2000 Trees Delivers One Of It's Best Editions Yet...

Words by Miles Milton-Jefferies

2000 Trees overcomes the heat; multiple cancellations, MCR sized

competition and the World Cup to craft a crowd-pleasing festival for the

pop punk heads that’s one of its best editions yet, featuring memorable

performances by the likes of The Scratch, Native James, Knives,

Battlesnake, Arcane Roots, PUP and Greywind.

Spare a thought for anyone at 2,000 Trees this year.

The triple threat of a dropout of bands like Alkaline Trio and Lambrini Girls,

combined with a near flat-circle audience overlap of stadium-level gigs for My

Chemical Romance, System of a Down and Bring me the Horizon happening the

same weekend – plus the glaring 30 degrees heat that remained a consistent threat

throughout the weekend; would’ve been enough to kill most festivals stone dead. If

anything – it’s a testament to the immaculate vibes and feel-good factor of Trees that

it overcame that this year in a real celebration of grassroots rock music that continues to strip down of all pretentiousness, celebrate and give voice to the unsung

heroes of an entire scene.

“This ain’t Coachella love,” we overhear almost within minutes of stepping foot inside

the signal-less festival of 2,000 Trees – and it doesn’t take a genius to see that it’s

very much not. For those unfamiliar it charmingly back to basics: music across five

stages; plus a word stage, with the essentials for a festival – there’s not much in the

way of add-ons here, but there doesn’t need to be. This is a festival for the bands; for

the music, to be entertained – music starts each day at 10:30 sharp and continues

well into the late evening hours. Sets are short, sharp – and there’s a lot of running

about between stages, but you don’t have far to go. For the uninitiated – the genre at

Trees can probably be best summed up under one word: fun – it’s impossible to have

a bad time at any of the bands here; booked with keeping you entertained in mind,

the livelier the better. It’s a celebration of grassroots music – it always has been, the

Marshall stage exists to promote new bands - and with that in mind, the festival is

well underway by the time a much-delayed bus arrives in the baking hot Cheltenham

sun for a weekend of pure chaos.

THURSDAY 9 JULY

First band on is Brighton outfit Lemonsuckr who brave the heat of the day in leather

jackets and cowbells and aren’t afraid to jump into the crowd taking turns to start a

riot in the sweltering Marshall stage. Putting newer bands on in the hottest stage of

the festival feels like a nice warm; rite of passage – you survive this, you can survive

anything – and Lemonsuckr more than live up to that. They continue to delight and

surprise every time I’ve seen them – cowbells are passed around into the crowd and

it’s very much a good time to be had. ‘Instant Kinks’ is the crowd-pleaser; an efficient

commentary on how everything is available so instantly in today’s world that a sense

of connection is somewhat lost – and ‘Life is a Heist’ gets a runout with ‘Rugrat’

being deployed early on. The synths echo throughout the room and it’s rare to see a post-punk guitar band create an industrial essence that echoes so confidently and

strongly: think Gurriers, think Model/Actriz – they are very much in their element

here.

Tigerclub on the main stage come next: a cinematic and unrestrained approach that

features people dressed in full tiger costumes daring the mosh in the unrelenting

heat. It’s rapidly apparent that Trees fans will take any opportunity to start a pit; and

the vibes are immaculate – if you want your chance to crowd surf for the first time;

there’s never a better festival to do it; multiple kids go up multiple times over the

weekend, and bands get in on the fun. Tigerclub’s ‘Stop Beating on my Heart (Like a

Drum)’ caps an excellent, emo-tinted set that pays off from the band’s experience –

potent with their guitars and trancelike in their impeccable production that lulls you

into a full body sway capable of popping off at any point.

A short sharp burst of hardcore intensity comes from the brilliant Windmill

favourites Truck Violence; capable of getting a crowd spinning and kicking with

ferocity. The unhinged rawness makes them a real force to be reckoned with –

confrontational noise rock that benefit from sheer arresting unpredictability that

benefits from the ultimate extreme. We get a run through of a bit of their EP ‘Sexual

Liberation Uber Terror’, which gives you an idea as to what to expect from the band:

their chaotic state of existence sees why they’ve earned their place on the lineup.

There’s also time for Pool Kids – an air of confident maturity over their experience as

an outfit ‘I Hope You’re Right’ and ‘That’s Physics, Baby’ are a delight; the band

pulling from ‘Easier Said Than Done’ to cast a magnetic spell. The heavier songs like

‘Last Word’ weigh on your mind after a while – and their emotional resonance from

touring with bands like La Dispute pull a touch of sobriety that comes with living so

much of the bands’ life on the road. They pull from Paramore and Hayley Williams as

much as La Dispute – a real tinge of emotional rawness that has earned a fan of them

in Hayley herself.

