aaamusic | On 10, Mar 2011

Gruff Rhys and Bellowhead to headline plus St Etienne, Johnny Flynn, John Grant, The Duke & The King, Cherry Ghost, Fixers, Trophy Wife, Jonquil, Chad Valley, Caitlin Rose,Marques Toliver, Treefight For Sunlight, Marcus Foster, Jonny, Richmond Fontaine (acoustic duo) and Dreaming Spires.

Truck Festival returns for its 14^th outing this summer. Having turned teenage in 2010, Truck continues to grow up, this year becoming a full three day festival for the first time, introducing brand new stages and a completely redesigned site. The independent jewel in the UK festival-season crown is a family-run affair, lead by brothers Robin and Joe Bennett. The Flying’ Bennett Brothers (as we’ve decided to call them for the rest of the year…) are chuffed to bits to unveil the following treats for 2011:

Having, remarkably, never graced the green green grass of Steventon before with any of his various phenomenal sonic projects, the hugely talented Gruff Rhys will close the Truck Stage on the Saturday with his only UK festival main stage headline slot. The Super Furry Animals frontman will be performing tracks from his warmly received recent solo offering, ‘Hotel Shampoo’.

Truck’s very first ever Friday Truck Stage headliner will be Bellowhead. Winner of Best Group and Best Live Act at the BBC Folk Awards last month, they performed an amazing set at Truck 2010 and walked off with the hearts of the audience, many of whom cried “get Bellowhead to headline” when asked what they’d like to see next year. Not one to let down their Truckers, Robin and Joe are thrilled to grant this wish. Preceding them on Friday, Simone Felice and Robert “chicken” Burke will bring their acclaimed soul-country ensemble The Duke & The King all the way from Woodstock, New York.

Gracing the new second stage will be St Etienne, who will seamlessly merge the guitar strums of the daytime line-up with the after-dark dance party plans, and folk-rock troubadour Johnny Flynn,delivering his wry lyrical perspective on the world. MOJO Album of the Year 2010 winner, and former front-man of The Czars, John Grant, makes his Truck debut and critically acclaimed Cherry Ghost joins them with a slot on the new stage.

Graduating to the Main Stage from playing in a barn and current darlings of those that hotly tip the best in new music, Fixers will play with a hometown advantage at Truck. Previously home to Fixers and buddies of Truck, the Blessing Force collective score a trio of appearances with Trophy Wife, Jonquil and Chad Valley all joining the bill. A Loretta Lynn for this generation, Caitlin Rose will fit in perfectly with the often country-infused atmosphere of Truck, while classical violinist and Brooklyn busker turned great hope of soul music Marques Toliver will bring something quite unique to Hill Farm.

Indie super group Jonny bring previous Truck headliner Norman Blake of Teenage Fanclub back to Steventon with his partner in crime, Euros Childs of Gorky’s, supporting their eponymous debut LP. The beguiling Treefight For Sunlight play swooning, roller-coasting, deliriously jubilant sunshine pop that harks back to more innocent times, while singer-songwriter and sculptor Marcus Foster,signed to Communion Records, may have only just released his debut EP but already the buzz around this young talent is deafening.

Acclaimed Richmond Fontaine singer-songwriter Willy Vlautin leads his alt-country acoustic duo to Truck, and finally, Robin and Joe will take a break from running the festival for an hour or so to treat the audience to a set by their band Dreaming Spires, celebrating the July release of their debut single “Everything all the time”.

Even with the increase in size and length of the festival, weekend tickets for Truck are still less than £100 taking the prize for the best value mini-holiday music lovers could wish for in 2011. Building on the well-earned reputation of one of the best independent festival offerings out there, also new for 2011 are camping areas including quiet and family spots, a camp-fire primed for sing-alongs (no doubt led by some whiskey-stoked Dreaming Spires…) and the new Family Field, which will include many of the features that have made Truck’s award-winning, fully-sustainable, little sister event Wood such a delight – a wide selection of workshops and activities for children, luxury camping options to rent, delicious local organic food and a stage hosted by the Oxford Folk Festival who Truck are happy to give a home to after their event was sadly forced to cancel in 2011.

Keep on Trucking! – more acts and news to be announced for Truck Festival 2011 shortly.

TICKET DETAILS:

Adult weekend ticket £99 plus booking fee

Young person’s (13-17) weekend ticket* £79 plus booking fee

*Please note under-12’s go free and under-18’s must be accompanied by an adult

AVAILABLE FROM:

Seetickets (nationwide) – 0844 209 7363 http://www.seetickets.com/?c=539091

Truck Store, 101 Cowley Road, Oxford – 01865 793 866

And local outlets