that creep reviews
Post-hardcore, yoga mornings, folk-rock bangers, the legendary Bunnymans, and four nights of silent disco. Where else could we be but 2000 Trees Festival?
As December Falls, captured by Jez Pennington (2024)
Words by Jace Hawker (she/her) July 2024
With the United Kingdom buzzing in the strange afterglow of a landslide general election, and the flags of Glastonbury only just beginning to fade from memory, all is quiet and peaceful in the rolling hills of Cheltenham, the picturesque home of 2000 Trees Festival for the last 17 years. All will not be quiet for long, though.
As is tradition, the gates open mid-July for 15’000 loyal fans to return to Upcote Farm for a weekend of alternative, emo, and hardcore. The Festival bagged 2022 and 2023 Best Medium UK Festival Award, and also boasts an award for Best Festival Loos- we went to check out what all the fuss is about. Long story short: We Get It.
THAT CREEP RECORDS
2000 TREES REVIEW
Photo by Carla Mundy 2024
In No Particular Order, Here’s What We Liked…
Waking up to a sea of tents, the distance sound of hardcore, and a portaloo line exclusively of bearded, tattooed men may not be what most associate with ‘zen’- however, this was not to stop the alt-loving festival-goers from rising with the sun and stretching through guided morning yoga in the forest. To be fair- yoga is the best way to warm your body up for a day of push pits and crowd surfing.
For the keeners, the gates open on Wednesday, where you could enjoy an intimate Boston Manor set in the Forest and a whole extra night of silent discoing (don’t knock it till you try it m’alright).
I arrived with the masses on Thursday morning, and after a brief struggle with a tent pole (“why did I bring a five man tent?!) it was straight to the bands. It doesn’t take long to re-familiarise yourself with the Trees layout- it never changes much from the year before. If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it! The Axiom and The Cave are my favourite spots to relax, I find them to have the broadest mix of bands and often the wildest crowdest. There is something about two huge tents parallel to each other in a field (The Cave often harboring the heavier bands) teeming with back to back music that is unparalleled in its coolness.
My first band of the festival is Enola Gay @ The Axiom which is one hell of a way to get started. The tent quickly filled up, maybe their 2023 Trees set had set an exciting precedent, or maybe the promise of new music got people down early. There seemed to be a huge mix of fans, and pleasantly surprised foot traffic out exploring the festival for the first time and stopping to get involved. The band brought their usual electric-charged set, with their infamous political commentary ranging from George Bush ‘it was an inside job!’ to borders and racism ‘fuck you if you spread hate!’. Very much in keeping with their Irish new wave counterparts Girl Band, they are as loud and pissed off as ever, with guitarist Joe McVeigh creating such a wall of sound with his pedalboard that he has a chance to drink an entire pint between riffs onstage. Very impressive.
Enola Gay @ The Axiom. Photo by Carla Mundy (2024)
Here Carla Mundy captures Enola Gay singer Fionn Reilly crowd surfing in his ruffled white shirt and cropped blue jeans.
Next up we are heading over the dirt track and into the second field which sports three bars, a kids area, the NEU stage and the Main Stage, with food vans dotted around the perimeter.
There is a definite buzz about the crowd, I overhear a couple discussing how this is the reason they purchased tickets for 2000 Trees- it’s Manchester Orchestra @ Main Stage time! I am an old school fan of MO and hugely respect their catalogue, having been immensely inspired by their songwriting over the years. However, I feel open-air stages do not do them many favours, and the set falls somewhat flat of what I had expected. To be fair though, the vast majority of the audience seem captivated by the performance. I find myself looking around during this set, taking in the experience of thousands of people united in one moment.
A couple embrace during Manchester Orchestra. Photo by Gareth Bull (2024).
As luck would have it, me and my partner were celebrating our one year anniversary on Thursday, having met the year previously at Trees and enjoyed seeing Origami Angel, Heart Attack Man, Microwave and Prince Daddy & The Hyena together. We were stoked to be catching Hot Mulligan @ The Axiom next, as they are his favourite. They are playing The Axiom, and the tent is packed out to catch the American emo quintet. The crowd was especially memorable for this performance, knowing every single word to the songs and going over the barrier time and time again. Singer Tad looks equally happy and exhausted, as he explains this is the final date on their tour ‘I can’t wait to go home and hang out with my girlfriend’ he tells us. Compared to their set at Outbreak’s main stage a few weeks previous, where we felt slightly let down by the performance, The Axiom is a perfect pressure cooker for the energy of the band, the sound is spot on, and the vibe is immaculate.
