Festival Review: 2000trees 2024.
2000trees is always a special weekend. Whether you go for the beautiful backdrop of the vibrant, natural forest, the mystical, almost ethereal atmosphere that pervades the campsite, or just the stupidly good line-up that they offer year-on-year, 2000trees always promises to be a Summer standout — and this year’s edition, boasting arguably the best festival line-up that the UK had on offer, was no different. Even the looming threat of ominously grey clouds, or the fact that the football wasn’t actually coming home, could put a damper on the happy Cheltenham campers’ spirits.
Over in the Forest, Mancunian duo Oceanless were the next to take the stage. Squealing guitars and George Sheasby’s casual-head-banging drum beat underpinned vocalist Will Mcgarrie as the two tore through tracks from April’s ‘Bad Habits’ EP. Although their crowd may have admittedly been bolstered a little by the promise of Spanish Love Songs’ first set of the day shortly after, it wasn’t for lack of trying; their blend of heady, emotional rock was just what the incoming droves of newcomers needed and left a forest of new fans in its wake.
With the earworm of final track ‘Bad Habits’ ringing through the clearing, and mention of their DIY shirts that they’d ‘spent the whole weekend dyeing’ over at the merch tent, Oceanless might have only had a short set to sell their auditory (and physical!) wares, but successful is an understatement.
Speaking of Spanish Love Songs, it was time for their first set of the day; they were meant to play back in 2020, which obviously didn’t work out, so to make up for lost time the band were working double duty! Having played two special, sold out shows at Lafayette earlier in the week, and then supporting The Gaslight Anthem in Nottingham the night before, this was far from the only opportunity that the UK had had to see the Los Angeles-based ‘grouchrock’ outfit in the past month — yet it was certainly the only opportunity to see them in such a stunning setting. “We’re winging this one”, Dylan announced as he took to the stage; and, immediately, the crowd felt at home. A maestro at making the morbid and existentially terrifying irreverently upbeat, Dylan’s acoustic set was simply perfection where fans of Spanish Love Songs were concerned; deepcuts, live debuts — or close enough, with ‘Exit Bags’ only having being played the once before at Kingston’s album release show back in 2023 — and sing along after sing along. But where Spanish Love Songs were concerned, it was barely the start. To be continued!
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Avant-garde, punk/post-punk trailblazer Meryl Streek was up next, over on the NEU stage. Coming on stage to snippets of political news broadcasters, the Irish newcomer a blur of spittle, spewed vitriol and screamed outrage, it wasn’t hard to see just why he’s made such a name for himself; passion and acerbic aggression warred for dominance as he strode vehemently from side to side. Less of a musical set and more a charged, accusatory rant, Meryl Streek’s set felt as bewitching as it was, at times, bewildering. And, although the unsurprisingly packed tent might have been left in a stunned and silent stupor amidst the face of his vengeful wrath, the chorus of cries and applause at the end more than made up for it. A tremendous showing — even if, admittedly, an entirely tracked set of instrumentals did sound a little tinny at times.
Made up of a who’s who of 2000trees favourites — including Black Peaks, Toska and the now-departed Palm Reader — 2000trees marked the third ever show for next band Vower, and the first show since the band released their debut EP ‘Apricity’ only three days prior. Releasing an intoxicating wall of sound upon an excited audience over at The Cave, Josh McKeown’s clean vocals were an almost shockingly good oasis of calm in the midst of the band’s staggering instrumentals; until, suddenly and not-so-surprisingly, the screams wrenched themselves free from his throat and gave the crowd the headbanging, mosh-pitting, prog-metal~ violence that they so deserved. A set comprised of just that four-length EP, and unreleased track ‘Barry’, it flew by almost too fast to soak in; but soak in it did, and the crowd loved every second.
If their Thursday set is anything to go by, their debut headline show in December — announced only the day before — will be something magnificent indeed.
Having supported both Bring Me The Horizon at the start of the year, and Underoath just the other week, no-one could argue that 2024 isn’t Static Dress’s year — and the packed main stage crowd at 2000trees knew it. With Olli Appleyard and his band of misfits blasting their signature blend of post-hardcore rock over a packed main stage crowd, the rows of fans a maelstrom of banging heads and upraised fists, it wasn’t long before circle pits and crowd surfers started running rampant; particularly in the ever-so-slightly pop-punk coded ‘safeword’, which saw a crowd teeming with flailing legs, heads and arms in the pursuit of getting over the ever-cursed barrier.
