2000 Trees Festival 2023
at Upcote Farm, Gloucestershire
photos by Matt Sheppard

On a sunny Wednesday in July, in a quiet handful of fields in the middle of the Cotswolds Area Of Natural Beauty, thousands of alternative music fans descend for 2000 Trees, voted the Best Medium Festival 2022 at the UK Festival Awards. With a stacked line-up across the three and half days of music, there's something for everyone.

Following on from the success of last year’s award-winning festival, returning to 2000 Trees always feels like coming home in some sense, the atmosphere is electric with excitement, yet also chilled and relaxed. After setting up camp on Thursday, I started off my weekend by heading over to see Lambrini Girls on the NEU Stage, which was quite the wake-up to start the festival, that set did more to wake me up than any amount of coffee ever could. Following on I then spent my time running between all the stages at 2000 Trees (albeit not having to run very far due to how compact and well-sized 2000 Trees has been laid out for a number of years) to catch the likes of Kid Kapichi, Bex, Bob Vylan, Hannah Grae, The Wonder Years, Skindred, and Bad Nerves.

Friday saw RXPTRS kicking off the day in the cave tent, which drew a larger than expected crowd for a band starting at 11:30 after the first night of a festival, a clear indication that the crowd wanted to get up and experience the festival instead of nursing their hangovers (or maybe they were doing both who knows). Friday was then spent bouncing between various stages to see Lakes, Microwave, Arxx, The Xcerts, As Everything Unfolds and Dinosaur Pile Up, the latter notably having a handful of fans dressed up as dinosaurs in the crowd. Sadly they did not pile up on top of one another for the full effect. Closing out Friday’s proceedings on the main stage was Bullet For My Valentine. “Tears Don’t Fall” started with Tuck and the crowd singing along acappella style before the rest of the band join in.

Saturday, the final day of music started out with a sprinkling of rain but the fans didn't let that disrupt them in enjoying all the music had to offer, with another line-up filled with talent that would be hard to not have something anyone would enjoy. Saturday was also the festival's day for dress up, with the theme '2000 BELIEVES - The truth is in the TREES', all things conspiracy theory. With many festival goers donning costumes such as Ghostbusters, lizard people, intergalactic travellers and the Illuminati to name a few, it’s always a good laugh to see the creativity and ideas fans come up with for each years theme. This day started with seeing Witch Fever, followed by dashes across the festival site to catch Modern Error, Ways Away, Deaf Havana, who did an acoustic set in the forest, then back to the main stage for Electric Six, Dream State, and Deaf Havana (again).

My highlight of the weekend overall has to go to Holding Absence, who played the main stage on Saturday. This group hailing from Cardiff, Wales have grown steadily over the years, mentioning during their set that they've performed on every stage at 2000 Trees except the main, until 2023. The group always looks like they're having genuinely so much fun being on stage, like this could be their first time playing here. I doubt it’s going to be long until we see the band coming back and headlining 2000 Trees.

The final act of the weekend, and to bring another year of this incredible festival to a close, was Frank Carter & Rattlesnakes who got the crowd moshing and dancing. You could barely tell this crowd had just spent the last two hours hiding from some of the most biblical rain experienced this year as everyone was excited and having a good time. The band had spared no expense, with a number of songs including off-smoke and confetti canons, to bring extra excitement to the spectacle. They allowed space for a women's only mosh pit during "Wild Flowers" and in classic Frank fashion told off some guys who tried to join in. The band also teased they have been working on new music so it will be exciting to see what this band comes out with next.

When all was said and done, 2000 Trees 2023 was exactly what I expected from this festival, and have come to love about this festival after coming here over the years. Great band with enough variety to give a lot of music fans something to be happy with, easy access between stages and campsites, incredible food and just an amazing atmosphere overall. I wish more festivals were like 2000 Trees, I think the whole festival scene would be better for it.