours left the fields of Truck Festival for a muddied battlefield. However, this didn’t prevent fans from spilling out of the Market stage at 1:45 on Sunday afternoon – frontwoman Abigail Morris noting how ‘Filthy!’ the festival is with glee. Despite only having two singles out, the tent was full of energy for the whole of the 5-piece’s set. As reward for the crowd’s unyielding enthusiasm, the bands latest single Sinner was delivered with the audience screaming the lyrics back to Morris – ‘Pray for me, on your knees’. To sign off the set, it had to be the band’s debut Nothing Matters. An immediate anthem of feminist empowerment, the set ended on a stratospheric high – The Last Dinner Party’s live act is unmissable, they are destined to be stars.
Bilk
Bilk played The Nest on Saturday afternoon and brought a raw infectious energy that had fans and curious onlookers seized by their straightforward, honest sonority. A set permeated with Britpop infused guitars, unforgiving lyrics and some of weekend’s biggest mosh pits was fuelled by songs like Daydreamer and Fashion, that lyrically and sonically captured the discordant essence of youth culture. Their set had this unique sense of authenticity intertwined with a carefree, ‘Rock N’ Roll’ attitude as frontman, Sol encouraged commotion. Bilk are boisterous, unruly and bring a refreshing energy to guitar music; one that the youth seem to crave in abundance.
HighSchool
Australia via London goth-pop outfit HighSchool took to the Market Stage on the Friday. Without the luxury of punters evading the rain in the tents, HighSchool had to work to win the crowd over – inching them closer to the stage with each song (possible experience gained from support tours with Sam Fender and Chvrches). Lone single Only A Dream, produced by cult phenomenon Dan Carey, brought some needed energy early on the first full day of music whilst the band signed off with biggest hit New York, Paris and London, to huge approval from the audience. Taking the dark from Joy Division and the dance from New Order, HighSchool are only getting started, with just one EP and a couple singles under their belts.
Megan Wyn
The pleasant surprise of the weekend was young Welsh artist Megan Wyn. Playing at 16:45 on the This Feeling stage, the 18-year old certainly turned a few heads. For an artist who does not have any songs on streaming platforms Megan earned a huge reception from the punters. You Don’t Get It (Out on 4th August) and Jealousy came as fan favourites, two songs which are destined to be sung on bigger stages. If there was one thing to take from Wyn’s set, it is that we could have a real superstar on our hands!
She’s In Parties
Sunday at The Nest stage saw She’s In Parties perform their first ever Truck Festival. An impressive turnout which filled the tent easily, the shoegazey rockers kicked off the set with their signature dreamy guitar lines which had the fans in the front (with the band’s name across their faces) fired up. The audience were soon treated to the band’s stunning new single Summer Haze. Between the teasers of unreleased music, the unmistaken favourite Cherish was introduced to enthusiastic cheers. There is no question that She’s In Parties are one to watch closely over the coming months.
FEET
In a break from their recent return to the studio to record their second album, FEET found themselves on The Nest stage on Sunday. Festival goers overflowed the tent and spilled out into the brief sunshine that had broken through the clouds. Chalet 47 saw the crowd dancing around, mirroring front man George Haverson. The bands most recent releases Can’t Get In and Changing My Mind Again were also gratefully received by the bouncing crowd. Two new songs by the names of The Real Thing and Greasy Boy got enthusiastic welcomes from the growing amount of people piling out of the tent. Finishing with a mosh pit, FEET’s set was certainly one of the most high energy of the weekend, it’s easy to see their second album is highly anticipated.
Wunderhorse
Continously proving to be of the most exciting bands in the indie-rock scene right now, Wunderhorse had a full capacity crowd for their 19:00 slot on the Market Stage. Frontman Jacob Slater had the crowd in the palm of his hand from the beginning, belting out the intro to fan favourite Leader Of The Pack and the atmosphere only increased from here. The band gave the crowd more than they bargained for with unreleased tunes Midas, Rain, Arizona and Superman all being played – a self-assured move given a tight 30 minute slot. This gave those in attendance a huge taster of what is to come from their second album rumoured to be released in spring 2024. The highlight of the set came as an electrifying performance of Teal which had festival-goers ascending onto shoulders and belting out incredibly meaningful lyrics from the mind of Slater. Everyone is incredibly excited to see what the future holds for this extremely talented band.
Overpass
Opening The Market Stage on Sunday was Birmingham’s very own overpass. Amidst a hectic schedule of releases, festivals and touring, the indie newcomers are proving why they’re here to stay. Performing newer records like Right Time, alongside crowd singalongs like 3AM, their set felt like a bookmark in their career – a career unmistakably on its way up. They support The Royston Club on their forthcoming UK headline tour, and we urge everyone to get down early and indulge in the newest wave of anthemic guitar music.
More coverage from Truck Festival 2023 will be coming up on our YouTube and website.
Writing by Hugo Harris, Cian McGivern, Jas Kisbee, Jude Keenleyside
