The Guest List: Market Stage, Truck Festival

Altrincham’s The Guest List played the Market Stage last week at Truck Festival, and we were there to catch their set.

*image credit: The Real McCor

Having toured with Blossoms, the buzz around The Guest List was rife on the day of Truck Festival. Talk of a new Blossoms swelled, which gave us the jitters, truth be told. What Blossoms do is perfect, and they’ve left no vacuum.

What came next was a weekend-stealing set.

On Loose Tongue and ‘Canada’, they proved to the world that guitars will groove once again. Swooning hooks that move from the darkness to the light and then fall away again. ‘Canada’, a more obviously appealing record, proved their time with the Blossoms was well spent. Set opener ‘Loose Tongue’, however, armed with a more muscular sound, saw frontman Cai Alty drag the band from their Blossoms pop instincts to the guttural post-punk howls of Fontaines DC.

This middle ground is where The Guest List was at their best. Killing pop and illuminating the underground from one couplet to the next was beautiful, yes, but more importantly, powerful! It gave their former single ‘Mary’ the space to land all of its power. Alty strayed from Chatten to Ogden in the verses, but soon, the sweet spot he carved out was his own realm to do with as he wished. His vocals twisted with turmoil and rose with righteousness before tumbling again like all great underdogs. It was a masterclass in how to make us plebs fall in love with a band.

Then, on ‘161’, they unfurled an anthem for the lost, for the brave, for 161 men from Chapel Street in Altrincham who fought in WW1. Twenty-nine died in battle, and twenty more passed upon return.  It was blessed with the songwriting classicism of The Lathums and injected with Pete Doherty’s credibility. The lush melodies of their mentors, Blossoms, chimed with the masterful scouse arrangements of The Zutons and The Coral, united to prove that music can still leave a room in awe.

Guitar music hasn’t sounded this pure since Pete and Carl recited Wilfred Owen in the same mic. Long may Manchester reign supreme!

Wunderhorse: Main Stage, Truck Festival

Wunderhorse’s incredible run in 2025 cruised into Truck Festival on a scorching Saturday afternoon. The main stage had just been set alight by the indomitable spirit of CMAT, could Jacob Slater and co fan the flames further?

*banner image credit: This Is Gary

Image credit: This Is Gary

From the explosion of ‘Midas’ to the fraught ‘Teal’ to the emotionally charged ‘July’, Wunderhorse unveiled the blueprint for being in a band. A vivid chronicle of adolescence, tangled romances, and substance-fuelled chaos.

Crucial to their success is their overriding sense of realness. As sweat pours from Slater, you can visibly see his soul being left on stage. These moments of reckless joy, intertwined with alt-rock bands of the 90s and Neil Young, was met head-on by the crowd with despairing empathy and the kind adulating self-sabotage that only a band of the moment can extract.

Amidst the angst and turmoil, lay ‘Purple’ and ‘Teal. The former a delicate powerhouse of a single. Soulful, catchy, and blessed with rock ‘n’ roll’s desperation to be heard, and heard it was! A deafening roar of joy from the Truck crowd stemmed from crowd to stage, proof that to be an outsider is still the greatest place to reside! ‘Teal’, however, was a shimmering moment of US guitars lit up by the brooding working class of the UK. Slater’s vocals embodied hope. The kind that’s born amongst life-long friends, leaving school, drinking to the wee hours, and plotting to change the world.

On this balmy evening, feeling was anything but failing!

Image credit: This Is Gary

Rolla: This Feeling Stage, Truck Festival

Manchester’s Rolla headlined This Feeling’s stage at Truck Festival two weeks ago today, and we were there to catch them.

*banner image credit: This Is Gary  

Image credit: This Is Gary  

Back in March Rolla supported Pastel on their UK tour. at the Dome in London, on a bigger stage, with a better PA, Rolla emerged from wannabes to serious contenders. Maintaining their intensity, they sounded fuller and broader, allowing more into their world of chaos.

This rich vein of form was carried into their headline slot and was a lesson to any young band watching on. The loyal, faithful got their fix, but their broader sound spread a wider net. Luck by lick, you could feel the unsuspecting inching closer, yearning to become one of the faithful.

