Admiral Fallow - Main Stage – Friday - 19:40

It came as no surprise when Admiral Fallow appeared at this year’s SXSW festival in Austin Texas. The Scottish six-piece are one of the most exciting acts to come from across the border in recent months. Their re-released debut album ‘Boots Met My Face’ hit the shelves in March and was met with open arms from the critics, for their beautifully melodic folk-rock.

Alessi’s Ark - Clash Stage – Sunday - 15:45

At the tender age of 21, Alessi Laurent-Marke has already supported artists such as Cerys Mathews, Laura Marling, Emilia Torrini and even Neil Young in Hyde Park. After working with Bright Eyes producer Mike Mogis on her first album ‘Notes From The Treehouse’, the London-born singer-songwriter’s second album ‘Time Travel’ shows the continued development of a precocious talent.

Alphabet Backwards - Main Stage – Saturday - 12:00

Alphabet Backwards are a five-piece synthpop troupe originally from Steventon (or thereabouts), dedicated to championing the noble art of pop music. This band is a truly unique addition to Oxford’s vibrant music scene, with a live performance that continues to receive wide critical acclaim. Their first e.p ‘The White Russian’ is out now.

Bleeding Heart Narrative - Main Stage - Saturday - 13:00

Bleeding Heart Narrative is a seven-piece band from London known for their orchestral ambient soundscape with undertones of experimental post-rock. The band released their first album ‘All that was missing we never had in the world’ in 2008 and their second album ‘Tongue Tangled Hair’ came out in September 2009.

Braindead collective - Last.FM Stage – Friday - 17:15

Kraut-jazz-drone experimentalists Braindead Collective are an Oxford-based band made up of members of Guillemots, The Epstein and Keyboard Choir. Time Out recently dubbed them a “head-melting synth-fuelled assault that blends savage beats and unsettling grooves to fine effect”, and they are gradually coalescing something into something that could almost be conventionally called a “band”.

Caitlin Rose - Main Stage – Sunday - 15:00

Combining a lifelong passion for Punk-rock with a heritage of Country music (her mother is well-known songwriter Liz Rose), Caitlin Rose speaks for a new generation. She grew up in the home of country (Nashville Tennessee), where she spent most of her life before migrating to New York. Her critically-acclaimed debut album ‘Own Side Now’, released last August, was voted album of the month by Rough Trade Shops.

Cashier No 9 - Clash Stage – Sunday - 12:30

Belfast band Cashier no9 are a stunning, nonchalant talent, boasting unreserved support from Radio 1 DJ’s Rob Da Bank, Steve Lamacq and Janice Long. Their debut album ‘To The Death of Fun’, released last month on Bella Union records, incorporates a mix of Echo and the Bunnymen, The Byrds, Teenage Fanclub, Joy Zipper and Primal Scream.

Chad Valley - Last.Fm Stage – Saturday - 23:15

In recent months Chad Valley has enjoyed nationwide success and rightly so! One of the most exciting acts to come out of Oxford, Hugo Manuel (as his mother calls him) continues to lead the way as one of the leading lights of the Blessing Force scene. Expect a mix of balaeric beats, shimmering synths, and Hugo’s subtly impressive croon, as he takes to the stage near the end of the BF takeover.

Charly Coombes & The New Breed - Last.FM Stage – Friday - 21:15

Charly Coombes is no stranger to playing on the world stage: as a member of The 22/20s supporting Oasis on a UK tour; touring the states with Supergrass filling in for his brother Rob on keyboards; and now with his own backing band ‘The New Breed’, a stonking rock and roll four-piece currently playing around the country.

Cherry Ghost - Clash Stage – Saturday - 19:45

Cherry Ghost have won deserved worldwide acclaim for their gorgeous, psychedelic, symphonic pop. The five piece from Bolton released their first album ‘Thirst for Romance’ in 2007, charting at number seven, and providing two hit singles ‘Mathematics’ and ‘People Help The People’. Since that overwhelmingly successful debut, the band has continued to gather momentum with their second album ‘Beneath the Burning Shoreline’ released on Heavenly to no little acclaim.

Colorama - Clash Stage – Saturday - 13:30

Welsh born frontman Carwyn Ellis has performed and produced alongside a seemingly endless array of artists including Oasis, Shane MacGowan, UNKLE, and The Drums. His current band Colorama offers up a psychedelic and folk-inspired sound with undertones of nostalgic dream pop. Ellis recently achieved a Christmas number one with ‘Christmas Card’ on the BBC Radio Cymru chart.

Consortium5 - Wood Stage – Friday Evening

Consortium5 perform a considerable range of medieval, renaissance, baroque and contemporary music on a staggering array of instruments, the variety of which is as engaging visually as it is acoustically. The collective arrange workshops across the UK with a varied array of archaic woodwind instruments. Be sure to catch your early-music favourites this weekend!

Dana & Susan Robinson - Wood Stage – Sunday - 20:00

Dana and Susan Robinson, from North Carolina, are two guitar-playing, banjo-frailing, fiddle-sawing, and harmony-singing interpreters of the American experience. With a unique blend of contemporary songwriting and traditional Appalachian music, they bring a deep understanding of America’s musical heritage to their performances.

dB Band - Last.FM – Friday - 19:30

The dB Band story began when Barry (Mick Quinn of Supergrass) walked through the alleys and backstreets of Oxford in search of the ideal musical partnership, and came out into the sunshine with Fab (Paul Wilson of Shake Appeal), as the perfect bass-playing foil, followed shortly by itinerant bongo player Miikey D. Smith, who was persuaded to become the beating heart of this lively rock combo.

Dead Jerichos - Last.FM – Friday - 22:10

Indie rockers Dead Jerichos travel to Truck from deepest darkest Drayton, and have been building a reputation for themselves playing the local and national circuits. The three-piece have had huge support from BBC Oxford Introducing, and released their debut album ‘Mountains’ in November last year.

Dean Wareham - Clash Stage – Sunday - 17:30

Ten years after seminal dream-pop heroes Galaxie 500 parted ways, frontman Dean Wareham has made a comeback of late, but he’s not just bringing a slice of nostalgia to the party. Inspired by New York’s infamous 70’s Pop Art scene, Wareham has continued to play live, alongside wife Britta as Luna, and latterly Dean And Britta.

Deer Park - Main Stage – Friday – 16:30

One of the stand-out bands to make it through this year’s demo competition, Mark Christopher’s Deer Park is a collective of sorts, a constantly-shifting entity. The London-based folk troupe evince the lyrical sensibilities of Conor Oberst and the raw energy of The Hold Steady. Their current self-titled album, with its infectious melodies, has received wide critical acclaim.

Dive Dive - Last.FM – Friday - 00:00

Since forming in 2000 (with members previously in Dustball, headliners of the first ever Truck!), Oxford’s explosive indie rock four piece Dive Dive have enjoyed a wealth of success including support from the late, great John Peel. Soon to be immortalized in ‘Anyone Can Play Guitar’, the band have continued to grow, with latest album showing that they still have a lot of ‘Potential’.

Dreaming Spires - Main Stage – Sunday - 21:30

Following Goldrush’s split (so that the members could go their own way), Robin and Joe Bennett needed a creative outlet, as well as a band to play in at Truck. Enrolling a rotating cast of friends including members of Ride, The Unbelievable Truth, The Ralfe Band, and Man Without Country, they’ll be maintaining The Chain of unbroken performances stretching back to Cresta’s set at The July 1998 Steventon Nearly Free Festival.

Durrty Goodz - Last.FM – Saturday - 22:00

London Reggae Grime artist Duurty Goodz has received wide acclaim from critics, being dubbed one of London’s best MCs and being signed to Polydor in 2005. The rapper fuses old school reggae roots with a more contemporary London Grime sound, creating a truly unique style.

Edwyn Collins - Clash Stage – Saturday - 21:00

As partner Grace Maxwell put it, after suffering two strokes in quick succession in 2005: “The part of Edwyn [Collins]’s brain that controls speech and language was very badly hurt“. Thanks to the support of his family, friends, and members of bands like Franz Ferdinand, The Cribs, and The Magic Numbers last year’s ‘Losing Sleep’ album was a triumph of humility and grace in the face of mortality.
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Electric Soft Parade - Last.FM Stage – Sunday - 18:45

Since Alex and Tom White performed one of the stranger festival headline sets as “The Brotherhood Of Fish”, ESP have had a strong connection with this festival: they became firm favourites with everyone at Truck, playing several times, as well as several more appearances with Brakes, and released third album on our old record label. Re-energised after a two-year hiatus, they make their triumphant return!

Fixers - Main Stage – Saturday - 19:15

Fixers are yet another band from Oxford that are making vast strides in the music world. Their electrifying synth-pop sound has been all over the Radio 1 airwaves this year and continues to generate huge excitement amongst critics and music lovers. Their stunning E.P ‘Here comes 2001 so let’s all head for the sun’ is already out, and an album due in September should cement their position as one of the most exciting prospects in British music

Fran Smith - Wood Stage – Sunday - 17:00

Fran Smith’s idiosyncratic piano-poetry is delivered in a passionate, Yorkshire-accented voice that defies comparison. Her lyrics recall Leonard Cohen and Joni Mitchell - soulful torch songs, dripping with playful lyricism and powerful imagery. Her material has caught the attention of acclaimed songwriters such as Devon Sproule, Karine Polwart and Catherine Feeny.

Gabriel Minnikin - Main Stage – Sunday - 13:50

Gabriel Minnikin is a singer-songwriter from Nova Scotia, Canada. Emigrating to Manchester in the year 2000 after many years playing with criminally underrated alt-country troupe The Guthries, in 2004 Gabe released his debut record ‘Hard Feelings’. Having performed with the likes of Garth Hudson, Calexico, and The Handsome Family since then, he comes to Truck with his own big band.

Gabriel Prokofiev (DJ) - Wood Stage - Friday Evening

Gabriel Prokofiev is a truly unique and diverse artist/composer. A lifelong passion for classical and contemporary electronica has led Prokofiev (grandson of Sergei) to create a unique sound that evokes a new style born from genres that would not be further apart. G Prokofiev has gained enormous support and respect from the world of Club and Classical music, and in August his Concerto for Turntables and Orchestra will feature in the proms!

Gaggle - Clash Tent – Friday - 16:00

Dubbed the ‘most exciting, innovative and genuinely imaginative force in music right now’ by NME, Gaggle are a cult-like collective, producing an experimental chorus of electronic rock. The emotive sound of their incredible spectacle of their live show. The band will be arriving in Steventon fresh from supporting Hurts at Somerset House.

Goodtimes Goodtimes - Last.FM Stage – Sunday - 12:50

Goodtimes Goodtimes is singer-songwriter Franc Cinelli. Born in Rome, and raised in London, he cites influences from artists as diverse as Bruce Springsteen, The Police, Dire Straits, Pink Floyd & Bob Marley. Cinelli learned his trade playing jumping on National Express coaches to play gigs in pubs, venues and front rooms from Hastings to Stornoway and back again.

Gunning For Tamar - Last.FM Stage – Friday - 20:20

Oxford based four-piece Gunning For Tamar formed in early 2010. While they may not have been around for very long, they’ve still managed to make a significant mark on the local music scene, having already been featured on XFM and BBC 6Music. After narrowly missing out in the demo competition last year, they make their Truck debut with BBC Oxford Introducing’s showcase.

Heidi Talbot – Wood Stage – Saturday - 21:30

After spending the first part of a decade as part of New York-based ‘Cherish The Ladies’, Irish singer-songwriter Heidi Talbot’s made her solo breakthrough with 2008′s “In Love + Light”, recorded with acclaimed violinist (and husband) John McCusker. Its artfully-chosen mix of traditional and contemporary material, with Heidi’s's achingly bittersweet spun-gold voice, picked up glowing reviews and award nominations all over the world.

Holton’s Opulent Oog – Wood Stage – Friday - 18:00

Nick Holton brings his Opulent Oog to the Wood stage, and anybody who’s been to the Wood festival will be familiar with the understated, smoky brilliance of his tranquilized alt-country. He doesn’t do a lot of gigs, but when he does, they’re special occasions.

Islet – Last.FM Stage – Sunday - 17:40

Little is known about Cardiff experimental four piece Islet. They have no web presence and their music can only be found via YouTube. Their unique blend of chaotic, melodic vocals is one of many facets that set them apart from most bands around today. Currently they have strong backing from BBC’s Bethan Elfyn and BBC Introducing.

James Walbourne – Clash Stage – Saturday - 14:30

In his short career, this London based singer-songwriter already possesses an impressive musical CV. As well as playing in The Pretenders, Walbourne has also graced the stage with genuine rock’n'roll legend Jerry Lee Lewis. His current album ‘The Hill’ was released earlier this year, receiving wide critical acclaim for its delicious country-rock, and bluegrass sound.

John Grant – Clash Stage - Sunday - 20:45

Since the split of his former band The Czars, John Grant has established himself as a first class solo musician. In the summer of last year Grant released his debut solo album ‘Queen of Denmark’ was ranked as the album of 2010 by Mojo magazine, and as “One of the most deeply satisfying albums of recent times” by BBC Music Review. John Grant is set to be one of many highlights for Truck 2011.

Johnny Flynn – Clash Tent – Friday - 21:30

Already with two critically-acclaimed albums under his belt, Johnny Flynn is considered one of the UK’s best contemporary folk. His debut album ‘A Larum’ was an instant hit, with perfectly-formed folk-rock ditties like ‘Tickle Me Pink’ and ‘Leftovers’. He has also collaborated with Laura Marling, creating some of the most beautifully crafted folk around. “A poster-boy of the nu-folk scene”

Jonny – Main Stage – Sunday - 17:15

Teenage Fanclub frontman Norman Blake and ex-Gorky’s Zygotic Mynci singer Euros Childs have kept themselves busy, since coming together last year. After a few tentative shows, they’ve taken the material for their delightful self-titled album out on the road, and the results are as charming and catchy as you would expect from the songwriters responsible for ‘Patio Song’, ‘Sparky’s Dream’, and myriad other.

Jonquil – Last.FM Stage – Saturday 17:40

Jonquil is barely recognisable from the bedroom project of a teenaged Hugo Manuel, apart from the consistent quality of the group’s output. First mutating into ‘Lions” six-piece accordion-led Beirut-inflected folk, they are now a four-piece (Manuel, Sam Scott, Robin McDarmuid, and Dom Hand) following the departure of three members to form Trophy Wife. the sunny guitars of ‘One Hundred Suns’ mark another step in this band’s constant progression.

Juice Vocal Ensemble – Wood Stage – Friday - NA

Juice are at the forefront of the UK’s experimental/classical scene, performing new vocal music which draws on classical, world music, jazz, folk, pop, improvisation and theatre. They have featured on BBC Radio 4’s Woman’s Hour, BBC Radio 3 and Classic FM and have performed at both the Wigmore Hall and the South Bank to excellent reviews.

Justin Robertson – Clash Tent – Saturday - 00:30

Mentor to The Chemical Brothers, Justin Robertson, first made his name DJing on the Manchester club scene, happy to play northern soul, tech-house, dancehall, or anything else, as long as it worked. As well as forming a few bands (Lionrock, and now The Deadstock 33s), he’s spent the past 20 years remixing artists as diverse as Mystery Jets, Bjork, and Felix Da Housekat. We doff our hats to him!

Justin Townes Earle – Main Stage - Sunday - 16:15

Son of American singer songwriter Steve Earle and named after country legend Townes Van Zandt, Justin is recognised as an outstanding songwriter in his own right. In 2009 he received an Americana Music Award for ‘Emerging Artist of the Year’, a testament to his enormous talent. Third album ‘Harlem River Blues’ was released this year to great acclaim.

Katy Rose & the Cavalry Parade – Wood Stage – Saturday - 18:30

Possibly related to a few other artists here, Katy Rose Bennett (formerly KTB) has enjoyed success on her own terms over the years. Her intensely emotive songwriting, equal parts ecstatic and desperate, has been known to reduce people to tears in the audience at past festivals. Particularly affecting was her September 2007 performance, where she debuted a song about the floods that had wrecked the village in July. With all the bias imaginable, if there’s one artist you should see at Truck, make it this one.

Kris Drever – Wood Stage – Saturday - 20:30

Son of a famous folk-musician, Kris Drever made his name with Lau, as a solo artist (his album ‘Mark the Hard Earth’ saw him nominated for a BBC folk award), and in collaboration with John McCusker and Roddy Woomble for 2008′s gorgeous ‘Before The Ruin. Performing solo, his intuitive blend of traditional folk with more modern inflections is sure to be a big draw this weekend.

Lanterns on the Lake – Clash Stage – Sunday - 13:30

Geordie six-piece Lanterns on the Lake have been making a name for themselves in 2011. Since signing to Bella Union records, the band have been entertaining crowds on both sides of the Atlantic, playing at SXSW this March. The kind of band that people discover and instantly fall for, Lanterns On The Lake take the soft-focus ambience of ‘Ágætis Byrjun’-era Sigur Rós, and curve it into concise, delicate shapes.

Liam Finn - Clash Stage - Friday - 20:10

Son of the “best songwriter in New Zealand”, psychedelically-inclined rocker Liam Finn has continued his father’s musical tradition: a keen ear for melody, and a dedication to the craft of musicianship that enables him to record all the instruments himself. Add to that an intense live set-up of looped instruments and impassioned vocals, and you’ve got one hell of a show!

LITTLE FISH (ACOUSTIC) – CABARET STAGE – SATURDAY - 16:20

You might think a band like Little Fish would struggle without a stack of amps behind them, but you’d be wrong. Debuting new material at the Truck Store Record Store Day weekender back in the mists of April, Juju and Ben showed that their new material, currently being worked on by one Gareth Coombes(?), will continue where they left off with last year’s “Baffled And Beat”.

Listing Ships - Last.fm - Friday - 18:45

A band as much influenced by the likes of Holy Truck and Tortoise as they are by said bands’ source material, Listing Ships take a meandering route around the Krautrock template. Given the members’ previous bands (The Evenings, Witches, Sunnyvale Noise Sub-Element), it’s hardly surprising that they’ve already been asked onto BBC Oxford Introducing’s showcase after only a few months’ existence.

Man Without Country – Last.FM Stage – Sunday - 15:40

Last-minute additions in place of Atlantic Pacific, Man Without Country’s name carries an instant intrigue. The band themselves, a South Wales based duo, say it derives from “a sense of not belonging.” This sense lies at the root of their atmospheric, sometimes uneasy sonic palette. Featuring Dreaming Spires member Brad P Nutzpitt on drums, their emotionally-intense electro-pop is just as prone to moments of pounding intensity as it is to periods of gauzy glissando exhalation.

Marcus Foster – Main Stage – Friday - 17:30

With barely a couple of EPs to his name, Marcus Foster already has fans in famous places, but don’t let that put you off the London-born songwriter. His rambling piano-led “Tumble Down” EP, released earlier this year, shows the ability of a well-written, well-performed song to transcend the whirlwind of hype that can surround the sorts. Compared to Ed Sheeran and Ben Howard, Foster has more in common with Tom Waits than any of his contemporaries.

Marques Toliver – Clash Stage - Friday 17:00

Marques Toliver is a truly unique proposition for a Saturday afternoon. A violinist, he moved to Brooklyn from Miami, and busked on the streets of New York to help cover his rent. There, he picked up his fair share of admirers, playing with Grizzly Bear, TV On The Radio, and Bat For Lashes, but his rare combination of classical musicianship twists songwriting into strange new shapes.

Mat Gibson – Truck Stage - Sunday 12:00

With that rare touch of talent, Mat Gibson’s been compared to a youthful Neil Young and is set to release his new album ‘Forest Fire’ later this year through Clubhouse Records, recorded at Truck’s own Studio. An artist who’s headed for big things, his haunting vocals are sure to send shivers down your spine.

Maybeshewill – Last.fm Stage – Sunday - 14:45

One of the winners of the Truck Demo competition a couple of years ago, Maybeshewill have been writing electronic pocket symphonies to a post-rock God for a fair few years now, and this year’s second LP “I Was Here For A Moment, Then I Was Gone” has received sparkling reviews, maintaining that rocket-fuelled intensity that was so exciting in the first place.

Mechanical Bride – Clash Stage – Friday - 18:00

It’s nice to know that, for every over-hyped band like Black Kids (who showed promise but rushed out an album when they’d barely written enough songs to fill thirty minutes) there’s Mechanical Bride, aka Lauren Doss. Three years since a Rihanna cover did the rounds, ‘Living With Ants’, a delicate, carefully-planned record was released to relatively little fanfare. The plaudits it has received should change all that.

Michele Stodart – Main Stage – Sunday - 12:50

Truck has a long history with the Magic Numbers - over the years their members have played at most of our festivals: Truck, Harvest, OX4, Wood. Michele’s solo set at this year’s Wood showed signs that her debut album ‘Wide-Eyed Crossing’, with hints of Patsy Cline and (at times) Bob Dylan’s Rolling Thunder Revue, will be more than just a side-project.

Mitchell Museum – Last.fm Stage – Sunday - 13:45

Ever since debut single “Warning Bells” started grabbing people’s attention a year or two ago, Glasgow nutjobs Mitchell Museum have looked like a band destined for great things. With a sound that brings to mind all the best sides of Dave Fridmann’s production (The Flaming Lips, Mercury Rev, Parts And Labor), it’s the way they manage to combine a rough-at-the-edges sound with straight-up catchy-as-hell songs that really makes them stand out.

Monument Valley – Wood Stage – Saturday - 19:30

With close vocal harmonies and beautifully arranged instrumentation, Momument Valley (aka Ned Younger) delicately manages to produce songs full of raw emotion. His debut EP ‘No Air’ featured a horn section scored by Jeremy Warmsley (Summer Camp) and Paul Frith (Sufjan Stevens, Broken Social Scene) was released through Communion, sometime home of Mumford Sons, Marcus Foster and many others.

Mr Shaodow – Last.fm – Friday - 18:00

R U STOOPID! We almost were, as we’d very nearly finished arranging the line-up for this year’s festival when realised that Shaodow hadn’t been added yet. A perennial favourite at Truck (with a lot more than that terribly-spelt song to his name), Shaodow is probably the best rapper in Oxford, and those of you following his twitter will know the man’s kept himself busy!

Nathaniel Rateliff – Main Stage – Saturday - 15:15

Rateliff and his band are back playing for Truck at this year’s festival after playing in the Truck Store last April. Once a truck driver, Rateliff now makes intimate, sincere soundscapes similar to that of Bon Iver and Leonard Cohen. His music is wry and clever and will make you want to laugh and cry at the same time.

No. 1 Ladies’ Accordion Orchestra – Wood Stage – Sunday - 21:00

Following in the illustrious path of the Zoltan Kodaly School For Girls (if memory serves, a recorder troupe playing classic pop hits to 100 frazzled Truckers) and The Nuns (an all-female tribute to the monks), comes another quirky all-female group with an outstandingly entertaining conceit. What sets The No.1 Ladies Accordion Orchestra apart from the other bands at Truck 14? Now that would be telling…

ODC Drumline versus Coloureds – Last.fm stage – Saturday - 00:30

In the red corner, ODC Drumline: the stand-out performance at Blessing Force’s Weekender at the (much missed) Old Bookbinders, this live outlet for Oxford Drum Clinic (a forum for local drummers assembled by former Youthmovies sticksman Graeme Murray) make for quite the live spectacle. In the blue corner, Coloureds: just as intense a live show on their own, the noisy duo (formed from the remains of a post-hardcore band) have made waves with their Ed Banger-influenced WOWtronica. It’ll be quite the face-off.

Peggy Sue – Clash Stage – Friday - 19:10

Previously called ‘Peggy Sue & The Pirates’, with an early standout song called ‘The Sea, The Sea’, and the presence of an accordion, you could be forgiven for thinking that this group’s doo-wop sea-shanties were pretty shallow. That said song was also the title of an Iris Murdoch novel, with lyrics about building houses out of bones point to a rockier side beneath that still veneer.

Pet Moon – Last.fm Stage – Saturday - 20:45

If you know about Blessing Force, then you’ll know about Andrew Mears. Formerly the lead-singer of Youthmovie Soundtrack Strategies, and musical foil to Yannis Philippakis (Foals), he performs solo at Truck for the second time (if you include his spoken-word set at 2008′s Crossword Records showcase, which we do). Like an anti S-A-W, he makes warped soul music with all the passion, but none of the predictability.

Pete and the Pirates – Last.fm Stage – Sunday - 20:00

Emerging from the post-Libertines landscape in 2007, Pete And/& The Pirates have thrived where many bands faltered (or went synth-pop). They’ve honed their chops to perfection on the road, playing sell-out tours, and this year released a sophomore album (One Thousand Pictures) crammed with perfectly-formed pop songs, balanced perfectly between the eccentric danciness of The Mystery Jets and the riff-heavy sharpness of latter-day Young Knives.

Pete Molinari – Truck Stage – Friday - 18:30

Pete Molinari comes from Kent, but his three albums have mined the great American songbook of Bob Dylan, Woody Guthrie, and Hank Williams with more success than anybody from these shores has managed for decades. With his inspired albums ‘A Virtual Landslide’ and last year’s ‘A Streetcar Named Desire’ released to critical acclaim, we welcome him for his second appearance at Truck, and his first on the Truck stage.

Pilgrim’s Way – Wood Stage – Sunday - 19:00

Named after a Rudyard Kipling poem famously to music by the great Peter Bellamy, Pilgrims’ Way are a 3-piece band with a big personality and big sound. Brought together by red hair and a shared love of traditional music, they share the same attitude to folk music as the 60s folk-rock revival, respectfully using traditional folk as a meeting-point for the members’ own diverse musical outlook.

RABBIT FOOT SPASM BAND – CABARET STAGE – SATURDAY - 23:50

Rocking people into the small hours up and down the land, here come the Original (and the best) Rabbit Foot Spasm Band! Festivals of all sizes from Wood to Glastonbury have benefited from a show by this raucuous jump-jazz septet. They’ve played Wood, OX4, Truck, and Equi-Truck, and helped us open the Truck Store with style back in February. We wouldn’t keep asking them to play if they weren’t a bit special.

Rachael Dadd – Wood Stage – Sunday - 18:15

Blessed with a sweet-sounding voice that belies a sharp skill for observation, Rachael Dadd has been a DIY folk-singer for over a decade before releasing latest album ‘Bite The Mountain’. Partly recorded in several countries (some tracks were recorded in Japan) made sense “because I’m always travelling around”. This peripatetic lifestyle may have slowed down her release schedule, but it’s helped her become the songwriter she is today.

Rhosyn – Last.fm Stage – Saturday - 18:45

With a batch of demos written one solitary month in Anglesey, then recorded with members of Jonquil and Foals, Rhosyn’s music is as strange and beautiful as you might then expect. Centred on the talents of cellist/singer Rose Dagul, her songs’ sparse beginnings are filled out by a variety of strings and looping, circling harmonies which grow and grow and grow.

Richard Norris (Beyond The Wizard’s Sleeve) – Clash Stage – Saturday - 22:15

Richard Norris has long been a driving force on the dance music scene, first with ‘The Grid’, but more recently alongside Erol Alkan as ‘Beyond The Wizard’s Sleeve’. When not making music he has written a biography of Dance legend Paul Oakenfold (published earlier this year). Clearly then, a man of many talents, expect an eclectic set full of weird, wonderful, experimental and left-of-centre music.

Richmond Fontaine (acoustic) – Main Stage – Saturday - 16:30

Fronted by Portland-based author, front man and acclaimed lyricist Willy Vlautin, Richmond Fontaine first formed in Portland, Oregon, in 1994. This is evocative alt-country that will never blow your ears off like some similar acts such as the Hold Steady, but there is unassuming genius in this band that finds a way to your heart. Poetically brilliant, to call them under-rated is an understatement.

Roddy Woomble – Main Stage – Saturday - 17:45

Returning after headlining the festival four years ago with Idlewild, Roddy Woomble makes his second Truck appearance. This year’s album ‘The Impossible Song and Other Songs’ shows that he has, if anything, grown as a songwriter in the four years since, especially since moving to Mull in 2008. Songs like ‘Gather The Day’, one of the loveliest songs to have been released this year, are proof of this shift in his songwriting.

Sealings – Last.fm Stage – Saturday - 14:30

Saturday afternoon, and on crash Sealings, armed with a detuned drum-machine and a squall as harsh as the noise of A Plac To Bury Strangers but with half the number of members. The kind of squall that crawls under your eyelids before you can realise, and then leaves traces in your vision as you try to shut your eyes. At first terrifying, but slowly becoming a comfort.

Sea of Bees – Clash Stage – Saturday - 18:30

First known to us at Truck through a beautiful show at the Old Bookbinder’s, Sea Of Bees’ debut album ‘Songs for the Raven’ contained unrequited love songs fuelled by Julie Baenziger’s mellifluous voice. Baenziger’s music, a blend of indie, folk, and Americana, addresses universal themes through the metaphor of nature. It’s spell-binding music that captures the essence of small American towns tucked away in the hills.

Solid Gold Dragons – Last.fm Stage – Saturday - 15:30

Solid Gold Dragons is the outlet for former YMSS and current Jonquil member Sam Scott’s poppier ideas. As you’d expect from a man of his musical history, pop ends up taking some unusual shapes. A smooth r’n'b croon ends up closer to Arthur Russell messing around with Antibalas than it ever does to Bruno Mars. And that can’t be a bad thing.

Spring Offensive – Last.fm Stage – Friday - 23:00

One of the most inventive bands in Oxford, we’ve always been a fan of Spring Offensive’s marketing ideas (colouring-in books with an EP, anyone?). This is a music festival though, and their music - a mish-mash of Pulp’s erudition, a post-rock sense of dynamics, and a Brill Building songwriter’s ear for a tune - makes you feel that they’ve a lot more to give the world.

The Cellar Family - Last.fm Stage - Saturday - 13:30

The Cellar Family are the outsiders amongst outsiders. Too arty to fit into Oxford’s metal fraternity too heavy to fit alongside Blessing Force, it’s testament to the immediate talent of The Cellar Family that they’ve played plenty of gigs with the former and are hosted today by the latter. Ideally, they would play alongside Mclusky and Fighting With Wire. And there’s surely no greater compliment than that.

The Duke & The King – Main Stage - Friday - 20:45

Simon Felice stands at the same crossroads of country, folk, and soul that was crossed by Sly Stone, Levon Helm, and Gene Clark. Coming from Woodstock (NY), he first found success as drummer in the Felice Brothers. After writing a book, ‘Goodbye Amelia’, he hooked up with a violinist and two funk musicians to make the Duke & The King, a band well aware that in music fact isn’t as important as fiction.

The Neon Violets - Last.fm Stage - Friday - 16:30

Poetry readings and errant violinists have peppered this band’s live shows already, but it’s as a duo that The Neon Violets blossom. A primal whirl of dense, bass-heavy riffs that focuses with repetition reminiscent of Wooden Shjips spin-off Moon Duo, at their best they manage to use the basic set-up of bass and drums to create something powerfully psychedelic.

The Oxford University Sinfonietta - Wood Stage - Friday Evening

No, this not your traditional festival show, because The Oxford University Sinfonietta are a small-scale orchestra, featuring ensembles of between ten and thirty players. With a repertoire including pieces by a whole range of composers such as Stravinsky, Messiaen, Haydn, MacMillan, Mozart, John Adams and Tippett, If you’re feeling like you want something different this weekend be sure to head down to the wood stage on Sunday.