The favourite of day one is Native James – who was also a strong contender for the

best set of Great Escape festival in early May. His propulsive; adrenaline-fuelled set

turns the romantic Forest stage into an all-out brawl within seconds of getting going;

tapping into anime influences and reminding the crowd of his sheer star power; it

won’t be long before a proper tour comes and he’ll be selling out big venues. Few

artists have James’ charisma and intensity, the EP ‘Confessions of a Sinner’ taps into

his personal beliefs and ideology that blends genre with a touch of ease that most

bands struggle to even attempt – much of ‘Power’ talks of James’ levelling up with

his audience; which he very much has done over the course of this year and the world

is finally starting to take note; with dynamic vocals of empowerment giving the room

a sense of hard-hitting ethos of self-empowerment and healing that is engaged with

the rage of his lyrics. We are looking right here at the future of alternative music –

and if you’re not on board yet – it’s already too late to say, “I was there, the day

Native James played the Forest”. He’ll be a headliner one day at festivals bigger than

2,000 Trees – mark my words.

PUP return to the main stage and it’s the third time I’ve seen them in two weeks,

playing everywhere from Crystal Palace Park Sessions to Rock Werchter in Belgium.

It is their best set yet: a fusion of the old and the new, the sheer intense state of being

of the pits propelling you into a brawl of crowd-surfers and emotional outpouring –

the catharsis of ‘If This Tour Doesn’t Kill You, I Will’ eschews complexity for a sense

of real healing and belief – juxtaposed with the old reliable pairing of ‘DVP’ and the

sheer fucking carnage that comes next is hard not to be torn away from. “Why can’t

we just get along?” pleads frontman Stefan Babcock, very aware that the world seems

to be getting worse with their ‘Dark Days’ track – but calls for unity amidst the chaos

and commands the audience to make it awesome in here; on the festival stage. It is

their second set of the festival – and the more traditional of the two – ‘Scorpion Hill’

and ‘Hunger for Death’ are deployed mid set; and the band remind you how fun pop

punk can be. This is pure pop punk – distilled chaos that’s deserving of their moment

in the sun. “We took what we could get / and we’d burn it anyway” – taps into the

raw emotions and prove that they aren’t afraid to go deep when it counts. “We’ve had

some dark days… we’re in the thick of it now…” couldn’t have been any more

relevant; for a track that is at this point, now over 10 years old.

Headliners Don Broco have a short; sharp display of pop punk intensity and

represent 2,000 Trees’ ability to think on its feet as a festival – no less than a few

hours after Alkaline Trio pulled out they were immediately announced; and give the

fans who stopped by to see them an adoring reception of love and warmth. Many

were at the Biffy Clyro gig in Finsbury Park earlier that week – and their run through

their tracks rarely let the audience come up for air. Appropriately; given the fact that

we’re in the middle of a World Cup; they pause during ‘True Believers’ for a

hydration break – and even have time for a ‘Wonderwall’ singalong. They are the

kind of band that can have features with Architects and Nickelback and work

seamlessly together – showing their range – and as a result of their true love of the

craft they are deeply and utterly adored by the crowd here.

FRIDAY 10 JULY

An early start on the Friday comes for the wonderfully named Twat Union; who

would make for great support with would be sub-headliners Lambrini Girls one day

with their excellent delivery of comically crude humour that could be a stand-up set

as much as a live music performance. Set closer ‘Singer of the Band’ aims for the so-

called traditional get up of bands that otherwise all male bands that just have the one

lone woman frontperson, and their pop punk chaos is evident in what follows suit

showing their ability to not shy away from tackling subjects that most bands dare not

do. ‘Little Pink Drill’ isn’t afraid to use life-like props as they come for the

infantilisation and hyper-commercialism of pink-coloured objects aimed at women;

with a drill that Kate Mac jokes is smaller than her vibrator. Naturally, we are shown

the drill – and it is as tiny as they come.

This is a primer for what follows: ‘Period Sex’ and ‘UTI’ show the band’s brilliant way

of telling stories with honest creativity – and then ‘Red Flag’ gets the audience involved with a killer line: some of these are red flags that really happened to members of the band, BUT one of these is something that Winston Churchill said. This effortless switch-up has the audience in stiches long before the end of their set –

and if there was an award for funniest set of the festival; Twat Union has that nailed

down with a little pink drill.