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Ending on the doomy, Shoegaze-laden ‘clean.’, Static Dress’s set on the main stage was finished — though the bruises inflicted in the pit likely won’t fade anytime soon. Blisteringly brilliant.
Being a last minute replacement on a festival bill is never a fun proposition. With Sleeping Souls stepping down in the final few days running up to the festival, a race to find a replacement was well underway; and, luckily, the Australian outfit Aviva was ready and waiting. Having played Download the month prior, as well as a headline show at Hoxton’s Colours, getting to keep her on the UK shores was a lovely silver lining to some unfortunate news. As vocalist Aviva Payne’s melodic vocals erupted over steady drum beats, and flocks of festival goers wandered inquisitively into the shade-giving refuge of the Axiom Stage to watch, the show was quickly under way; and, with Payne twirling and dancing along the front of the tent, kicking errant mic stands from the stage, and just generally cramming as much fun into her short half an hour set as possible, all you can say — what a set. An electro-pop paradise.
Back on the Axiom Stage, it was time for the second of the Spanish Love Songs’ sets. The full band show of the group might have been weighted a little heavier to newer albums No Joy and Brave Faces Everyone, as opposed to the more genre-spanning set that graced The Forest earlier in the day, but from the sheer wall of sound thrown up by a crowd happily — and universally — singing along, it made no difference. Chorus after chorus, dispossessed anthem after dispossessed anthem; each and every word was ecstatically roared back by a tent thrilled to have the quintet in their midst for a long-overdue 2000trees debut. And, as the anthemic ‘Brave Faces Everyone’ brought the second of their sets to a close, only one issue remainded: the tent was much too small! With hundreds outside craning their necks to see into the packed interior, it was a marvel that they hadn’t been given a main stage slot.
Although their headline tour may have only hit the UK back in January, here’s to hoping for another one, and soon.
Over in The Cave, throngs of people were anxiously awaiting Californian rockers Movements; and, as Spanish Love Songs drew to a close, and their crowd began to migrate over for their next band of choice, the tent was packed. The Sunday prior had seen the band play an intimate show at Islington Assembly Hall, the first opportunity for London-based fans to enjoy new single ‘Afraid To Die’ live and loud; four days later, and it was Cheltenham’s turn, as the group launched right into their newest fan favourite. One Jeremy Corbyn-themed ‘Seven Nation Army’ fill later — “y’all love a chant!”, gushed vocalist Patrick Miranda — and it was time for the set to resume; ‘Third Degree’, ‘Lead Pipe’, ‘Full Circle’… they might not have been as heavy as some of their Cave contemporaries — although ‘I Hope You Choke’ could probably give some a run for their money — but no band can cause as much ruckus, or get the crowd moving, like Movements.
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The first 2000trees for the group, but judging by the reception from the crowd, certainly not the last.
The fact that 2024 marked the 2000trees debut for Manchester Orchestra should count as a criminal offence. The Atlanta-based band have been playing over in the UK since 2007; from those early support slots with Kings Of Leon and Biffy Clyro, all the way up to last year’s trio of spellbinding shows at London’s Union Chapel, they’ve been coming over to the UK since 2009; 15 years later, and they’re finally at the festival, sub-headlining 2000trees for friend Brian Fallon and The Gaslight Anthem.
But how do you play a festival set at a totally new locale, especially one as genre-defying and diverse as 2000trees? Do you play the hits? A scaled-down version of a headliner? Add in the fact that last year was the ten year anniversary of album ‘Cope’, and the UK looking like it’ll miss out on the special anniversary dates that the US will be enjoying come Autumn, and there’s a whole new angle; what the hell would the setlist be like?
In a word? Heavy, or at least heavy for Manchester Orchestra. With a set more predisposed towards the afore-mentioned ‘Cope’, as well as 2009’s ‘Mean Everything To Nothing’, tracks like ‘The Mansion’, ‘Pride’ and ‘Top Notch’ seemed to almost ruefully rule the roost of their long-awaited debut; alongside the main-stay likes of ‘I Can Barely Breathe’, ‘Shake It Out’ — with a surprise snippet of Biffy’s ‘Mountains’ (shame Simon Neil wasn’t getting to the festival until the next day!)— and the now Brian Fallon-featuring ‘The Gold’, although sound issues plaguing the set meant he was by-and-large hardly audible, recent releases ‘The Valley Of Vision’ and ‘The Million Masks Of God’ hardly got a look in! The rapturously delighted crowd sure weren’t complaining though; and, as they screamed along to the ever-so-special, goosebump-raising, throat-ripping perfection of a set, only one thing was left to say: come back soon, Manchester Orchestra.