The Rockingbirds - Clash Tent - Saturday - 16:00

Originally formed in 1990, The Rockinbigrds were a country-punk band that had more in common with their transatlantic cousins The Jayhawks and Uncle Tupelo than any British band at that time, releasing two albums - including the minor classic ‘Whatever Happened To…’ - on Heavenly Records before disbanding in 1995. Since reforming for the Heavenly 18th party, the band have been revitalized, and played a raucous show in Oxford this February

The Rock Of Travolta – Last.fm Stage – Friday - 01:00

The Rock of Travolta return to Truck, and they are set to headline the BBC Introducing in Oxford stage. A decade on from tearing the roof off the Truck at the festival in 2001, the Oxford five-piece return to the scene, a band on form and revitalized since the release of ‘Fine Lines’, their first new album in eight years.

Thomas Truax - Cabaret Stage - Saturday - 18:15

A true Truck hero, Thomas Truax and his assortment of merry machines have made appearances on more-or-less every stage, from last year’s main stage debut to this year’s interlude between the afternoon show and the evening’s cabaret. Forged by an off-the-wall creative spark, and solidified amidst the depths of New York’s anti-folk scene into, his unforgettable stage-show (a tumble-dryer vent here, a Heath-Robinson drum-machine there, entomological revenge fantasies everywher) is truly something to behold.

Treefight for Sunlight - Clash Stage - Sunday - 14:30

Their eponymous debut is a glorious sunshine head-rush of an album, drenched in the vibrant harmonies of the Beach Boys, the wonky pop of MGMT and the multipart song structures of label-mates The Kissaway Trail or fellow Danes Mew. Treefight For Sunlight are an exuberant technicolour trip of a band, the perfect fusion of retro psychedelia and contemporary luscious pop.

Trevor Moss & Hannah-Lou - Clash Stage - Saturday - 17:15

It’s with a lot of pride that we’ll be watching Trevor and Hannah play as part of the Heavenly takeover, just to see how far they’ve come. This couple’s story is as naturally idiosyncratic as their music. As likely to tour the length of a canal as they are to pack seed-grains into their records, they make simple harmonized songs, alluding to a Britain that is as much forest as it is skyscrapers.

Tribes - Last.fm Stage - Sunday - 16:40

Taking the fun route to stardom, this brigade of Camden natives had enthralled Blaine from the Mystery Jets by their fifth gig, and brought Camden to a standstill making a video for ‘We Were Children’. Their melodic take on grunge is more Nine Black Alps than Nirvana, and the fervour of their steadily-swelling fanbase has drawn comparisons with - whisper it - The Libertines.

Trophy Wife - Last.fm Stage - Saturday - 19:50

Trophy Wife might already be ruing the day they decided to describe their music as “ambitionless office disco”. It’s this merging of fragile uptempo beats into a faded atmosphere which has already (they’ve barely been around a year) caught the attention of Two Door Cinema Club, Moshi Moshi, and our good selves. Music for sitting around a campfire as the sun rises.

Tunng - Main Stage - Sunday - 18:30

Tunng join us again after headlining Wood in 2010. Recently, they’ve completed their evolution from a bedroom project into a group that’s focused its sound amidst line-up changes and tours with desert-blues icons Tinariwen. Last year’s widely acclaimed ‘…And Then We Saw Land’ added an uptempo twist to their palette of electronica-infused folk to much success, bridging the gap between Four Tet and Hot Chip.

Two Fingers Of Firewater - Main Stage - Saturday - 14:00

On tour with your hosts The Dreaming Spires at the time of writing, Two Fingers Of Firewater came to our attention last year when they featured on The Anglicana compilation ‘Divided By A Common Language’. Saying they sound like Uncle Tupelo in a bar fight might be oversimplifying things, but their authentically British take on Americana is as intoxicating as two shots of bourbon

Water Pageant - Wood Stage - Friday - 17:00

Water Pageant grew up in the landlocked home counties to the hum of hoverflies in country gardens and the creak of sun loungers. The three-piece line-up features a member of The Ralfe Band, a Christchurch chorister, and singer-songwriter Nick Tingay. They roam in the shadows of alternative icons like Kate Bush and Tom Waits.

We Aeronauts - Last.fm Stage - Sunday - 12:00

One of the Oxford bands that are ‘most likely to’ sometime soon is We Aeronauts. Last year they released the ‘Chalon Valley’ EP through Brainlove Records, a collection of songs telling the story of a bucolic holiday spent in France. The way they crash together Los Campesinos! raggle-taggle melodicism with patches of ‘Lions’-era Jonquil’s pastoral fluidity can only be a winning combination.

Wild Swim - Last.fm Stage - Saturday - 16:30

Since changing their name from Picturehouse, Wild Swim have drawn favourable comparisons to Mount Kimbie and Wild Beasts. The thrumming rhythms backing Richard Sansom’s Bunnymen croon owe as much to liquid DnB as it does to ‘rock music’. With an overall sound that feels at once precise and loose, deliberate and natural, Wild Swim are floating with the stream. Why don’t you join them?