Former single ‘Hey You’ was the finest exponent of this newfound confidence. While the mayhem of their early sound remains prominent, there’s now space for Luke McConnell and Tom Paddon’s guitars to breathe. The Nick McCabe-esque blasts from ‘Rolling People’ and the deranged glory of ‘Come On’ soared through the tent like the devil singing it’s the nature of my game.

Bassist Luke Gilmore was in fine fettle. His bass lines thundered with devastating effect on ‘We Owe You Nothing’ and throbbed with violent anticipation on ‘Hey You’. He set the tone throughout the set, allowing frontman Gilmore to bound around the stage like a loose cannon.

They professed to owe us nothing; they delivered a hell of a lot!

Image credit: This Is Gary

April Tapes: This Feeling Stage, Truck Festival

Chesterfield via Sheffield outfit April Tapes were second up on This Feeling’s stage on day 2 of Truck Festival this year. Sweltering heat had migrated in to challenge the hangovers and comedowns of day 1 overindulgence. Could they blow away the cowebs?

*banner image credit; Rhona Murphy

Image Credit: Rhona Murphy

They say timing is everything in music, and, in a testing heat, April Tapes’ blend of meandering introspection was the perfect tonic. Thoughtful prose and melancholic licks, which occasionally strayed into moments of euphoria, coerced a tentative crowd back to life.

Former singles ‘Reyt Fast’ and ‘Those Days’ breezed through the tent, suggesting their name will climb festival bills sooner rather than later. The former stomped its way to hearts and minds like lost indie underdogs Polytechnic and Two Wounded Birds, but with frontman Max Stokes’ indie take on Jonathan Richman, April Tapes are set to outrun the underdog tag. On ‘Those Days’, the coming-of-age sounds of The Goa Express came to life through the brooding guitars and rueful lyrics.

From their latest EP ‘Dead in Water’, ‘Salt Rock’ and ‘Grunge’ burned Brightest. The former was a gentle foray into the world of Seafood and Six By Seven. Whereas ‘Grunge’ saw bassist Bethan Evans take lead vocals and drag their outsider status to the edge of mainstream.

Truck Festival has a great knack for putting over new talent, and in 2025, the offshoots of a new era emerged. Out goes the spoken word post-punk craze, and in comes the likes of Maystones, The North, and April Tapes. Bands which blur the lines of indie and punk with melody and teenage angst always at their core.

The Bracknall: This Feeling, Truck Festival

Essex DIY success story The Bracknall played This Feeling’s stage at Truck Festival recently. Last time out in London, they headlined Lower Third with a stunning set. This slot was just thirty minutes, could they condense their form into a smaller slot?

*banner image credit: This Is Gary

Image credit: This Is Gary

From the moment the haunting pianos drop on ‘No Way Back For Me’, the air changes at Truck Festival. Rock ‘n’ roll had entered the festival and, through its dogged sense of glory, was going to leave a resounding mark upon all who witnessed.

Former single ‘Get Better’ tapped into the key changes that made us all fall in love with Noel for the first time around, and through the gutsy vocals of Jack Dacey, bred an underdog status that demanded everyone’s emotional investment.

Image credit: This Is Gary

Anthemic sing-alongs nailed, they then brought the noise and confusion with ‘Make It Happen’, Visceral guitars and violent vocals united on this righteous line in the sand. Defiant self-belief on a gargantuan scale roared through the This Feeling tent. As they hit fever pitch, Ed Smith announced himself to the festival as a generational guitar talent. His explosive solo stared into the devil’s eyes and made Satan sit down!

‘I Don’t Understand It’ from their debut album closed proceedings with such grandeur you’d be forgiven for thinking it was Knebworth. The bluesy bohemia of early Kings of Leon collided with the windswept glory of Soundtrack Of Our Lives on the weekend’s one true moment of majesty. Layer upon layer of melody, hope, and togetherness fed through the band with an ease that led them to fold in ‘Love Spreads’. There was an ease and confidence to their playing which offered hope to bands to stick with it. The spotlight may take a while to come, but when it does, be ready, know who you are, and unleash it upon all and sundry with unwavering integrity.

The Bracknall’s latest album and this performance prove a working-class hero is still someone to be, that rock n roll will never die and that maybe, we could all see things they’ll never see once again.

