2000 Trees
2000 Applications of suncream
2000 Wasps
2000 laughs
2000 Trees festival at Upcote Farm is a magical place where the restless let go in tune to some of the best in rising and biggest names in the alt scene. This year’s line up held nothing back – completely packed throughout and with something for everyone.
First impressions
It’s hot as hell and there’s a buzz in the air with campers and wasps ready to go. The layout is easy to navigate, the beauty of smaller festivals being that everything you need is relatively in reach, and even when there’s a band clash you can generally run (not recommended in flip flops) to the next stage. I battle my tent set up and head to interview Hot Milk’s Hannah ‘Han’ Mee.
Hot Milk – Forest Stage
Stood between many trees the crowd filters into the forest, there’s a line check and people start cheering, everyone’s pumped! Hot Milk go right in, opening up with ‘Insubordinate Ingerland’ and the crowd moves forward, pits start opening up and everyone’s on their feet. ‘I Just Wanna Know’ goes hard, crowd surfers go over and the energy is felt amongst the packed forest.
“Where my party people at??” Han screams “We are Hot Milk from Manchester and tonight we’re having a party how about you?!”
Diving into ‘Horror Show’, everyone’s ignited. A group to the left of me has lightsabres in the air going wild. The set covers all bases with their intense sound ripping through the foliage. Han is assertive in connecting with the crowd and elates passion and vibrancy for the duration. Hot Milk is a hell of a first headliner and they smash it on all counts.
THURSDAY
It’s an early start and the suncream is out. Showers don’t open until 11AM so we fashion one out of some water bottles with the help of surrounding campers. We can hear the forest yoga from our camp and attempt, and rapidly fail, to kick off the day the right way. After some flailing about the hunt for a coffee and some munch is on, which was much more successful than the yoga.
Chroma – Neu Stage
Genres: Garage Rock, Math Rock, Post-Punk, Riot Grrrl Revival
Debut Album: Ask For Angela
My fellow Welshies Chroma hit the Neu stage and the tent is filling out nicely which is ace, particularly considering the heat radiating off everyone. Katie Hall captures the audience within the first breath; the live sound bringing an ambience to her vocals. Katie is often noted for her incredible raw vocals, her voice is also brightened with the moody undertone of a lullaby, a trait often possessed by the celts (The Corrs, Cara Dillon, Charlotte Church) and Katie’s punk stage presence paired with soothing tracks offers a welcome space for catharsis. Chroma’s set unpacks the resilience of women and emotional trauma, unifying a sense of empowerment felt throughout the crowd.
False Reality – The Cave
Genres: Metalcore, Post-Hardcore, Progressive Metal, Hardcore
I love a bit of False Reality and Rachel takes the stage in the sweatbox that is The Cave with full gusto. 30 mins of sweat, screams and pounding riffs with a relentless vocal performance as Rachel commands the crowd. Circle pits, getting squashed and a sublime, unified presence from the fans. From seeing them in 100 caps to playing The Cave stage is a great thing to be a part of, and hell yes do they deserve to be there!
FRIDAY
The heat is bludgeoning us and the queue for the ice cream truck currently has the biggest crowd as everyone trickles into the arena. Hundreds of festival goers gather under the shade of The Cave and Axiom stage tents. In the forest, the floor is covered in sweltering humans desperate for a bit of breeze but determined to enjoy the tunes, a coffee and breakfast sandwich later and we’re back in!
Eville – The Cave
Genres: Heavy Metal, Thrash Metal, Groove Metal
So proud of this band! They were first on my radar a few years back when they played a benefit gig and they have absolutely soared since then. The Cave stage is a great space for newish bands who are really making tracks in the scene, and Eville smashed a prodigious set. The tent was packed out and Eva (vocals, guitar) brought the energy, pelting around the stage in 33 degree heat and the crowd didn’t hold back!
Venus Grrrls – Neu Stage
Genres: Punk Rock, Garage Rock, Alternative Rock
Back at the Neu stage for some heavy hitters, Venus Grrrls: the all girl, alt-rock powerhouse group causing a stir in the best way.
The group showcased a powerful deliverance of gritty riffs and garage, adorning the stage with mastery. The tent was full, the girls went hard and wielded their set with grace and authority throughout.
Witch Fever – Neu Stage
Genres: Doom-punk, sludge, post-hardcore, noise rock
Witch Fever are a fan favourite and for a good reason, the tunes are insatiable and the group’s stage presence is infectious.
The crowd is captivated as the band pour into their set, Amy twirls around the stage and the group mesmerise the audience with sludgy rage; cradling everyone with fuzzy ethereal notes from start to end and spellbinding the Upcote Farm occult.
SATURDAY
I head to interview the incredible Bethany Curtis, vocalist in As December Falls, and we talk the new album, not giving a fuck and being a Loud Woman in the music industry.
As December Falls – Forest Stage
The music is pumping, the crowd is cheering, Bethany walks on stage and then, uh oh, the mic is not working. Bethany giggles and sorts the cable out and her vocals snap into place right at the chorus of ‘Ride’, to a huge wave of cheers and applause.
“I wanna see your hands!” Bethany yells, hands up and everyone’s clapping along in unison, drawing everyone in. “2000 trees, how the fuck we doing?”
Bethany is slaying in 30+ degree heat and she OWNS the forest stage as they delve into ‘Mayday’. The crowd surfers are going for it; there are parents with kids in the audience and the mini moshers are having a ball. The set is definitely a nod to the elder emos combined with heavy elements and a pop undertone. The sun is finally going down and the purple Forest stage lights shine as Bethany grins ear-to-ear, the band play some new tracks and then dive into ‘Bathroom Floor’ to a wild reception. The set is a great mix of old and new. Bethany locks eyes with the audience (yes all of them) as she launches into their brand new, unreleased title track ‘Everything’s on fire, but I’m fine’ and it’s a big, jumpy emo banger. Huge numbers going over shoulders and everyone’s darting into the pit. Followed swiftly by ‘Therapy’, with huge beats and feel good vibes, this definitely feels like therapy.
Tropic Gold
Genres: metalcore, alternative rock, electronica
It’s the last set of the festival and we’re here to scream for Amy – the incredible drummer of Tropic Gold. Amy’s been on the scene for some time, also playing in stellar pop-punk band You Over Me. Tropic Gold take to the Forest Stage for a live set through the silent disco headphones, a bizarrely great experience. It’s busy and the crowd are locked in. Amy is the heartbeat of the stage as the set explodes the night into the perfect ending of an unforgettable weekend.
Final Thoughts
Lineup: 10/10
Staff: 10/10
Food: 7/10 Very expensive, but some great food including Tacos, Bunnychow & Paella
Drinks: 8/10 A really nice selection of options and not the standard festival crap which was a welcome change, cheapest pint from £7.
Toilets: 8/10 Generally very clean, anti-bac was pretty sparse
Water points: 8/10 Occasionally they would stop working, but staff fixed things quickly which was great
Such an ace festival! So much is clearly thought out and well planned, highlighting that this festival was created by people who actually go to festivals. The music was top tier and the majority of people were incredible and lovely. There was definitely some magic in the air too as we discovered many mini figurine gifts is our handbags nightly, including multiple tiny ducks, a miniature horse, an axolotl and a variety of frogs.
See you next year, Trees!