Unfortunately, 2000trees had saved two of the best bands’ till last - always the way! - and choosing between them was an unenviable task. Do you go to the mighty The Gaslight Anthem, fronted by the inimitable Brian Fallon? Or do you go to the chaotic and crazed hardcore supergroup Better Lovers, made up of some of the best names in metal? The crowd were divided; friend turned against friend, brother against brother - at least as far as splitting up and then meeting up again later on goes.
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The Gaslight Anthem may have won in this instance, but regardless of the choice you were in for a good night.
Racing out into a kaleidoscope of colour, and diving straight into openers ‘Great Expectations’ and ‘Hand Written’, it was full steam ahead for the rocky, raspy, Americana-punk outfit. As arguably the pinnacle of poignant, emotional musical story-telling -- bar, obviously, genuine legend and recent collaborator Bruce Springsteen -- The Gaslight Anthem have a number of albums to their name, not least of which is recent album ‘History Books’, and the entire night just felt both like a labour of love from the group and like a heart-warming embrace for the crowd. ‘Red Violins’, ‘American Slang’, ‘Mulholland Drive’… the set had it all.
One final encore of ‘“45”’, which saw Andy Hull returning Fallon’s favour with his own fierce feature, and the legendary, fan-favourite anthem ‘The ‘59 Sound’, brought the night to a close; finally, with Fallon’s inimitable tones ringing out through the campsite, The Gaslight Anthem’s 2000trees debut was complete — but it won’t soon be forgotten.
One of the best things about 2000trees, that doesn’t get nearly as much credit as it deserves, is just that the campers don’t mess around. Most festivals might have a token representation in the early hours of each day, before getting busier maybe mid-afternoon; the 2000trees arena, however, was rammed even before stages had opened. Well, if you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em — and in this case, it’s joining them in the NEU stage for recent pop-tinged rock sensation Artio. Having supported Honey Revenge over their May tour, and with a tour supporting Mothica in September already locked and loaded, the NEU stage was crammed with those curious to see what the fuss was about. Vocalist Rae Brazill, striking an unassuming figure on stage, turned out to be hiding one hell of an impressive set of pipes; roaring, crying and screaming over a set of tracks from debut album ‘Babyface’, released back in March, the set was front-to-back fantastic. Tracks like ‘Head In The Sand, Finger On The Trigger’, ‘Sertraline’, which saw a big ol’ pit forming at the front, or the scream-filled ‘Wallflower’ gave everyone just the merest taste of what Artio are like; you’ll have to see them in person to find out more.
A firm departure from some of the metal or hardcore bands screaming their way through the weekend came in the form of the harmonica-wielding Tom Jenkins, back down in The Forest. It was impossible not to be sucked into his gentle folk-rock breeze thrown out from the stage, as evident by the countless softly-singing faces strewn amongst the sunny clearing - whether existing fans or newcomers joining in with the comfortably welcoming choruses. The natural rapport between Straight Lines’ frontman Tom and a series of good-natured hecklers only added to the set, bringing chuckles and smiles to the wearied Cheltenham crowd, as the smiley frontman and his band ran through wholesome favourites ‘Work The Land’, ‘Backroads’, and the emotionally-charged ‘When The Coal Dust Settles’.
If a feel-good feast for the soul is what you’re after, you really can’t do better than Tom Jenkins: sheep shearer by day, Welsh Ed Sheeran by night.
2000trees is a special festival - everyone knows it. But for the members of Unpeople — made up of personnel from both Press to MECO and Sarpa Salpa — 2000trees has just that little bit extra something something. Not only did last year’s edition serve as the final show for Jake Crawford and Luke Caley’s band, Press To MECO, but it also served as their new outfit’s live debut, playing to maybe a hundred people over on the NEU Stage.
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Fast forward a year, and The Cave barely contains the untold legions of fans the band have accrued with just one EP, and a handful of live appearances, to their name. With the tent heaving under the pressure of hundreds trying to squeeze themselves closer to the stage (and the pit!), chants of “UNPEOPLE” echoing through the rafters, and hundreds of voices chanting and screaming along to the band’s five released songs they knew, it’s safe to assume that Unpeople are just as important to the festival as the festival evidently is to them.