Image credit: This Is Gary

The North: This Feeling Stage, Truck Festival

Leeds outfit The North burst onto the scene in January in our New Band Spotlight and then straight onto John Kennedy’s Xposure show on Radio X. It felt fitting that radio icon Kennedy would introduce them for their debut festival slot at Truck Festival in the This Feeling tent.

*banner image credit: Alan Wells

It may be seven months later, but that fiery momentum at the start of 2025 was burning bright still. Wave upon wave of teenage angst and indie-punk rock was unfurled upon a packed tent.

Image Credit: Alan Wells

In an era of post-punk excess, it felt natural that what would come next would be a melodic rock ‘n’ roll band as the antithesis. However, through gritty licks, snarling vocals, and a furious yet melodic rhythm section, The North realigned post-punk to its biting best.

On ‘She’, they tapped into the more eloquent moments of Bloc Party’s debut. As they chased victory and caressed dreams with their angelic licks, they came of age and took a generation with them.

On ‘Soundtrack Your Soul’ they can march into any festival and light it up with an instant classic. On record, it’s divine. Live, it was an enthralling joyride of teenage hope destined to overspill and save souls!

It may have been their first ever festival, but The North proved they are the real deal!

Image Credit: Alan Wells

Good Health Good Wealth: This Feeling Stage, Truck Festival

Last year, they breezed into the This Feeling tent at Truck Festival, mid-afternoon and stole the effing show. Effortless, playful and slick af, GHGW laid bare their credentials.

*banner image credit: This Is Gary

Image Credit: This Is Gary

Fast forward a year, and they headline the same tent. There’s a national tour to support, and anticipation for a debut album is sky high.

Pressure? What Pressure!

Frontman Bruce Breakey, resplendent in his white Sergio Tacchini tracky top, had a poise and grace to his delivery that said farewell to the smallest stage of Truck Festival and gave a knowing smile to main stage.

On ‘Snatch’, he put all of the UK’s grand stages on notice. With the smoky groove of Baxter Dury and the attitude of Audio Bullys, he is taking the sound of a cult classic to the precipice of a cultural anthem.

Breakey’s progression is notable, but it’s Simon Kuzmickas where the stark improvement lay. Twelve months ago, Kuzmickas looked good and was a fine aide to Breakey. In 2025, he comes as his equal. Excelling with solos, dipping the tempo with delicate licks when needed, he is now a master of his craft and together they feel force to be reckoned with.

Image Credit: This Is Gary

The Sway: Truck Festival, This Feeling & Hunter Boots Stage

Liverpool’s The Sway recently treated the Thursday ticket holders to Truck Festival to a mesmerising set on the This Feeling stage.

Bands can dazzle, they can enthral, that’s the easy bit for fledgeling bands. Having the craft honed to back it all up takes time, often until albums two and three. The Sway delivered it in abundance in this set.

All images courtesy of Alan Wells Photography.

‘Dreamer’s devilishly rumbling licks, a la their Scouse elders The Stands, sauntered through the summer air as though they’d always been present. ‘Changing’ had an eloquence that defied their years even more. The lo-fi vocal and angelic back vocals are kissed by moonlit Dave McCabe-esque guitars, which hold a crowd in disbelief.

Track after track, The Sway continued to delight with songs with the melodic ease of a band basking in years of success. ‘Songs & Poetry’ swayed with Shack’s guile, DMA’s innocence, and the romantic glee of the Sarah’s Records cannon. ‘Living It Large’, heavier than most in the set, still knew when to step on and off the gas. Drip fed the excitement with Lou Reed's “oo oos” and lysergic licks as and when, like Townsend in his pomp, toying with rock ‘n' roll disciples.

You wait, and you wait, and YOU WAIT, for a band to have the talent, integrity and poetry. So often, one or more is missing. The Sway have it all. They looked like a band of brothers, all standing at the front of the stage, confronting yet enticing, all songwriters and singers but crucially, no ego!

The Sway will play the coveted Rewired all-dayer at Signature Brew’s Blackhorse Road venue. Click the image for tickets.

Good Health Good Wealth: Truck Festival, This Feeling & Hunter Boots Stage

Some bands stride on stage with purpose, with a sense of destiny in their eyes. Good Health, Good Wealth strolled on in their own time, looking like extras from The Business and the re-make of The Firm. The This Feeling and Hunter Boots audience drew breath; coming next was either awful or genius.

All images courtesy of Alan Wells Photography.

