'Emotional and celebratory' festival comes to a close

The latest Truck Festival was "nothing short of emotional and celebratory," its organisers have said.

About 25,000 revellers attended the four-day festival at Hill Farm, in Steventon, Oxfordshire, with headliners including IDLES, Jamie T, and Wet Leg.

Fireworks brought the entertainment to a close on Sunday night, following final headliner The Streets.

Festival manager Lily Brimble and head of marketing Sam Harris said they had worked for "months and months" to bring a "bigger and better Truck to life".

"Everything Truck is, was and will be was there in full flight - whether it was massive headline moments from The Streets, Jamie T, Wet Leg and IDLES or ridiculously fun standouts from the likes of Declan McKenna, The Kooks, Soft Play, Sophie Ellis-Bextor and Holly Humberstone amongst many others.

"This year’s show felt like the realisation of so many dreams and plans," they added.

Other acts playing at Truck 2024 included Yard Act, Willie J Healey, English Teacher, The Amazons, Bob Vylan and Sundara Karma, with Frank Turner playing a secret set.

However, some audience members complained of sound issues during Soft Play's set, and at certain times during performances on the Market Stage.

A festival spokesperson said: "We welcome all feedback from our Truck festival-goers, as we look to build and improve the festival year on year."

The festival will take place again in 2025 from 24 to 27 July. The first wave of tickets are due to go on sale on Friday.

Truck Festival was founded by local musicians Robin and Joe Bennett, and has taken place at Hill Farm since 1998.

At the scene

Alex West - BBC Music Introducing

After the frenzied start IDLES gave on Thursday, the party bounced on amid sweltering heat through the rest of the weekend.

On Friday a raucous crowd revelled as Jamie T sang his stories into life.

Declan McKenna’s set brought real colour to the day - he's a nailed on future festival headliner for me.

On Saturday Sundara Karma, and a cowboy-hat wearing Willie J Healey, played crowdpleasers to their fans, a large number of whom presumably didn't travel far from the artists’ bases in Reading and Oxford respectively.

There was an emotional goodbye at the Market Stage as The Magic Gang performed one of their last ever sets.

Sophie Ellie-Bextor and SOFT PLAY, both on the main stage bill, provided the biggest vibe shift of the weekend, but both were euphoric in their own way.

There was a hefty scheduling spanner in the works for Lime Garden, limited to just three songs as Pigeon Detectives’ unprecedented demand - and what was ultimately a near-headliner sized crowd - saw them bumped onto main stage billing due to safety concerns.

Wet Leg’s explosive headline set, including a surprise Charli XCX cover, capped off Truck’s most chaotic day.

The Amazons rocked their way through a hair-raising set of past classics on Sunday, while at the Market Stage Bob Vylan, self-christening themselves as the nicest band in rock and roll, somehow delivered one of the most expletive-laden - and wholesome - sets of the weekend.

The highlight for me was The Streets.

Mike Skinner walked out, phone raised, documenting the sea of arms aloft, before launching into a greatest hits set which exemplified his straight talking, spontaneous, off the wall genius.

He jumped brazenly into his congregation, before delivering a few verses atop the shoulders of a lucky someone in the throng.

It was an ecstatic celebration and a perfect fireworks finish.

Follow BBC South on Facebook, X, or Instagram. Send your story ideas to [email protected].