Venturing back over through the arena, campers were met with the melodic, psychedelic soundscapes and squealing guitar riffs thrown out by the Virginia-based Turnover. Each track, although linked by prominent and leisurely luxurious instrumentals, was a distinct departure from the one before; channelling Pink Floyd one second and Arcade Fire the next, the phenomenal twists and turns of Turnover’s musical odyssey managed to both beautifully entrance the thousands present, and encapsulate the genre-blending brilliance that makes 2000trees such a legendary festival.
With the crowd spilling from the tents, and reaching furtively outwards to the legions of seated fans happy to bask in both the beautiful atmosphere and the small pockets of sunshine, Turnover certainly managed to grab first the heads, and then the hearts, of Upcote Farm. A firm festival favourite for the day, and the perfect sun-drenched counterpart to what was to come.
What was to come, of course, was the final-ever show of UK-favourites Palm Reader. As (at least, as it stands!) the only remaining chance for their heartbroken fans to say one final goodbye, and for the five bandmates to have one last hurrah together as Palm Reader, the set felt as bittersweet as it did savage; 13 years of love crammed into one conclusive fifty minute set.
The crowd treated the set with the reverence it deserved. Each moment was an end; there would never be another sing along to ‘Hold/Release’, nor another chance to mosh to the brutal ‘Seeing and Believing Are Two Different Things’ — the band’s very first song, getting a rare live outing for the very last time — and nor, even, another chance to participate in another circle pit to ‘Stay Down’. From the very first second of opener ‘Internal Winter’, the packed pits knew that they better make every second count: and by hell did they. By the time ‘A Bird and Its Feathers’ came around, the band choking up, embracing each other and trying desperately to keep it together for just a few more minutes, everyone was a wreck; and, although part of the band will play on in the afore-mentioned Vower, the British heavy music scene will never be the same. Thanks for everything Palm Reader — you shall be missed.
Rounding out the night came Canadian favourite grandson, delivering the second of his two sets on the Friday. Playing an acoustic set in the Forest, the politically active, Suicide Squad-soundtracking star was in top form, seemingly mesmerised by just how many hundreds had managed to cram themselves in front of his little wood cabin — though, a few notes into opener ‘Apologise’, and the professionalism and pure talent on display cleared that up. Any that hadn’t? Well, a spliff handily thrown from the crowd, and lit during ‘Rain’, washed the rest away. Elsewhere, ‘thoughts & prayers’ saw Jordan decry the constant streams of shootings over in the US, particularly relevant considering what happened with convicted felon and Presidential candidate Donald Trump the day after; ‘Heather’ had half the clearing in tears over the emotional lyrics; and closer ‘Blood // Water’ was the closest thing to carnage that an acoustic guitar has caused in quite some time.
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Leaving the stage a few minutes early, to ensure that there was enough time for the stage to set up for the silent disco live set, and grandson was over — for now, anyway. As brilliant as ever.
The gravelly, Americana overtones of Lionize vocalist Nate Bergman, meandering through The Forest, served as the idyllic start to Saturday for many a happy camper. With a set of ferociously powerful vocals roaring over each of his two guitars resting haphazardly nearby, the incredible singer songwriter was nothing short of tremendous; whether it was the blues-oriented, country tune of ‘Back to Nashville’, the crowd serving as a stand-in for the track’s usual gospel choir, or a wildly unrecognisable and genuinely stunning arrangement of My Chemical Romance’s ‘Helena’, the entire set was superb. Catch him supporting fellow Forest denizen Amigo The Devil in the coming weeks!
The chaotic, jazz-infused, math-rock band Tokyo Toy Company were next. Hailing from Bristol, the eclectic sextet on stage were absurd in just the best possible way. With vocalist Rhys Worgan gleefully dancing about in a flame emblazoned top and pink cowboy hat, flailing his limbs while his mishmash of band mates played along, it was hard to know where to look; yet tracks like ‘West-Mid Emo’, ‘Call Me Marge Because I Love You Homie’ and a frenzied cover of Vanessa Carlton (and Terry Crews!) classic ‘A Thousand Miles’ delivered one hell of a memorable set.