Frontman Bruce Breakey moved in micro-movements, redefining what it means to be cool AF every millisecond. At the same time, guitarist Simon Kuzmickas looked slicker than Serge and as coly withdrew as Chris Lowe.

‘Love Hangover’ grooved into the room with effortless confidence. Breakey’s deeper spoken word sections were delivered with subtle, wry nods and winks to a crowd marching straight into the palm of his hand. Their most recent single ‘Gold’ showcased the vocal talent of Breakey. It offered the kind of crossover hit the alternative world sorely needs to drag mainstream eyes to it.

On set closer ‘Snatch,’ GHGW turned the vibrancy of Truck Festival into the gritty smoke-filled warehouse clubs of London. They beefed up their laid-back record to become a festival banger, all the while, Breakey’s slow vocal drawl in the verses cutting through a room ready to erupt with excitement. Pulling from Man Like Me, Audio Bullys, and MJ Cole, this duo are ready to be catapulted to stardom and tear up a bland industry.

Fingers to the sky, the weak became heroes once again. Genius!

Spangled: Truck Festival, This Feeling Stage & Hunter Boots Stage

Two weekends ago, we were at Truck Festival to witness Manchester band Spangled headline This Feeling and Hunter Boots stage.

All images courtesy of Alan Wells Photography.

A year earlier, they were on early to a big crowd on the Market stage, and as such, the intimate tent was rammed well before their arrival. The buzz was palpable, sent into a frenzy with radio icon John Kennedy’s rabble-rousing introduction.

Bounding on stage like kids on cherryade, Spangled opened with Swordfish Trauma to show the world everything great about the band. Frontman Ben Johnson’s Roald Dhal via Neds Atomic Dustbin's sense of gambol lit up the playful lyrics. The guitars strayed from the funk of Prince to the psyche of the Roses, sending the packed tent into an Ian Brown shoulder-swaying march of blissed-out glory. As Haliday let loose in the solo, there was a tangible feeling that Hendrix had made the soundtrack to Miami Vice.

‘Crank Up The Splendour’ tapped into the Roses’ cuter songwriting style with the paisley guitars swaying in a hazy glee. Johnson, equally as distinct as Brown was, allows his steeliness to melt and rise throughout. His time on the bigger stage last year has lent him the tools to take a crowd on a journey within one song, let alone a whole set. A masterful performer has been born.

Elsewhere, the set explodes with the amusing ‘Horizon’s Glance’ and the Blur-esque ‘Charlie Hills’, but the heartfelt ‘Good Life Better’ is what sends this audience home with irremovable memories. The gothic psyche guitars sent shivers through the souls of all who witnessed this ode to a lost father. When Johnson sings, “That's when all of the scars inside of my soul were gone” in the closing stages, Spangled transcends to a higher power. Guttural, poetic, and vital, the band shows there is a substance anchoring their gaiety.

Click the image below for tickets to their upcoming show:

Neev: The Nest, Truck Festival

Scottish singer-songwriter Neev opened a miserable Saturday at Truck Festival in The Nest. Backed by a full band, could she warm the soul amid a torrential downpour?

The bulk of the set was taken from her debut album ‘Katherine’, released in April via Trapped Animal. ‘Will I Change You’s deeply personal lyrics would have jarred so early in the day had it not been for Neev’s eloquent and soothing vocals. Her ability to move from steely to empathetic showed glimpses of what a performer she could become alongside her esteemed writing.

On ‘Green’, the band chime in with achingly beautiful backing vocals and resounding guitars lighting up the sodden tent. Neev showcased a vocal power only matched that weekend by Megan Wyn. Her country-folk delectation strayed from the ethereal to a grunge-tinged howl giving her songs a mesmeric appeal on the small stage.

This appeal was doubled down on step closer ‘Flowers’. A rousing and spellbinding affair that should never leave her setlists.  Neev played Truck Festival after winning a competition. She left it, proving that few are her competition.

Big Image: This Feeling, Truck Festival

The Midlands four-piece Big Image recently played This Feeling’s stage at Truck Festival. With XFM/Radio X icon John Kennedy announcing their debut album has been recorded, the crowd’s anticipation grew. Did they deliver? Images courtesy of Alan Wells

On paper, 30mins seems such a short slot. However, some can make me feel longer. Not Big Image! Blink and you would have missed their set of baggy meets Balearic anthems. ‘Late Nights’ fired out of the traps like an Ibiza classic fronted by indie icon.