Hot Mulligan at The Axiom. Photo by Gareth Bull (2024).
post-punk friday mornings !
Having had an early one Thursday night, I’m up bright and early to catch the next wave of bands on Friday morning. Mouth Culture @ The Axiom is the first stop on the list, and I have to spend most of the day recovering from the shock of how good it is! I’ve seen these guys so many times before- their charming Leicester accents and larger than life rockstar attitudes are always a pleasure to be around. I really do mean that!
Leaving the Axiom we wandered down through the crowds of festival go-ers, smells from the world over punctuating our slow meander, every stall a comma as we pause to read the diverse menus. My partner is vegan and definitely felt accommodated. But it was early, and though not priced unfairly, we’d decided to try and be a little sensible-cossy livs and all…
Our first time on the main stage. A fairly large open air stage surrounded by stalls, a bar and a cider bar (my boyfriend was a happy man and made a beeline, never too early at a festival right?) As Norwegian pop-punk/indie outfit Slotface began playing their unique brand of pretty, afternoon music, we spotted our tent neighbours and joined them, comparing war stories of nights, gigs and pits. The unmistakable opening chords into slamming snare could only be “Nancy Drew”, one the songs i’d been most looking forward to of the whole festival. They didn’t disappoint. A crowd once sat down in the early afternoon overcast sun rose to their feet. Slotface had done the job of an opening band on a bill or yoga in the forest: the loose crowd was now ready to move.
The first drink of the day courtesy of the Westons Cider bar had gone down so well we simply must have another, and the next band on at the main stage can only be described as “cider music”. The beauty of 2000Trees are the occasional out-there band bookings. Australian Celtic Punk band The Rumjacks were that band (though in a few hours we’d find that Trees had another unconventional 30 minutes of beauty for us…). Think knees up to your nips not your hips, an Irish jig, big swig over hard rock riffs. A brilliant time.
Friday’s line up was frankly awesome. A great mixture of high energy, through former Press To Meco members Unpeople. A band I’d actually never heard before but had been told by many of the lovely approachable people I’d met to not miss. Fist pumping, big riffs, catchy hooks. They definitely made some fans that set. High energy went into technical wizardry with the extremely up and coming Philadelphia based Sweet Pill. Just insane levels of technical abilities from all the band but especially their guitarists Jayce Williams and Sean McCall. They have my vote for the best guitarists of the festival, perfectly melding mathy virtuoso riffs, with twinkles and prettiness. From the wizards to nostalgia. Turnover’s Peripheral Vision will always have a special place in my heart. In the 9 years since its release i’ve lost count of how many times i’ve heard it on long drives, late night walks or at the end of an afters. “Up and down like a red rubber ball” belted out by the whole tent as they too jumped up and down in tandem. A level of energy that doesn’t really suit a sleepy band like Turnover but the passion and nostalgia around that album was palpable.
As I said, Trees has a knack for booking unconventional bands and it’s those who tend to be the set of the weekend. This year was no different. As we wandered down past rows of tents, flags embroidered with inside jokes and stand up comedy in the Word tent, we entered The Forest Stage. Stopping by the bar for a White Russian (£10 but money well spent, Heroes buy Beeros after all) we gracefully traversed an almost litter free forest floor, dodging between trees and Trees 2024 tshirts into an electric atmosphere. It was as though the thick canopy above was containing the excitement of what was to come like a kettle. Then came the whistle. Dressed in matching white boiler suits a band enter the stage, a permanent wooden structure that blended in naturally to the forest at Upcote Farm. A bassist dazzles playing at almost laughable speed and accuracy. If it was a video I’d think it was 1.5x speed. A song starts, more jam than tune, each member displaying their proficiency, near mastery of their instrument. The singer starts but there’s technical difficulties. The sound tech brings another mic, the singer starts, technical difficulties…The singer uses this opportunity to be as playful with the crowd as the band are with their jam, offering his hand to the masses of fans only to slyly pull away. Oldest trick in the book. Trees is officially at boiling point. The rhythm, the energy, the….Funk…It’s Thumpasaurus! The band come crashing in to You Are So Pretty. Instantly the forest is dancing in unison, a Richtor scale event you would expect from Shambala not 2000Trees. Pretty soon the festival’s rock and hardcore sensibilities come out. The likes of Jaco Pistorious and Herbie Hancock could never have expected that one day jazz funk would have crowd surfers coming in from every angle down a forested hill. The security team weren’t expecting it either. What started as 1 lonely high vised staff member soon escalated to 8 heavies frantically scanning the crowd, carrying laughing punters over the barrier. By far the most high energy, fun performance I’ve seen all year, if not ever, and all for a comedy jazz funk quintet. Cannot recommend them highly enough. Thumpasaurus made us “Dance Like It’s Your Life”
Saturday @ 2000Trees Festival
Public Service Announcement: Remember to fill up your water bottle BEFORE you go to bed….