Interlaker vocalist David Jakes was a sight for sore eyes. Having left alt-rock outfit Lonely The Brave back in 2018, due to ongoing mental health issues, it was beginning to seem like the music scene would never get to hear his signature raspy vocals again. Enter Interlaker. Primarily a duo formed with the perpetually smiling guitarist and frontman Jack Wrench from the sorely-missed Arcane Roots, Interlaker lets Jakes have a little more control over touring schedules to better manage his sanity.
And, although the towering figure of Jakes might still have not fully recovered from his anxieties, seeming to subconsciously stay about a foot behind his bandmates as his despondent yet reassuring vocals greeted Cheltenham once more, that didn’t seem to stop any of the band — or crowd, reaching all the way back to the campsite — from enjoying Interlaker’s first booked show. With the likes of debut single ‘The Hunger’, or recent single ‘End Unknown’, echoing through the branches, let’s just hope Jakes is here to stay this time. Fantastic.
Anyone wanting a nice reprieve from bands had two fantastic options, back to back. First up, podcaster Mark & Me took over The Forest stage for an interview with 2000trees favourite and alumni headliner, Million Dead frontman, record holder, Olympic opener (and pretty much any other accolades you can think of!) Frank Turner. Filmed live as a podcast, the involved chat touched on a bit of everything — Frank’s first gig, his first album, his ascension on the 2000trees line-up, his recent Guinness World Record for the most gigs in 24 hours (although shoutout to Cry Wank for achieving an unofficial record!), and his upcoming 3000th gig, amongst pretty much anything and everything else. There was also some acoustic tracks, making the set “show number 2914”; from ‘The Real Damage’, a deep-cut doubtlessly played at his first 2000trees set back in 2007, to Million Dead’s ‘Smiling at Strangers on Trains’ — whose reunion may or may not have been teased for next year — even the short live set became something beautifully unpredictable. A wonderful time had by all.
Then, up at The Word Stage, the fantastic duo and inimitable raconteurs of The Blackout vocalist Sean Smith and music journalist Morgan Richards were preparing to interview fellow countryman, and Friday favourite, Tom Jenkins. While Mark & Me beforehand was calm and controlled, the now canonically married Sean and Morgan Smith were anything but: from fire, football, and being followed by Brian Fallon to sheep-sheering, soil compaction and Shakespeare auditions, Sappenin’ podcast’s live show seemed to talk about both everything under the sun and frankly nothing at all.
Leaping immediately into an easy rapport, the trio had the tent in stitches; even as Tom Jenkins regaled the crowd with the story of his debut album, or his various experiences with 2000trees, it just felt intimately, beautifully wholesome, and an incredibly entertaining respite between sets.
Canadian duo cleopatrick came next, and, although their set may have at first have been stolen by the presence of a giant cardboard mannequin of Iron Maiden’s Eddie The Head that rose prominently and precariously to preside over the pit, it didn’t take long for Ian Fraser and Luke Gruntz to claw it back; tracks like ‘Good Grief’, with thrown golden liquid — hopefully beer - cascading over the crowd, the tangentially Scooby Doo- themed ‘Daphne Did It’, which saw a number of kids make their own debuts surfing across the barrier, and of course the frantic, frenzied and ferocious closer of ‘FAMILY VAN’, got the crowd riled up and loving it. With how quiet their demeanour is on stage, you wouldn’t expect the level of rocky decadence that comes out of their instruments unless you’d witnessed it yourself; and, although the set might have had a slightly lower energy output from the two than usual — given they were both sick with the flu — a slightly subdued cleopatrick show is still something special indeed. Find out yourself - they’ve promised that they’ll be back later on in the year. New Rock Mafia for life.
When the afore-mentioned Interlaker’s David Jakes left Lonely The Brave back in 2018, his bandmates were in a bit of a pickle. How do you go on without a lead singer?
Enter Jack. If you haven’t been keeping up with all things Lonely The Brave over the past few years, Jack Bennett, formerly known as Grumble Bee, had the unenviable task of replacing David’s distinctive vocals, and in the process basically letting Lonely The Brave continue; a string of new singles, off of 2021’s The Hope List, gave the world the first taste of that new Lonely The Brave, preceding a triumphant yet ever-so-slightly-jarring live re-debut at the Download Pilot on 2021.