Images courtesy of Alan Wells

Former single ‘Uptown’ breezed through the cool air with its blessed reverb, shimmering Mark Day licks, whilst frontman George held the crowd in the palm of his hand. On ‘Something’, they took the set to another level. The piano riff and beats induced the warmest glow of the weekend. Their talent is evident but, it's their heart which carried them to greatness. Like The Clash, Happy Mondays, and The Libertines, Big Image have an innate ability to make their audiences be a part of their immortality. Their humble star power continuously resonated with the Truck crowd.

Taking their set to a more destructive place was ‘Club’. The booming licks combined with the funk of ‘Bummed’ are dragged into the warped intensity of The Charlatans ‘Area 51’. The crowd which, moments before were bouncing at the band's behest now stood in awe as a moment of profound adulation materialised.

Roll on the debut album!

The Facades: This Feeling Stage, Truck Festival

Wigan outfit The Facades played a blustery Saturday afternoon on the This Feeling Stage at Truck Festival recently and we were there to check them out.

The beguiling single ‘That Letter’ kicked things off. The bewitching basslines of The Coral and Dead 60s set the platform for frontwoman Alannah and lead guitarist Evan to shine. A trait that echoes resoundingly through the set.

This was no more evident than on unreleased tracks ‘Silence’, ‘These Days’, ‘Muse’, and ‘Tell Me’ where they reignited Stevie Knicks and Lindsay Buckingham’s spellbinding partnership. Alannah’s vocals ranged from haunting to mesmeric and were always beset with great melody. She has a power that could fill stadiums, but she has something far greater in her armory. The knowledge of when to pull back, to soften, almost whisper to allow the drama and romance of the occasion to percolate is way beyond her years and startling to watch.

Evan’s guitar playing mirrors this wisdom. On ‘Beautiful’, his lines sauntered across horizons with the lightest of touches. On ‘Beautiful’, he races alongside the vocal feverishly pushing for the release that comes only in the final moments.

Their intuitive relationship on stage was a joy to behold. It brought back a strand of rock classicism that had seemingly been resigned to BBC4 documentaries and Mojo magazine features. Through the howling winds and driving rain, The Facades reimagined those halcyon songwriting days of the late 60s and 70s for 2023! 

Deadletter: The Market Stage, Truck Festival

Oh when there's no future
 How can there be sin
 We're the flowers
 In the dustbin
 We're the poison
 In your human machine
 We're the future
 Your future

 London’s Deadletter played the Market Stage of Truck Festival as part of So Young Magazine’s line-up and we were there to check them out.

Atrocious weather dominated proceedings on Saturday. Fields became quagmires, tent entrances like waterfalls, and knee-deep puddles at the urinals were not enough to dampen the spirit of Deadletter or their huge crowd. Their brand of funked-up post-punk psyche blasted out of the traps with ‘The Snitching Hour’. The ‘Pretty Green’-esque bassline and Ian Dury ramshackle party sonic took the good work of Warmduscher in 2022 to another level. The joyous sax coupled with Zac Lawrence’s irrepressible energy had a sodden tent grooving.

Poppy Richler’s sax style lent the set a unique insight into just how fucked the UK is. In the bleaker moments, she lit up the dysfunctional incompetence of the Tories and, on ‘Madge’s Declaration’ and ‘Binge’, she tapped into the audacity of this generation to have a good time in spite of no future.

‘Degenerate Inanimate’ combined the chaotic carnival of The Happy Mondays peak (‘Bummed’) with Lawrence’s poetic mesh of Carl Barat, Alan Donohoe (The Rakes), and Ian Curtis vocal. Together, they created something that went beyond the outsider tag of post-punk. Visions of sun-drenched technicolour main stages emerged. Diehards at the front hanging off every spoken word and families dancing at the back to the jubilant ‘oh ohhhhs’. Not since Pulp, Suede, and Sleeper stormed the charts have misfits produced alternative art this all-encompassing.

As they decree “there’s something in the air, there's a storm coming” only one thought lingers, Deadletter. Their time is coming, sooner rather than later preferably.

LOCK-IN: This Feeling Stage, Truck Festival

The Essex via London band of brothers continued their meteoric rise recently with a headline set on the This Feeling Stage at Truck Festival.

