Festival Review: 2000Trees Festival 2022 - Upcote Farm, Gloucestershire
2000 Trees might have become my favourite festival. Recency bias aside - it really was a blast. It’s both mine and 2000 Trees first festival post COVID - and things really couldn’t have gone better.
Upcote Farm once again hosted a sold out festival, which is unsurprising given the magnitude of the names at the top of the bill. Let’s recap the weekend, from start to finish.
Arriving on the Thursday, the first act that I saw grace the stage was Kneecap. Which was a very very interesting selection by 2000 Trees.
The humour wasn’t lost on the Republican hip-hop trio from West Belfast - who’s anti Brit anthems seemed to win them over a somehow apathetic yet simultaneously politically charged crowd.
“Get your Brits out” takes a sample from the BBC news countdown. It’s easily one of the weirdest things I’ve seen people mosh to - but I’m here for it nonetheless.
Clean and punchy delivery from the trio had a 2PM crowd moving in ways I didn’t think possible. Their set revolves around large amounts of crowd participation, and their contagious high energy display was certainly very memorable.
Next up, we had Holding Absence - who have rapidly become one of the most talked about names in the UK live music scene. Hailing from South Wales, the four piece have seemingly played everywhere twice in the last year - having featured at Slam Dunk, Reading and the Download Pilot in 2021.
They were announced at 2000 Trees a week before the festival - to replace No Devotion and I have to admit I was surprised they weren’t already on the bill. Lucas Woodland, vocals, said during their set that they’d been planning on coming to enjoy and immerse themselves in the festival. Instead, they performed a 45 minute set on a stage they were clearly too big for. Pits, crowdsurfing and the normal festival shenanigans ensued as they played new release Aching Longing - as well as so many of the belters from their 2021 release, The Greatest Mistake of My Life.
They are on the verge of becoming a household name. Sets like these will become that of folklore when they start selling out arenas. I’m quietly confident they’ll return next year, much higher on the bill, and playing The Main Stage to complete the set - having previously played The Axiom, the NEU stage and The Cave.
This was followed by Bristol based band, SUPERLOVE, who released Colours earlier this year to mixed reviews - a genre-bending project that blends aggressive power chords and bubblegum vocals in a way I hadn’t imagined was possible.
Having first seen them opening for Holding Absence at the iconic Tunbridge Wells Forum last month, I was happy to see they more than held their own on the NEU Stage. The crowd enjoyed the fast-paced, high-pitched melodic vocals as much as the intense and egregious breakdowns - which were at their best when in immediate succession. btw! I adore u and Save Yourselves were both great demonstrations of how well received their new project is by fans. As well as how their bravely unique and distinctive sound will undoubtedly have entertained those who came for the show - as well as those seeking shade in the intense heat. Great fun - and it was good to see them getting the recognition they deserve.
Before long it was back to the main stage once more to check out another Trees fav, Dinosaur Pile Up, the crowd was already enormous by the time they took to the stage and a huge roar erupted as they kicked into their setlist of heavy rock anthems that i don't think a single person at the festival could resist singing along to!
Someone who has been kicking up quite a buzz in recent times is rock goddess Cassyette, with her electro punk rock bangers its hard to not get instantly addicted to her sound! It was instantly apparent that she added a couple hundred more people to her fanbase during her set at Trees, you were barely able to squeeze into the tent! A personal favourite from the set was ‘Petrichor’, her banshee-like screams echoed throughout the festival site and was constantly attracting more and more people to the Neu stage.
Ending our first night in the most chaotic way possible I strolled over to the Cave to bear witness to the pure carnage that is a Stick to Your Guns show! Boy oh Boy did it not disappoint, i've never seen a set go so fast from 0 to 100, playing a host of classic hardcore anthems and sprinkling in a handful of newer tunes aswell, all whilst getting the chance to announce a new album was due at the end of the month which got a resounding cheer!
‘Married to the Noise’ saw a monstrous mosh pit open up and an unreal amount of people throwing themselves over the barrier, a true masterclass at how to do a Hardcore show!
Kicking off my Friday were The Hara. An alternative rock band I’d heard a bit about but never really had the chance to check out. The set was chaotic, intense and met with a good reception - especially when frontman Josh Taylor stripped down to his briefs. They are one of the many bands at Trees this year that will certainly be on my radar going forward - as well as a few of my playlists.
When a secret set is announced at any festival the rumor mill starts pumping out countless names big and small of who could be taking the mantle, and 2000Trees secret set announcement was no different! But when it was finally revealed to be Hardcore heriots HECK, fans lost their tiny minds! Having disbanded almost 5 years ago it was a huge surprise but also a welcome one. Taking no time to ease themselves back into playing, it was barely 30 seconds before half the band was either on top of the crowd or climbing any available bit of stage! A hefty 40 minute set from HECK felt like 2 minutes with how mental the entire set became, frontman Matt climbing the 20ft pole in the center of the tent to throwing the entire drum kit into the moshpit to play out the final songs amongst the throngs of fans. An insanely memorable welcome back from the guys in HECK!
Back to the Main Stage to see KennyHoopla - who I’ve been desperate to see for what feels like forever. The front-runner yet relative newcomer of the pop punk renaissance delivered a few songs from his 2020 EP, How Will I Rest In Peace If I’m Buried By A Highway, including the title track, a personal favourite of mine in Plastic Door as well as an assortment of tracks from his latest project, Survivors Guilt, a collaborative project with Travis Barker, formerly the drummer of Blink-182.
