Festival Preview: 2000trees

As their advertising suggests – there are only 52 weekends a year. This week sees us approach 2000trees with ears doing whatever the ear equivalent of salivating is, safe in the knowledge that the organisers will have booked a weekend of music, fun and festivities like no other in the county. This isn’t just any festival…this is your festival.

We’re going to be onsite at the festival all weekend taking in the sights, sounds, drinks and food and this page is here to either convince you to buy a ticket if you haven’t done so yet, or to maybe point you towards a stage if you don’t quite know where to go yet.

Thursday

The strongest day of the weekend for me and that’s including headliners At The Drive-In whose live performances have come under severe scrutiny since their reunion. New album In-ter a-li-a may not be up to the level of Relationship Of Command (but then what album is?).

You’d be stupid to miss late additions Marmozets whose new album, Knowing What You Know Now, has turned a set full of great songs into a musical experience not worth missing. Keep your ears open for ‘Major System Error’, ‘Like A Battery’ from the new album and ‘Captivate You’ from Weird And Wonderful.

Press To Meco are a band that have been plugging away over the past few years and have started to reap the rewards. Somehow only just making the trees debut, the 3 piece rock band with sumptuous harmonies and catchy hooks are bound to get you singing and dancing along to tracks from their debut album Good Intent and 2018’s Here’s To The Fatigue.

My final recommendation for the opening day is Vukovi, female fronted rock with a twist. 2017 saw them release their self-titled debut album and from there there’s not been any looking back. After playing the festival in 2017 you may already be familiar but it’s great to see them back again if you missed them last year. If you saw them last year…see you there again this year.

Honorable mentions go to Dave McPherson and his Forest Session which will see him entertain with his utterly unique and enthralling vocals and some InMe tracks in there for good measure, Black Peaks for just being Black Peaks and Turbowolf and their eccentric brand of rock.

Friday

Day 2 and it’s the turn of Bad Sign to make their second consecutive performance and another band whose fantastic new album has seen them reach new audiences. Hitting the stage early on in the day these guys will need your support and will blow you away in return.

Clash of the weekend for me sees Southern emo punks Creeper go up against Leicester’s Conjurer. Bands who, despite vastly different styles, have both made massive inroads with their releases in the last 18 months. It’s a choice between ‘Suzanne’ and ‘Retch’, ‘Hiding With The Boys’ and ‘Hollow’. It’s a choice you shouldn’t have to make…but either way you’re a winner really.

Touché Amoré grace The Cave stage before both of those bands and their post-hardcore efforts will be some of the most passionate and engaging of the weekend. Stage Four is a couple of years old now and having seen them twice on this album tour already it’s no exaggeration to say that they’re a must see.

Saturday

The final day sees things slow down a little for me, but the highlights will be huge. Haggard Cat are opening proceedings on the Saturday and if there’s ever been a better band to start your day with I’ve not witnessed them. Made from the ashes of Heck/Baby Godzilla somehow they’ve managed to create something fresh but just as good. Get down early for these, you owe it to yourself.

It would be remiss of me to write a preview of a festival without mentioning Dream State. After already seeing off Download it’s impossible to see them leaving 2000trees without metaphorically pulling up a few of them. Thankfully the festival as a whole has a strong representation of women in rock, but Dream State are the cream of the emerging crop right now.

Finally, I have to implore that you go and see Sikth. Firstly they’ve got tracks like ‘Peep Show’, ‘Pussyfoot’ and ‘Philistine Philosophies’ and have some of the most intricate guitar work of the weekend. Secondly, seeing them means you aren’t at the Main Stage when they’re playing which is a bonus all around.

So there is a run through of my recommendations for this coming weekend. With a reputation that speaks for itself, a community driven group of organisers and a lineup promoting the best of British music there’s nothing better to be doing this weekend. Oh and it’s going to to be sunny apparently.

Pick up your tickets here: www.twothousandtreesfestival.co.uk/tickets/