Knives are next for me the Bristol outfit that brave once again the head of the

Marshall stage to deliver arguably the most intense set that I have seen from them.

‘Eat Thy Neighbour’ and ‘Rhinestone Cowboy’ go for the jugular with sweat-

drenching circle pits and brawls that garner a sigh of relief from the audience when

the air coolers in the tent are eventually switched on. Every blistering, fist-pump

messy hands-thrown post-punk riff is abrasive, raw and feels like each band are

playing like they know it’s their last ever show. Mercifully; they are aware it’s not –

with a touch of swagger and confidence that comes with knowing that if there’s a

billing; they’re probably the best band on it – and by the end of the set you’d be hard

to be disproven otherwise.

Then it’s back to the main stage for a string of acts that I’ve seen before; but continue

to delight every time: in one of the best single-day streaks of any festival you’ll see

anywhere despite the 30+ degree heat. House of Protection are a treasure – guest

Jordan Fish and vocalist Stephen Harrison engage the crowd with a circle pit

running around them and the army of approved photographers for ‘Learn to Forget’

– and the band have only grown stronger since supporting Architects at the 02; using

that platform to revel in their scene.

They are in the ascendancy and I’ve been cheering for them since the very start: a

heavy grunge set combines the essence of Rage Against the Machine with that of

bands like Polaris, fusing the essence of metalcore with experience that comes from

almost a supergroup of bands: Stephen lends his guitar playing experience from days

like The Chariot and the Fever 333; and the very known quality of having a Night

Versus drummer on board in Aric Impota, gives the band the staying power to arrive

fully formed that most acts struggle to rival this early on. They’re good – and you’d

be hard to back against them.

Immediately, that is followed by The Scratch – Ireland’s best live band and arguably

the best live band currently touring. To witness a Scratch show is to be nothing short

of transformed; who drum up the crowd with a rare Irish trad folk/metal hybrid

combo that gets the spirits pumping and the blood ready for a song and dance

number. They are aware they are at a metal-inclined festival as much as a punk one –

‘Gladrags’ gets the run-out mid-set and ‘Pull Like a Dog’ goes in hard as always. To

witness the singalong-ready lyrics of The Scratch emerge fully formed is always a

treat – built to embrace the mosh and built to capture the sheer intensity of their live

performances. A spectacle that’s on the audience as much as the stage themselves –

The Scratch make the crowd feel like a member of the band and we get traditional

Irish dancing thrown in the mix for good measure – everybody is in real party mode.

Dock and Lango’s vocals allow for a real fusion of talent – Lango’s challenging of a baked Trees audience to engage even despite the sweltering heat acts as a call to arms

– and the entire main stage is bouncing long after they’re done – ‘Another Round’

caps the set off and not a single person is left with anything resembling a voice by the

end: the crowd absolutely hop off with the best of them. By this point – not a single

soul is regretting missing out on My Chemical Romance.

Militarie Gun are the act that follow and having like The Scratch; seen them pack out

a sweltering hot Electric Ballroom in London, back up that energy with the same kind

of swaggering confidence that propels all these Friday bands: if you’re kicked in the

face at any point during a Militarie Gun show; they’re sorry, but they’d do it again.

It’s that kind of emo-tinged band that have time to bring out Anthony Green from the

cancelled Alkaline Trio to give fans something of an apology for them bailing on the

festival for a rare treat – “Thought You Were Waving” kicks in and “I thought you

were waving / turns out you were drowning,” captures the honest appeal everyone

has of appearing like they’re just about hanging in there and have everything

together – but in reality; are being submerged in the chaos. It’s a cry of misunderstanding people’s ability to look for help – their whole set feels like a

longer, slower set about healing and addiction and recovery – the kind of La Dispute-

fuelled catharsis that allows the audience to wear their emotions on their absolute

sleeve.

There are two bands that I step away from the main stage for the late afternoon

period in the relative comfort of the wooden-soaked forest stage: Slag and Greywind.

Slag has that indie, Brighton-type math rock factor to them that make them the

perfect act to put in the heat of the day. ‘Heaven’ is a raw delight – the opening guitar

riffs and Ameli’s vocals lead a catchy, irresistible singalong that is fuelled by what the

band think would be the most fun at any given time and that really does do an

absolutely class job at translating onto stage – their EP ‘Losing’ leans into their

ability to embrace a colourful; Power Rangers/Winx Club-type outlook on the world

that reflects in their writing. They’re always the brightest-dressed people in any room

that they’re in and the forest of 2,000 Trees is no different – sporting bright pink

costumes and aware of the novelty of their name: Amelie goads the audience to buy

merch with Slag on it. It’s an effective method.

Greywind are more pop punky, a touch of early Gerard Way about them. The live

debut of ‘Happy’ comes with a ‘Make Believe (L.O.V.E. ME)’ as brother and sister

duo Steph and Paul O’Sullivan lean into their comedy; and overcome the unfortunate

luck of having a medical emergency mid set; that is dealt with by security incredibly

well. They are something a bit different from the multitude of Irish bands you’ve seen

lately, and their experience gained from regular supporting slots for bands like

Waterparks have really made them a mainstay in the genre. Their set is a real

‘Antidote’ to the heat – letting the punk take second stage for a poppy, bitingly

honest sense of wordplay that isn’t afraid to get stuck in.

One of the best post rock bands in the scene at the moment is Arcane Roots; and it’s

something 2,000 Trees festival is aware of as they’ve booked them twice on the

Friday and the Saturday; and they are one of the few bands capable of sharing both a

booking and an audience overlap with sister festival Arctangent that’s further down

the road in Somerset, or at least it will be for one more year. Arcane Roots are aware

of the trust that they’ve been given by the Trees festival bookers and launch into a

monumental outpouring of a sonic wall of sound ‘A Wave, Across the Sea’ opens with

a math rock infused pulsating sense of heavy riffs that lends towards the aggressive

side with a real return to the ‘Heaven and Earth’ era; It’s appropriately monstrous

and as a first single since 2018 – very much a return to form after nearly a decade

away. ‘Matter’ acts as a tour-de-force and an immediate wake-up call for those few

not yet invested.

The rest of the set pulls largely from ‘Melancholia Hymns’ – capable of showing a

masterful synth diversion for tracks like ‘Curtains’ when you least expect it and

avoiding any sense of commercial safety. It’s a rare triumph; and we are left very

much satisfied for the evening with a power few bands can rival. Their acoustic set

the following day shows the band’s strength and star power and range in diversity

and depth – top of their class in what they do; able to take that wall of sound and

completely change it on a more intimate scale of approach.

SATURDAY 11 JULY

Saturday brings a very early start for Carsick at 11AM sharp with a lifesize cutout of

Samwise Gamgee in tow; and they’re aware of how early they’re on in the morning.

It’s a telltale sign of a well-loved band by the fact that they’re able to draw a crowd

that is bigger than some of the acts that have appeared later in the day on the main

stage – tracks like ‘Violence’, ‘Muzzle’, ‘Gig Tax’ show the bands’ sense of self-aware

ness that they dedicate to all the people who said they’d get up to see them but are

still lying in their tent: “what time are you on?” they ask – “can you do a cover song?

Don’t know if I can pay ya” – the struggle of bands barely being able to break even on

tour is addressed head on with the last-minute changes some venues like to throw at

them.

Frozemode come next – their intense rap revelry is not to be missed as is their biting

genre fusion. I’ve lost count of the amount of times that I’ve seen them and they like

to find a way to surprise each time – ‘Looking at Us’ is a real success as the band find

a way to blend quick; witty rap with a 60s garage rock riff that captures the intensity

of a pit that wastes no time in getting started. It has a sense of raw hunger in their

vocals and performance that aren’t built to play for nobody but themselves and have

garnered such a cult following out of that it’s easy to see them back on the main stage

and back much later in the evening.

Then it’s time for my set of the festival; Battlesnake – who come on in full white

costume devil-horned get-up with lyrics about deciding to kill Satan and a Monty

Python-type humour about them that’s reflected in their sheer commitment to their

absurdity that demands complete and total audience buy-in to work; and gets it. It

feels like a Spinal Tap-sized bit and yet it is in reality anything but – short, sharp, outrageous fun that practically means it’s impossible not to have a bad time at. ‘I am

the Vomit’ mesmerises the audience and their ability to hang from the Trees main

stage and leap headfirst into the crowd; engaging the audience’s kids in a small

chorus of crowd-ready anthems – it’s a perfect festival booking. They are aware of

how not serious they are – and it’s part of the charm. It’s Spinal Tap live – as close as

we’ll get – and their metal madness is really captured here.

Heart Attack Man capture the American nature of 90s pop punk well; exploring ‘Joy

Ride the Pale Horse’ the album that taps into the delicate balance between life and

death and the many ways that any of us can view and engage with the concept of

death. Musically; they draw from Failure and Motion City Soundtrack, and the live

set has a real sense of ebb and flow energy to it that has been captured by living in

the present – coming for the gut with a daring introspective: “we’re all suspended in

between what life is worth and what life means”, on ‘Lay Down and Die’, which leaves

a mark. Paired almost immediately after them is Have Mercy, a band from Baltimore

that have to request annual leave from their day job to be here but their adoring

fanbase know all the lyrics and the band couldn’t be happier that they do: with a solid

attitude towards healing and nostalgia that propels the emo roots set forward.

