Festival News: 2000trees have just dropped their biggest line-up announcement ever
2000trees have just dropped their biggest line-up announcement ever, and suddenly July can’t come soon enough.
Festival announcements are always a beautiful thing, rife with expectation, excitement, and the promise of some mix of roaring joy and crushing disappointment abound. Will that band your friends have put on all their fake posters actually make the trip over? Or will it all end up as something of a damp squib?
Well, fear not — 2000trees ‘25 has arrived, and brought with it over fifty bands, including all five of your headliners. Yes, that’s right — five. Two days of co-headlining, and then one big ol’ band to bring the weekend home. First up, Thursday has the likes of the Irish punk rap phenomenon that is Kneecap and US rock music (and LGBT) icon PVRIS starting proceedings. Friday, meanwhile, has emo legends Taking Back Sunday, fresh off the back of last year’s eighth studio album, ‘152’, and in their wake comes the devastation of ‘The Amory Wars’ — the lore-heavy prog masters of Coheed and Cambria finally come to Cheltenham. And finally, the only band ever round out the weekend; though we can only hope that having the Canadian post-hardcore heroes of Alexisonfire headlining the Saturday might also mean that City and Colour plays a cheeky set in the Forest.
Another big reveal — although not too much of a surprise, given the constant hints and teasing dropped by frontman Frank Turner over the past few months, including during a podcast at 2000trees itself — is the long-awaited and highly anticipated return of Million Dead.
That’ll be a busy tent, that’s for sure.
Alongside Million Dead comes acoustic ‘sadcore’ standout Røry, Hastings’ punk-rock finest in Kid Kapichi, the chaotic, garage-punk rabble-rousers of FIDLAR, the experimental hardcore favourites of La Dispute, the heady tones of Swedish metalcore stars Imminence, Irish Eldritch-Eurovision star Bambie Thug, hardcore trailblazers Gel — also supporting Alexisonfire at their also-just-announced headline show at O2 Brixton — the genre depending aggression of Stick To Your Guns. Elsewhere, The Cave looks to add the likes of Heriot and Employed To Serve to its ranks, Australian rockers DZ Deathrays announce their return to the UK — even while only midway through their current UK/EU run of headline shows — Grade 2 and Civic add an extra burst of punky, shouty goodness, and the electro-metallers of Lake Malice make their triumphant return to Cheltenham.
And that’s barely scratching the surface! There’s the Finnish Cyan Kicks, the Scottish Spyres, and the Bristolian Hunny Buzz; there’s the Belgian Ronker, the London-based Clobber and Leeds-based Venus Grrrls; and so much more.
With the festival already reporting a record-breaking day for ticket sales, you best get on it while you can.
Words by James O’Sullivan
