2000Trees once again proved to be a great success as thousands of festival goers enjoyed arguably the chilliest festival in the UK right now. This year was even more environmentally friendly and the theme for fancy dress on Saturday was was ‘2000Bees’ . Thursday saw the brilliant Boston Manor and Press To MECO. At The Drive In headlined the Thursday night along with Black Peaks and it was a truly great atmosphere all around. So with Thursday proving to be a success once again, Friday had a lot to live up to from previous Friday’s at the festival and it certainly didn’t disappoint!
When waking up in the morning, I was delighted to be able to catch Twin Atlantic rehearsing on the main stage. I also managed to meet the guys after this as well and I can honestly say they were true gentleman.
Nervus kicked off the action along with Courage My Love at The Axiom with both bands totally killing their sets. Chapter and Verse played their biggest show yet and played a great track titled Ink which was about depression and really hit home to me. Throughout their set they thanked fans and shows how genuine this band is. Bitch Falcon also played on The Neu Stage whereas Holding Absence and Hellion both performed brilliantly on the main stage. Despite it started to rain, The Dirty Nil still managed to start a part on the main stage and literally everyone watching the set looked like they were having so much fun and enjoying every single minute. Press to MECO then done a fantastic acoustic set over at the Forest Sessions and played a song from their latest album Here’s to the Fatigue as well as single Autopsy which was a great addition.
Touché Amoré really packed out The Cave and got everyone clapping before Mallory Knox played the main stage with Courage My Love watching on. They played the likes of Psycho Killer, their classic single Shout out the Moon as well as Lighthouse and you could see they were really proud of themselves and stressed that show meant everything to them. Not long after and Creeper took to the stage at The Cave and as always played one hell of a show. Lead singer Will Gould and band played the likes of Suzanne, Winona Forever and more in front of a packed out tent. They also sang Poison Pens for their friends Holding Absence as well as Down Below for the festival 2000Trees where fans chanted the chorus. Vocalist and pianist Hannah also managed to perform a beautiful song titled Crickets despite her voice not in the healthiest of condition at the time. Creeper finished on the likes of Black Rain and I Choose to Live and I can honestly say that it won’t be long until Creeper headlines the whole festival.
Headliners Twin Atlantic then took to the main stage and lead singer Sam McTrusty was amazing throughout the set and really got the crowd pumped. The band started with Gold Elephant: Cherry Alligator then played Valhalla before playing the brilliant Make Beast of Myself. Twin Atlantic also played the likes of Hold On and Whispers as well as The Chaser which was all sold tracks. A moment of magic then really occurred as fans sang their hearts out for the chorus of Free and it really hit home to me.
A real favourite of mine was Fall Into the Party which certainly got the party started and this was quickly followed by another classic which was Brothers & Sisters. A brilliant acoustic track Crash Land then followed before they finished on No Sleep and Heart and Soul. So that was it for Friday but the party didn’t stop there with two silent discos plenty of acts going on throughout the night.
Saturday came along quickly and Enter Shikari crew was sound checking in the morning and it was just brilliant to hear some of the tunes before the headline show. Luke Rainsford played over at the Forest Sessions and his voice was truly special. Luke certainly has plenty potential and still at a young age. Haggard Cat were the main stage openers before Avalanche took to the stage that kicked off the party. Unfortunately Sikth had to pull out of the festival on the day due to one of the members becoming a dad on the day. Muskets and Sun Arcana really set the Neu Stage alight as did Funeral Shakes at the Axiom stage. Dream State played in front of a packed stage at the Axiom with CJ Gilpin showing off her powerful vocals and really show some girl power for the festival. Beans on Toast then took to the main stage and provided as always a very political yet refreshingly funny set and really got the crowd going with his upbeat tempo.
The singer played the festival 11 years ago and he certainly showed why he keeps getting asked to play these festivals year in year out. We then caught Bloody Knees at The Axiom and the band really gave it their all and asked the crowd to move forward so they could engage with them. There were plenty of mosh pits and played the likes of Not Done and more!
Enter Shikari’s Rou Reynolds then took to the Forest Sessions and it was truly great to see and hear as the packed out forest were sitting quietly listening to Rou’s incredible vocals. He played Stalemate before there were a few technical difficult but fans were definitely patient. Rou then played Redshift before playing Gary Numan’s Cars. We also got to hear a great version of Undercover Agents as well as another cover of David Bowie’s Heroes. Finally we heard the brilliant Live Outside and this was a great warm up for the main headline set.
Demob Happy then played at The Axiom while Sean McGowan played a great acoustic set at the Forest Sessions. The Xcerts were a real hit on the main stage with lead singer Murray Macleod performing really brilliantly throughout alongside the band. The Scottish band played the likes of Aberdeen 1987 as well as Feels Like Falling in Love and many more great tracks.
Moose Blood then played the main stage later in the evening and they played the likes of Bukowski, Gum and Swim Down which was refreshing to see them play their older stuff. It was a really chilled set and it didn’t matter if you were a new fan of theirs or an old one, everyone was welcome.
Then the moment everyone was waiting for as Enter Shikari took to the main stage with thousands of fans waiting in anticipation. Rou and the band totally ruled the stage with the lead singer confessing he had a few drinks after his acoustic set as anxiety started to dig in. They played The Sights before the playing the brilliant Juggernauts that sent fans crazy. After Enter Shikari played The Last Garrison, the energizing Rou managed to get two fans on to the stage and congratulated them after there was a marriage proposal within the crowd using only signs. Enter Shikari then played Shinrin-Yoku and Undercover Agents which was just awesome. Other songs on the night included Destabilise which is persona favourite of mine It was truly an amazing headliner as they continued to play Airfield and they quick fire songs that included Sorry, You’re Not a Winner, Sssnakepit, …Meltdown and The Jester which I had no words to describe, it was faultless. The encore included Redshift which certainly toned things down but was fantastic as the band finished on the popular Live Outside. The Embers then finished things up however they did leave a remix of The Sights which was truly special.
Overall it was an amazing weekend of up and coming artists mixed with well established ones and I met some of the nicest people you’d ever meet over the course of time. Early bird tickets for 2019 can be bought here. Check out some more photos from Eftychia Lianeri (https://www.instagram.com/efleean/) below!