In frontman Benjy Leak, Lock-In don’t only have Essex’ alternative scene answer to John Travolta, they have one of indie’s good guys! From the campsite to backstage, to the front barrier of stages, Leak is there, affable, hungry for success but always supporting others.

It’s presumably this which pulls in the crowd which is 10 deep out of the tent which erupts into feverish dancing at every opportunity. ‘Vandross’ is snapped out with a punkier sonic than on record, a trait that rings true throughout. ‘Get Over It’, the finest homage to the mid-00s ever written is played harder and faster for the most part, only dropping the tempo to allow Leak to impart his heartfelt romantic anguish.

With their raw passion threatening to spill over, they temper the fire with the groove-laden ‘Do You Like Good Music?’ which is succeeded by their mashup section of Modjo’s ‘Lady’, Stardust’s ‘Music Sounds Better With You’, and Jamiroquai’s ‘Space Cowboy’.

Across the weekend, there are acts with great songs but, no emotional presence, no fire! Lock-In however have a raging inner desire and they can make good indie songs a great moment on stage. Stage décor, vocal nuance, and fashion give the audience everything possible and the audience reciprocated.

The Velvet Hands: This Feeling Stage, Truck Festival

Cornish outfit The Velvet Hands have been lighting up stages all year promoting their fine new album ‘Sucker Punch’ as well as supporting The Rifles and Trampolene. The hard graft resulted in a headline slot for This Feeling at Truck Festival.  

The latest single ‘Emotion’ has clearly gained traction as the packed tent came alive to their decadent basslines and playful take on The Strokes. As had former single ‘Telephone Love’ took themes of excess to the mayhem of The Hives and guitar majesty of The Ramones.

Images courtesy of Alan Wells.

With every song they play, the crowd becomes more intoxicated with the songwriting duo of Toby Mitchell and Dan Able. Mitchell’s anarchic persona and powerhouse vocal intertwined with Able’s CBGB’s coolness to produce back-and-forth vocal magic not seen since Pete and Carl.

Closing out the set is their classic ‘The Party’s Over’. A slacker anthem worthy of bringing the curtain down on any set on any stage. It made the halcyon sunset of the Oxford skies feel like a beer garden with the world’s greatest jukebox blaring. The crowd swayed, staggered, and drank its way to heaven with the Cornish gang greeting them leather-clad at the gates.

The Velvet Hands were and are the real deal. Their party is just getting started!

Pynch: The Market Stage, Truck Festival

Opening the Market Stage early at 11:30 to a very damp Truck Festival were London four-piece Pynch. Having released their debut album ‘Howling At Concrete Moon’ via Chillburn Records back in April, Pynch were looking to kickstart So Young magazines hosting with a bang.

Their set was awash with motoric styles. From Kraftwerk to Jonathan Richman, their tales of being left behind in the modern world eased a sodden crowd into Saturday’s bleak skies. ‘Karaoke’ twisted and turned effortlessly, withstanding its lyrical isolation. They trod a similar path on the anti-greed polemic of ‘London’. Harsher synths and lyrics of despair combined with the pop instincts of Golden Silvers on this satirical reflection of modern city life.

Perhaps the weekend's crowning moment came via their set closer ‘Somebody Else’. Dan Le Sac vs Scroobious Pip beats injected vibrancy and technicolour into their motoric guitars which set about a groove in the huge tent. It was though, through Spencer Enock’s lyrics and guitars that the magic took place.  For so long, an unwritten social contract was present for younger generations. Toil and struggle early on, reap the rewards later. In recent times, no such carrot has been dangled. In fact, a closed sign is almost permanently on display. Mortgages, record deals, travelling, you name it, the boomers had it and took it back. Pynch, like no other, got this across via their melancholic poetry this past Saturday. No matter how hard you try or even succeed, life is just about survival at present (“'Cause this is not what I'm supposed to do / And no one cares where I went to school / It doesn't matter how you get paid / As long as you can make it through the days”). Yet, the Market Stage filled up, it danced, it through fists aloft. It was a tear-inducing moment. The sheer defiance of it all. To be kicked when you when you’re down and still find beauty in the world, in people, and in music, generated enough energy to solve any crisis.