A heavy, loud night at the silent disco…Though you can control the volume of the multiple stations on the headphones, and can control the amount you drink, when one goes up so does the other…A 10 minute queue for the water station gave me chance to take stock: wallet – check, phone – check, camera – uh oh, dignity – does screaming along to My Chem until 3am count??
Testament to the festival’s popularity, especially the Wednesday, by the time we’d arrived mid afternoon on Thursday we already had to make the 15 minute ascent up the hill to find a spot in the overflow camping site. Next year we’ll definitely be coming on Wednesday, always a great line up and 1 more day in paradise!
We ventured down from our 5 man palace just in time to catch Michael Cera Palin. The full to the brim and beyond tent showed the appetite for sad, awkward dudes writing catchy songs about life is still as prevalent as it was 10 years ago. Their cover of “If It Makes You Happy” is required listening for everyone in the scene, and should be counted among the likes of “Hurt”-Johnny Cash as covers that feel more like the song than the original.
Saturday was a slower day for me in terms of bands I was really excited to see- so warm can in one hand, and Bunnymans in the other I sat down at the main stage to listen to something new. Though Dune Rats were pretty good, playing their brand of “lunkheaded punk noise” in a no nonsense-all fun way, the star of the show was Bunnymans. A hunk of soft white bread hollowed out and filled with chilli, topped with hummus and your choice of spicy or mild. I went for the spicy to blast out the demons of the previous night. There’s something carnal and primal about the ability to eat the vessel one’s food is served in, like Heston Blumanthal of the Medieval. Now, back in the real world, I find myself disappointed every time I eat with knife & fork from a plate or bowl. My heart yearns for the hearty Bunnymans Bunnychow. Dune rats were pretty good too.
Though I am not well versed in Frank Turner & The Sleeping Souls, I have camped in his eponymous camp site on previous years, and have seen small bands having the time of their lives on the Camp Turner stage playing an acoustic set to a sea of revellers for whom live music will always beat silent discos. Bands like Our Nameless Boy, Trashed and Blank Atlas who impressed so much with their glorious 3 part harmonies they actually played the Neu stage on Thursday this year. To a crowd that proves why Frank Turner and 2000Trees go hand in hand, the part folk/part punk rocker made an explosive entrance with “No Thank You for the Music”. My personal highlight was “Worse Things Happen At Sea”, an old Turner song that shows off his emotional writing abilities extremely well. It’s impressive for an artist to make it to their 3000th show, and this set showed how he did it, and how many fans there are out there willing to see 3000 more.
Sunday @ 2000Trees Festival
That’s it. Time to go back to reality for another year. Well first we have to leave the car park…
We’d managed to score a lift back with some friends we’d bumped into at the festival, loaded our packed away (crammed away) tent and bags into their boot and joined a queue to exit. Spirits are high, music is on (Dub, as requested by our friend who didn’t actually like alternative music and was just there for the vibe, though they are now a convert to Enola Gay & Spanish Love Songs). Minutes become an hour become 2. We leave the car to see what’s taking so long. The whole time we’d been queuing behind a parked car with no one in…User error. We got out pretty quickly after that.
2000Trees Festival summary
I love 2000Trees. You can really see how it won its awards and acclaim. A multigenerational group of fans of different strokes of alternative music, united in their love of guitars and being nice to each other. Every year when the line up comes out there’s always a handful of bands I’m really excited to see then a load of bands I’ve not heard of or heard properly. I find it’s the second group that make this festival worth coming to every year. If you have a gap on your Clashfinder you can wander into a random stage or ask one your fellow Trees goers and you’re guaranteed to find something decent.
A great selection of food and drinks, expensive but not outrageous, and you have the opportunity to bring your own if times are tough (though heroes do buy beeros). You never have to queue very long for a drink and if you do then talk to the people around you, big shout out Sam! Toilets aren’t bad at all, with the poo dudes cleaning every portaloo every day. The accessibility platforms seemed in good places and the staff were very helpful to people’s needs.
I don’t have kids but the amount of parents who brought their little rockers shows it is a family friendly festival, important as fans of emo and hardcore finally start growing up. I plan on coming back year after year, so it’s nice to know as life changes there’s still a place for everyone at 2000Trees at Upcote Farm.
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