Travis Barker seems to have the golden touch right now - having worked with Kenny, Willow, Machine Gun Kelly and many more pioneering the new wave of pop punk. His influence on Kenny’s latest record is undeniable - and the infectious hooks and choruses rang out over Cheltenham on a lovely sunny Friday afternoon.
Another man who has been making some huge waves across the UK recently is Kid Brunswick, having only played a handful of shows prior to his set at Trees, the nerves must have been flowing; it didn’t seem like that though as Mr Brunswick swaggered on stage in a velvet black suit and slicked back hair. Fans new and old were almost instantly encapsulated by his stage presence and his emotional yet upbeat songs! A highlight and my favourite song of his had to be ‘Bipolar Rhapsody’ which he ended by climbing into the center of a gigantic moshpit and getting lost in the crowd as soon as the beat dropped!
Turnstile have been somewhat unavoidable since their release of GLOW ON in 2021. The set consisted of 18 songs, 11 from their latest release. Their lively and enthusiastic performance proved them more than worthy of the Co-Headline slot - as NME named them “The Live Band of the Summer” Friday just gone. It’s nice to see hardcore is alive and well, winning huge crowds and bands causing mayhem for the first time in what feels like forever.
This was followed by Thrice. A band I’ve heard an awful lot about - and I know, at most, a chorus or two from a few of their older songs. It was great to see the Californian four piece live, performing all of their 2005 album, Vheissu, from start to finish - in what I can only assume was a belated celebration of it’s 15th anniversary that was unfortunately delayed significantly by COVID. The crowd seemed immersed and engaged but in a very different way to the high energy and energetic display from Turnstile merely an hour before. For their first UK show since 2019, they pulled a huge crowd and were the perfect end to a pretty much flawless Friday.
XL Life opened the Cave a little later than anticipated due to the guitarist having some car issues. Despite only having time to perform two songs, they performed them like they’d never have the chance to perform another two ever again. There were very few bands that managed to garner that much energy in such a short space of time. Enjoyable and unfortunately cut short. Undoubtedly a band I’ll catch again at some point, infectiously passionate and a real fast-paced start to the day.
Kid Kapichi took to stage not long afterwards - a band who have come out swinging post COVID. Their songs, littered with political and social commentary, seemed to resonate with a bustling crowd. Working Man’s Town and Glitterati being the stand outs of the set. An electric performance. I’m confident that their next release, whenever it is, will feel like exactly the music we need to convey our thoughts on the increasingly questionable state of current affairs this country faces.
Twin Atlantic came back to Trees having previously headlined, this time they took to The Forest stage - which provided a beautiful acoustic set up and was well worth a visit. The shade and the breeze in there made it feel like the only place at the festival with air conditioning.
It would have been perfect other than for the slightly unfortunate fact it was absolutely packed out. People queued on the slope to hear their favourite Twin Atlantic songs stripped back - certainly a much needed calming performance in the shade, sandwiched in a day of mayhem.
A slighty different act was next on the mainstage, hardcore mammoths Knocked Loose, whispers had been circling the entire weekend about how deadly their set will be and it lived up to those rumours! Singer Bryan Garris storming on stage and inciting what can only be described as a riot, circle pits, mosh pits, fists and feet being thrown in every direction! Playing a huge host of songs from ‘A Different Shade of Blue’ as well as some old classics like ‘Counting Worms’ and ‘Billy No Mates’ turned 2000Trees into a warzone!
You Me At Six returned to Upcote Farm, having previously played in 2019. This time the setlist leaned a lot more into Sinners Never Sleep, which is somehow now more than ten years old - a terrifying thought. This was the record that opened a lot of doors for the alternative rock band and is littered with classics. Josh Franceschi demonstrated his ability to engage with a crowd, commanding circle pits and crowdsurfing. As the years roll by, not only do the bands old releases somehow become even more popular - but Josh also seems to look younger now than he did the day the record was released! Suckapunch, Beautiful Way and Underdog were the perfect three songs to end the set with. A memorable performance and a nice nod to the anniversary of a classic in Sinners Never Sleep.
The Amazons have been on my must see list for a long while - and I saw them twice in a single day. First on the Forest Stage, followed by the final performance of the weekend on the Axiom. They grew into the set, sprinkled in a few songs from the yet to be heard album How Will I Know If Heaven Will Find Me which is coming out September 2nd.
Their first show in a while with drummer Joe Emmett proved eventful, as vocalist Matt Thomson joked they expected a show stopping drum solo with no mistakes. Black Magic, their closing song, would have been a weekend highlight for almost all in attendance and their performances at Trees certainly whet the appetite for their upcoming release.
Idles closed The Main Stage on Saturday to an enormous and rowdy crowd. Their set predominantly consisted of anthems from Joy As An Act of Resistance, their 2018 release, which earned its place in countless lists of Top 10 Albums of the Year.
Mother, Never Fight A Man with a Perm and Danny Nedelko all got the reaction from the crowd they deserved and it became apparent quickly that many at Trees had likely come exclusively for this set alone.
Their angsty hooks and anti-establishment message were incredibly well received. Joe Talbot commands the stage in a way very few others do, with the crowd waiting on his every last word. This one felt particularly special and it’s great to see Idles getting the props they deserve at festivals like Glastonbury and Trees, before embarking on Boardmasters, All Points East and Lollapalooza. As their set ended, so did the festival.
It’s safe to say I’d only ever heard wonderful things about 2000 Trees prior to going and having been in and amongst it for three busy and stiflingly hot days I can understand why. Roll on 2023!
Words by Cameron Miller
Photography by Joe Dick