Pynch professed “I wanna die doing what I love / I wanna feel like I'm doing enough” last Saturday. They needn’t worry, they have and they will. A genuine triumphant of the human spirit!

Bag Of Cans: This Feeling Stage, Truck Festival

Norwich five-piece Bag of Cans strode on stage a cornflake, a patient, a sailor, another sailor, and a drummer. What followed next was nothing short of brilliantly bizarre. Images courtesy of Alan Wells.

Images courtesy of Alan Wells.

Not since Les Incompetents threw themselves around the 100 Club in 2006 with such comical recklessness has indie-punk been so engaging. Bag of Cans tapped into the indie-punk licks of Good Shoes on the former single ‘Spin Cycle’. This tale of a spin cycle was coupled with rousing brass and the carefree indie warbling of cult indie outfits Cajun Dance Party and Larrikin Love. Inch by inch, the This Feeling crowd creeps forward with intrigue.

Despite the intent to induce laughter, there were some serious musical chops on display. The harmonies on ‘Milk and More’, a tale of a coked-up milkman making ill-advised advances, sounded like Graham Coxon had joined Super Furry Animals for a Beatles jam.

‘Hostage at the Dinner Table’ brought to life the mayhem of Fred MacPherson and Billy Leeson In those innocent Les Incompetents days. Riotous like the Libertines but, always with a wry sense of humour.

What began as an unexpecting crowd most definitely finished as one of future curiosity. Who was that? What was that? With their debut album already out, thousands will be about to find out more.

The Utopiates: This Feeling Stage, Truck Festival

It’s been quite the year for The Utopiates. A sold-out tour, debut album release, and now headliners of the ‘This Feeling’ stage at Truck Festival. Our paths last crossed at their homecoming show at London’s iconic 100 Club. Would their condensed headline set live up to that famous night?

With the shorter set-in-place, it allowed The Utopiates to mirror the emotional ebb and flow of their debut album ‘The Sun Also Rises’ with greater impact. The immediate uplift generated from Josh Redding’s guitar playing, so often emulating the Greats is now entering a realm of its own. The spirals of Hendrix and Squire on ‘Only Human’ drag the audience into their despairing, yet illuminating world. Redding is beginning to develop a funk and soul swagger to his rock ‘n’ roll on stage, increasing his magnetism to that of the mesmerising frontman, Dan Popplewell.

At the 100 Club, with time on their side, ‘Ups and Downs’ thrilled with its piano loops but descended into an apocalyptic ‘XTRMNTR’ meets Jagz Kooner tear-up. At Truck, it stays it’s in lane but, to no less effect as the rammed tent grooves towards the heavens like it was 1991. Its effortless flow into album closer ‘Simple Minds’ was masterful, the kind that begs for sunsets on mainstages.

Frontman Dan Popplewell’s vocal was on point all night but, at this juncture, went from indie also ran to a magician toying with its artform. His soul power flashed its teeth but, with the essence of the song about drifting off poetically into the sun, he softens his snarl, allowing his vocal to transcend music and become a vocal breeze kissing the cheeks of onlookers.

There is such confidence, such exceptional precision to everything they do now, 2024 simply must see The Utopiates pack out big top tents and open main stages to the more casual music fan. Their melody, intensity, and ability will them over with ease. It’s inevitable.

Vega Rally: This Feeling Stage, Truck Festival

Singer, songwriter, producer, one man band extraordinaire Vega Rally played This Feeling’s stage at Truck Festival last Thursday and we were there to check him out. Images courtesy of Alan Wells.

The sight of one man, a laptop, and a green-striped Adidas guitar seemed to perplex a few initially but, once the booming beats and ‘Waterfall-esque’ guitars of ‘Infinity 93’ chime, his charm and self-belief infect the room. ‘This Moment’ took it to yet another level. The heartfelt melody began to soar across the Oxfordshire skies as Rally really began to cut loose.

To date, part of Rally’s appeal has been his remixes. Pastel’s ‘Deeper Than Holy’ and Marseille’s ‘Jungle’ have added extra dimensions to two of the UK’s hottest prospects. On set closer ‘Feel Alive’, the dynamism and swagger he’s shared with his peers come together for himself via the heart of Wilkinson and subtle nods to the early 90s rave scene.

Click the image below to see Vega Rally headline for this year's Humber Street Sesh: