Above: First Truck 1998

The first festival took place in in September of 1998, on Hill Farm, as indeed has every edition since, with the support and cooperation of now two generations of Binnings farmers. As Alan Binning often says (with a wink), “when young Robin asked me, I didn’t say no fast enough..”

People tend to assume the festival got its name from the flatbed truck that farmer Binning provided to use for the stage that first year, but in truth the name first came from Robin’s romanticizing of American long-distance trucking, and the cult Kris Kristofferson movie ‘Convoy’; the soundtrack album to this film was called “Ten Trucking Greats”, and this was also the name given to the compilation CD sold at Truck 98 - the first of many such albums. The festival was founded in response to the increasing blandness, homogenization and commercialism of mainstream music festivals of the time, hoping to capture the spirit of Glastonbury or Woodstock on a more manageable local scale. Truck 98 was a one-day event, originally intended for Robin’s birthday in July but then moved to September when the young organisers realized they needed a licence, and attended by around 500 people (estimates vary), with 20+ bands and an eye-watering ticketprice of… 3 pounds! It was deemed a success by all involved, and so began an evolution that saw the festival grow a little each year, developing a reputation for an adventurous and eclectic music lineup, and a charming and safe atmosphere.

The Guardian described Truck as “The godfather of all small music festivals” and “halfway between a festival and a village fete”! Legendary broadcaster and local resident“whispering” Bob Harris introduced bands onstage as early as 1999. With a festival committee comprising a mix of Steventon residents and the team from Truck Records, by 2004 the festival had reached acapacity of 5,000, and would regularly sell out before any artists had even been announced.

Truck also has a well-established reputation for charitable fundraising, with all proceeds in the early years going to a range of local charities.

To this day, the local Rotary Club and a number of other local groups cater and fundraise at the event, and, at a conservative estimate, about a million pounds has been raised for good causes in the 20+ years of the festival’s existence. The festival site (and indeed much of the village) was devastated by flash flooding in July 2007 on the day Truck was due to start, causing the event to be postponed to September. While some of the festival team tackled the floods in Steventon, a successful alternative event was held at Oxford Brookes student union, even though other parts of Oxford were also badly flooded, with many of the booked acts performing for free

Below:  Foals at Truck 2019

In 2012, after a difficult year for ticket sales, Truck was taken over by the youthful team who ran the independent Y-Not festival in Derbyshire. The festival subsequently changed hands again a few years later, but it remains at Hill Farm, and has since grown steadily, with approximately 20,000 people attending in 2019. Current festival director Matt Harrap was himself a teenage visitor to the festival as long ago as 2007. Over the years, artists to have appeared at Truck include: Supergrass, The Magic Numbers, The Charlatans, Foals, The Libertines, De La Soul, Franz Ferdinand, Manic Street Preachers, Ms Dynamite, Ash, Laura Marling, Clean Bandit, Spiritualized, Tim Minchin, British Sea Power, Bellowhead, Saint Etienne, Teenage Fanclub, Garth Hudson (of The Band), Idlewild, Shy FX, Regina Spektor, ElectricSoft Parade, Frank Turner, The Lemonheads, and many, many more. Joe and Robin continue to ensure there’s space for local artists via the Veterans and Virgins stage, and still perform every year in some capacity.

Unfortunately, due to the ongoing public health crisis, the 2020 and 2021 editions had to be cancelled, but, having already survived floods, financial misfortune and the foot-and-mouth crisis, the festival is planning to make a strong comeback in 2022.  (Which it did! Ed)

Below: Truck 2006,  'Whispering Bob' . Rotary Club Food 2009