Now, three years and two albums later, the band feel as natural and triumphant as if they’d been this way all along. Sub-headlining The Cave, the band were a huskier, darker and generally heavier version of what 2021 saw, and they were all the better for it. With Jack a crazed presence on stage, flying around with frenzied fury as he bellowed and roared through a mixture of tracks both new and old, and the rest of the band all smiles as they tore through the tracks that have made them such a mainstay name in rock, Lonely The Brave felt as good as they’ve ever been. 2015’s ‘The Blue, The Green’ and ‘Backroads’ flawlessly intermingled with last year’s ‘The Lens’ or the more hopeful sounding ‘Keeper’, so closely hand in hand as to be seamless, and it led to a roiling and remarkable hour that seemed to fly by much too fast. Let’s hope for a new tour soon.
Closing out The Axiom Stage for the weekend came the only 2000trees band that got their own personalised, thematic announcement: the Southampton-based, theatrical emo-rockers of Creeper. With Darcia the Vampire Familiar coming on stage to mock the crowd’s choice of entertainment — “surely there are better bands on?” she asked, the packed out tent quickly roaring back an emphatic no — it was obvious that this set felt like a homecoming. With good reason, too: this year marks the fifth edition of Creeper playing the festival, each progressive year clawing their way closer and closer to the peak.
But how would Creeper celebrate their beginning of the end (of the weekend)? Why, it could only ever have been their distinctly Steinman-esque odyssey of ‘Further Than Forever’. As their ten minute musical journey blasted through the tent, the arena outside gradually darkening as if in preparation for the horrors that awaited, the tent was somewhere between riveted and riotous, awed and energetic, as if torn between two extremes. Heavily weighted towards ‘Sanguivore’, the set did nothing to help that turmoil; the frighteningly anthemic ‘Teenage Sacrifice’ or ‘Down Below’ one second, the crowd howling along, and then the slower ‘The Ballad of Spook & Mercy’ or emotional crowd-pleaser ‘Misery’ the next.
Final track ‘Cry To Heaven’, landing somewhere between perfectly crafted rock anthem and cheesy B-movie soundtrack, was the only way they could have ended it; and, as that blissful key change kicked in, feeling like it was ripped right out of the ‘80s, you could not have asked for more.
Catch them at Wembley Arena next year, co-headlining with Black Veil Brides on Devil’s Night — too cheesy to say that you’ll be in for a spooktacular evilning?
Finally, the time had come for the gloriously maned Rob Damiani, and his brilliant bandmates Matt Donnelly, Simon Delaney and Tom Doyle, to take the stage. Swaggering around from the first second of unmatchable opener ‘Everybody’, Don Broco had arrived, and they wanted everyone to know it; pyrotechnics, sparklers and confetti cannons galore punctuated each of the crowd-pleasing songs that blasted from the stage. A whole host of other Technology-era singles flooded forth from the Bedford boys, each feeling more unhinged than the last; it wasn’t until the shoegaze-esque ‘One True Prince’, Matt taking over primary vocal duties, that it felt like you could truly catch anything resembling a breather.
Elsewhere, ‘ACTION’ saw surprise guest Kid Brunswick take over Caleb Shomo’s vocal duties, and ‘Endorphins’ saw a host of power rangers moshing along, with the track later dedicated to them — “especially Tommy, he was always my favourite” Rob happily revealed — while a tag of ‘Thug Workout’ saw the pit opening up for the 2000trees push-up squad; all were delivered with the band’s usual level of glitz, glamour, and genuine joy; and, in a more genuine and monumental moment, the acerbic, anti-racist anthem ‘Uber’ saw cries of “Free Palestine” from both the band and beyond.
As the band’s only show of the year — not counting the two festival warm-up shows just prior — it provided both the band and their fans a jolt of much needed musical adrenaline to get them through the next-album hibernation. An equal splitting of Technology and Amazing Things, and a few deep cuts in ‘Nerve’, ‘You Wanna Know’ and ‘Priorities’, meant that fans knew and old all felt right at home as Don Broco brought the festival to a close; and, as T-Shirt Song’ saw the crowd channel their inner Skindreds, a multitude of sweaty shirts swinging in the breeze, one thing was for sure; the football might not have been on its way, but Don Broco had well and truly brought 2000trees home.
As fantastic a festival as always, 2000trees genuinely had something for everyone. No complaints here, other than that next year feels further away than ever!
Words by James O’Sullivan
Photography by Richard Mukuze