From Pub Rooms to Packed Theatres: Trusty Hogs’ Cheerful Earful Journey

When we kicked off Cheerful Earful back in 2022, we had one big mission: bring podcasts to the stage in a way that felt joyful, supportive, and a little bit silly. Whether you’re a first-timer nervously clutching your notes or a seasoned pro with a loyal fan army, our festival is designed to give you a stage where you can just do your thing.

Few shows tell that story better than Trusty Hogs.

Back Where It All Began

Picture it: a pub function room in West London. Sixty people squeezed in, wine in hand, buzzing with excitement. Trusty Hogs hit the stage for their festival debut, and the room absolutely crackled. It wasn’t fancy. It wasn’t huge. But it was pure podcasting magic.

As they put it:

“Cheerful Earful has been at the forefront of live podcast events for us… Giles and the team have been so encouraging of us putting on events in ways that we would never have considered before.”

That first night was the start of something special.

Helen Bauer and Catherine Bohart with 2022 guest, Jordan Gray

We Handle the Faff, You Bring the Funny

One of the things we’re most proud of at Cheerful Earful is making live podcasting easy. We handle the ticketing, the venues, the recordings, and all the backstage wrangling, so podcasters can focus on what matters: putting on a brilliant show.

For Trusty Hogs, that support meant they could dream bigger, experiment, and keep levelling up each year.

“I can confidently say Trusty Hogs wouldn’t be the live entity it became without Cheerful…”

And it’s not just the big names who feel that. A first-timer who opened the festival at The Bedford this year summed it up beautifully:

“Thank you so much for the opportunity to perform at The Bedford yesterday. Our first live recording completed! And we’re so glad it was as part of the Cheerful Earful Podcast Festival. What a treat and an honour.”

That’s the heart of it. Cheerful Earful isn’t just about the headline acts - it’s a community. A living, breathing ecosystem of shows at every stage of their journey.

From Sixty to Seven Hundred

Fast forward to 2025. Trusty Hogs returned to the festival for the second year in a row as headliners, performing their final ever live show to a packed 700-seater theatre. A proper goosebumps moment.

“It was amazing to return each year to see our growth manifested in the festival’s audience. From 60 people in a lovely pub function room to a sold-out 700-seater theatre, we are so proud to have done every year of Cheerful Earful…”

Their journey is exactly why Cheerful Earful exists: to help podcasts grow, year after year, levelling up and finding new fans.

The Perfect Goodbye

Trusty Hogs wrapped up their podcasting journey on our stage, and it couldn’t have been more special.

“There was no better way to say goodbye to our lovely corner of the podcasting world; the final show was so easy, so well organised and so so fun!”

For us, it was the ultimate full-circle moment. From pub rooms to packed theatres. From first-timers to festival favourites.

And that’s what Cheerful Earful is all about. 💛