CMAT steals the show, and possibly the whole week, with her excellent voice and great sense of humour. Leazes, Lizzie Esau, Etta Marcus and Everything Everything all impress.
It was the busiest Thursday in Truck Festival history and those that paid the extra were treated to a brilliant start to the festival. With the back and forth timings on two stages you could watch every single act should you want to.
Heidi Eldest started off the live music on the This Feeling stage before the first of the 2026 Band App Winners, O’Phantom, got the job of opening the Truck Stage.
Another of the Band App Winners were next on This Feeling. Having listened to a lot of the bands playing the festival that we were not familiar with, Leazes really jumped out at us. The Newcastle band absolutely backed that up live. They already have a very distinctive sense of identity. There is a proper Geordie edge to Joe King’s vocals. He backs up his Newcastle credentials with a full on perm-mullet that the recently deceased Kevin Keegan would have been proud of. Guitarist Sam Dellow is rocking a fine kilt today.
They absolutely go at it from start to finish and bring incredible energy to it all. The tent is buzzing. The music is proper propulsive indie. It sounds absolutely classic, yet totally fresh at the same time. ‘I’ve Been Waiting’ has a proper huge sing along chorus. ‘Hers’ goes off like a bullet train. ‘Sun’s Out’ would have set nicely in the setlist of headliners Two Door Cinema Club or The Wombats. Hopefully they will be back down this way soon.
Etta Marcus was excited to be playing her first main stage at a festival. With the obvious qualities of her songwriting it certainly won’t be the last time she graces one. Her music is classy and complex. There is a broad brush Americana mixed with a touch of Lana Del Ray’s more intimate style. ‘Mechanical Bull’ is almost old fashioned music-hall theatricality. A real talent. She is the first artist to mention how hot it is on the Truck Stage, but far from being the last over the next few days.
Lizzie Esau was another new name to us on This Feeling and another that really impressed. She covers a range of styles, citing Wolf Alice, Beabadoobee and Radiohead as influences. Her recorded output is strong, but she came across a lot rockier in person.
Everything Everything are in the grand tradition of quirky art-pop taking in the likes of Sparks and The Pet Shop Boys. Bands who do it their way, expecting you to either come along for the ride or take a hike. The matching outfits increase the sense of togetherness against the world. Their fans were out in force for this one, the amount of t-shirts around the site were not far behind those for CMAT. Loads of the songs trigger huge sing-alongs. The run in of ‘Distant Past,’ ‘No Reptiles’ and ‘Cold Reactor’ is epic. It leaves Reading Indie Life promising to go and have a proper trawl through their back catalogue.
CMAT is clearly in the mood for fun. The Very Sexy CMAT band are all coordinating the same purple material with black spots in a range of ways. Authentic looking cowboy Daniel Vildósola, the pedal steel guitar player, has a neckerchief. There are skirts and vests and more in the same styling. Taking yourself not seriously is clearly an important prerequisite of joining the band and they are involved involved in various hi-jinx throughout the set.
It is straight into ‘Jamie Oliver Petrol Station’ and instantly that voice sounds fantastic. Truck goes crazy. Across the set the strength of her vocals impresses over and over. Her range almost crosses into operatic at moments.
CMAT also enjoyed Everything Everything’s set. “Everything Everything are my favourite f*****g band. I used to stalk them when I was 14… and then again when I was 30 (the age she is now).” She sings a bit of ‘No Reptiles’ before stopping. “One second, I just need to pull my knickers out of my bum. Or do I? Yes I do.” Whilst her songs can do serious, Ciara Mary-Alice Thompson struggles to keep any sense of seriousness going on in between songs.
Halfway through she says, “We don’t usually get to headline festivals. So can I take advantage of my position as the most powerful Irish woman at Truck Festival. Any requests? Coronation Street? A sad song in the middle of the set. Okay then.” Before delivering ‘Coronation St.’
“It’s the bit where I get to sit down and someone pours me a glass of wine.” She promptly sits down with a hand out. The glass is eventually delivered by Daniel. “It needs a single cube of ice.” This leads to keyboardist and musical collaborator Colm to bring in a bucket of ice and start hacking a chunk out. CMAT is both funny and knows her mind. No wonder elements of The Patriarchy are intent on trying to bring her down.
The back end of the set is just tune after tune. ‘Take A Sexy Picture of Me,’ ‘Running/Planning,’ ‘EURO-COUNTRY’ and ‘I Wanna Be A Cowboy, Baby!’ Before Cowboy we are talked through and shown how to do the “Dunboyne 2 Step.” She finishes with ‘Stay For Something” An apt song for us, as this was the first time we remember being aware of CMAT as an artist when it was released. CMAT jumps the barrier and goes for a wander in the crowd.
Keeping the good times going CMAT sings, and gets the rest of us to join in, with a round of ‘Happy Birthday’ for Esmea in the crowd. The signs in the crowd are an interactive highlight of the show. One has “Bedford Diana” written on it, instead of Dunboyne. CMAT explains for the rest of us that she was conceived in Bedford so the people of Bedford like to claim her as their own.
What a way to start to the Festival a riot of colour, entertainment and exceptionally good singing!
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