THEY are the Portsmouth band who are one of the hotly tipped acts to see at Truck festival this weekend.

Indie-rock five-piece Crystal Tides have already conquered their home city, selling out the 400 capacity Wedgewood Rooms last month and shifting more tickets than anyone else for a gig there since pre-pandemic March 2020.

Now the five-piece are preparing to join some of the other best new performers in the country on the This Feeling stage and lead singer Billy Gregory says the band cannot wait.

“We have wanted to play Truck for many years, even before we were called Crystal Tides,” he told us.

“It was always a festival we talked about as it’s known for promoting up and coming indie music, so when we were offered the slot this year, we knew we had to take it.”

Oxford Mail: Crystal Tides. Picture by Rhona Murphy

Crystal Tides. Picture by Rhona Murphy

He added: “Our slot is 3pm on Friday, which means there isn’t time to get stressed or pressured beforehand and, afterwards, we can enjoy seeing the other acts. But if there are any late drop-outs we will be ready to play again!”

Frontman Billy, guitarists Harry Knowles and Neil Cripps, bassist George Reagan and drummer Joe Knight are also no strangers to Oxford having supported The White Lakes at O2 Academy in January 2020 and, more recently, bringing their own headline show to The Bullingdon in November.

“Every time we have played Oxford, we have improved more and more, so it has been a big part of our journey,” explained Billy.

“When we played upstairs at the Academy, Bombay Bicycle Club were performing downstairs and now they are headlining Truck on Friday, the same day as our set. It’s funny how things come back around,” he added.

In May, Crystal Tides supported The Sherlocks and Billy says the Yorkshire four-piece, who themselves played the main stage at Truck in 2018, are an inspiration to new bands making their way in the music industry.

“They sell lots of tickets around the country, which is exactly where you want to be, so it was great to play with them and see what we can learn,” he said.

Crystal Tides are building a formidable set list of indie-rock tunes, including Radio One-played single Sorry from their latest EP Side Effect, plus other favourites Little Lies, Backbiting and Honey.

Truck tickets are already sold out.