Over in the Forest we return to Scustin’s witty Irish charm; and they flew all the way

from the home country to be in 2,000 Trees because they heard this is a festival that

likes a boogie and they very much do. They clash with the brilliant 2 Promoters 1 Pod

live recording (a must for anyone wanting to experience the behind the scenes of

festival booking) but have plenty of charisma to back it up and a touch of novelty to

their performance that comes from tapping into everyday fears of anti-Ryanair

anthem ‘I’m Never Flying with Ryanair Again’ and ‘The Ick’ (‘Don’t Put Blackcurrant

in that Pint of Guinness)’. The humour is the appeal here; and by the crowd-pleasing

end of an intimacy that comes with a wall of death and getting to know each other a

little better; everyone is on board.

There’s also time for the sheer novelty of a Dinosaur Pile Up set on Axiom with actual

full costumed Dinosaurs – I counted at least four T-Rex’s – that dominated much of

the mosh; and the good natured vibe of the pits allowed parents to let their children

lose in the crowd-surfing chaos that followed. Dinosaur Pile Up being very much a

literal Dinosaur Pile Up was a sheer novelty that only really is possible at 2,000 Trees

– and made me an instant fan of the band’s unique style and tone.

2,000 Trees was in an awkward spot this year and it isn’t the only festival because of

the nature of the evening games of the World Cup; which put England against

Norway in a direct clash with headliner Neck Deep. After bravely spending £5,000

on TV rights to air the second half of the final before England beat Mexico in the

round before; the solution was not to ignore the elephant in the room and embrace it.

This led to a direct split in crowd reactions almost instantaneously: between goths

who have made football hating their entire personality and the lads with; in

headliner Neck Deep’s own words, a pint for drinking and a pint for chucking that make up the overlap of the audience of 2,000 Trees; mashing together and dancing

together as one.

Neck Deep themselves; who have a habit of self-aware humour and are the type of

band to play at the Heavy Metal Awards in 2024 and sport merch branding

themselves as the softest fucking band to play here, embrace the chaos of the football

lads being given silent disco ready headphones to listen to the game and are on

football duty updates mid set: when the crowd ironically chant “fuck Neck Deep”;

frontman Ben Barlow jokes that Norway are a goal up before they even score. It’s the

bratty confidence of a band that’s been around for fifteen years and knows what

they’re doing – they goad the guys in the crowd by encouraging an all-girl pit and

telling them they can do better. The girls; based on the energy for ‘She’s a God’ – do

– and the chaos is in full effect that runs through pop punk anthems like ‘Dumbstruck Dumbf**k’ and breakup classic ‘Heartbreak of the Century’. In what’s a rarity for a Neck Deep set they have the time to go through at least one track from every one of their five studio albums – luring the audience to a close with ‘December’ and ‘In Bloom’. It’s not their most memorable set – the audience isn’t fully engaged with much of the nerves on the England game; and cheering breaking out mid set when Jude Bellingham eventually equalizes – but Neck Deep do what they do best and carry on with the set that they have. It’s also worth mentioning here the sheer hilarity of the communal spirit of watching England – despite the screen playing the game; it cuts out and when it comes back on, we’re a goal up – only to lose the scoresheet and the timer. Chants of ‘we want our clock back’ fill the crowd – the audience in a good mood well into the night.

2,000 Trees then, emerged successful by all accounts, creating a communal spirit

that led to arguably, the friendliest festival that I’ve ever been to. A barnstorming

year with great names that overcame all the obstacles: possibly the weirdest Trees in

recent memory, but one of the more memorable ones – Battlesnake, The Scratch,

Arcane Roots, PUP, Greywind and more all delivering for a memorable evening as

emerging highlights. Few can deny the star power and raw hunger of Native James –

and if you haven’t caught a Knives set, simply – what are you doing?

Photography Credits:

Jaz Pennington (Native James, Lemonsuckr,  Battlesnake @ JazPennington )

Joe Singh (Pup, @SNAPROCKANDPOP4)

Carla Mundy (Arcane Roots, The Scratch, Dinosaur Pile Up, @carlamundy)

Mac Praed (Greywind, @Mac_Praed)

Magda Campagne (Miliatrie Gun, Battlesnake, @magda_campagne )

Gareth Bull (Neck Deep @garethbull.co )