My 2000Trees 2023 Highlights

I look back at some of my favourite moments from my new favourite festival

Back in July, I went to a festival I'd never been to before to see why so many people were saying it was one of the best in the country. Some of you may remember I did a blog about whether 2000Trees could compete with Glastonbury and be one of the UK's best festivals. Today, I look back on some of the best things about the last rendition of the festival and see if it lived up to the hype.

Biggest Good Surprises

Part of my 2000Trees experience was discovering new bands and artists and seeing some of my personal favourites. One of the best things about this festival is that it attracts some of the best up-and-coming artists and this year was no different. One of the best examples of this would have been Blackgold, who played on Friday at The Cave stage and put on a great show to start our day. The masked band are influenced by the likes of Limp Bizkit and Slipknot with their Nu- Metal sound mixed with Hip Hop. It proved to be a hit with the Trees crowd as everyone in the tent was bouncing and enjoying their set including me and my mates who had only heard of this band for about a couple of hours by this point. This is one of the things which I love about festivals. Finding out new bands from people you've just met and discovering something very cool. Thank you to James and Helena for the suggestion.

Another good surprise from the weekend was the brilliant Haggard Cat who played on Wednesday night at The Word stage and a secret set at The Forest Stage the following day. I had heard of the band from their performance at the virtual FiveForFive Festival in lockdown so I was excited to see this band on the bill but nothing could have prepared me for the set they put on at Trees. The set on Wednesday was a barrierless show which led to absolute chaos with fans being crowd-surfed to the stage and then back. Despite the chaos, This was an exhilarating set from the duo. As headliners of a stage go, you can't ask for anymore plus a cheeky interpolation of Queens of The Stone Ages 'A Song for The Dead' in their penultimate song 'Grave Digger' was the icing on the cake. The band destroyed some of their set at the end of their show, but little did they know that they would be back tomorrow to do it all over again. The band were asked to do a secret set at the beautiful Forest Stage. The broken equipment was quickly either replaced or fixed and the band once again put on a chaotic show which pleased the Trees crowd once again. This band are a band I can highly recommend if you're a fan of loud rock and roll music with a bit of energy and skill. A must-see live act if you get the chance.

Best Moments

Honestly, there are so many good moments that happened at 2000Trees 2023 I'd be here all day, But I have narrowed it down to 3 moments which either took my breath away or impressed me massively. We will start on Wednesday which acted as Trees Pre-party before the festival kicked off its first official day and it saw Press To Meco take to the forest stage for their final show as a band. They announced at the end of 2022 that the band would split up but would have one last hurrah at 2000Trees. The band's final album was featured in my Best Albums of 2021 blog, and I have been following them since they supported Vukovi on their UK tour back in 2017 so to see this band calling it a day was sad but I was excited to see them play one last time at Trees. The Forest Stage was the perfect setting for such an occasion with it being such a beautiful area in the festival and the intimate feel of the area gave the band the perfect stage to sign things off. The sun was out, and a big crowd turned out to see Lewis, Luke and Jake play their final show together. The band only had time for seven songs, but it was seven of their very best which included 'Gold' and 'A Quick Fix'. This would leave many fans happy, and the band ended things as friends beaming from ear to ear as they brought the curtain down on an amazing journey. There were certainly a lot of emotional moments in the set, but the show was bittersweet but a glorious end for a band that deserved so much more recognition.

This is not the end for Jake and Luke as they debuted in a new band called Unpeople. The band played their first-ever show the day after at Trees. With Jake taking the lead vocals for the first time and the band having no music out at this point, they were certainly jumping into the deep end, but it was a great set from the band and I'm excited to see what they do at next year's festival. While Meco may be dead, long live Unpeople.

The next highlight for me came at The Word stage early on Thursday morning. After having way too much to drink on Wednesday night with my mates, I crawled out of my tent just in time to catch the On Wednesdays We Wear Black Podcast. DJ and presenter Sophie K and social media influencer and Journalist Yasmine Summan host the podcast and it covers a range of things from bands, gigs, sex, racism and emo fashion and provides a safe space for people in the alternative scene, most notably women and non-binary people which is what is needed. They walked out to the stage and some seats on some hay bales as instantly Sophie K pointed to my We Wear Black shirt. Normally I would have a bit more energy and enthusiasm but due to my hungover state, I politely waved back. The Duo split their show into two halves with the first part talking about bands and artists who deserve their flowers (people who deserve love and appreciation) and the other half being people's worst dating stories and experiences. It was a lot of fun with Sophie and Yasmin arguing about which bands should have their flowers, asking people about their experiences and finding out what band and artists people think deserves some recognition. After they finished, I met Yasmin, and we chatted about the podcast and how much I enjoyed it as well as chatting about our drunk stories from the previous night. They also introduced me to Sophie K whom I'd never met before. She was also lovely to speak to and we discussed how the podcast changed the way I see the scene and chatted to Sophie about Atuisim which I never knew Sophie had so it is cool to have someone in the scene who can understand how I can feel in certain situations. Overall, this was such a cool experience to be around so many like-minded people and also to be in a safe environment where everyone feels welcome. With the state of the scene right now, the work We Wear Black does is more important than ever and it was cool to chat with the Duo that made it possible.

The final moment I want to discuss happened on a rainy Saturday on the forest stage. In the late afternoon, Cody Frost performed her ravepunk music to a rain-sodden crowd who were still enjoying every minute of her set. It was my first time seeing her live and I enjoyed hearing songs such as ' DWYSSWM' and 'redundant'. One of the highlights, however, was when Cody brought out Enter Shikari lead signer Rou Renoylds to perform the Shikari song 'Bull'. The crowd loved this all dancing and singing along despite it chucking it down. it was a great moment as the festival was nearing its end. This is certainly a great moment to happen on one of the smaller stages and is something that will stick in my brain for a very long time.

Other fantastic moments took place which included:

• Everyone making a circle pit around the sound desk at Frank Carter and The Rattlesnakes set.

• Bullet for My Valentine playing a career-defining set which included a circle pit to 'Waking The Demond'.

• Dream State packing out the Cave Stage on their return to the festival.

• Skindread entertaining and energetic set attracting massive crowds at the Main Stage.

• Bob Vylan throughout the whole weekend. especially his team-up with Soft Play at their headline slot

• Fans dressed up as dinosaurs as Dinosaur Pile-up rock out on The Main Stage.

• Fans holding inflatable swords up in the air as Heriot played a brutally good set on Friday morning.

Food, Drinks and more.

I would not normally cover this kind of thing but I felt I had to give a shout-out to the food places at 2000Trees as a majority of the places we eat at were some of the best festival food. One of the highlights for me was the Ice Cream for The Splitscreen Ice Cream Co, which had a range of flavours all served in vintage VW vans and I'd go as far as to say that their ice creams are some of the best I have ever had. Trees do focus on quality over quantity, and this was a fine example of this.

The festival also allowed you to take your own beers into the arena part of the festival. This was something I've never seen done at the likes of Reading Festival or Download. It made our weekend much more affordable however, the festival asked fans to buy beers from the bar when they could to support the festival and when you put it like that then there is no way we could say no to supporting Trees where we could. There were also activities all around the festival to keep you entertained if the music was not doing it for you. Our highlight was the crazy golf which was a lot of fun and well done. There was also a play area for kids not far from the main stage which meant any family attending the festival could let their kids play while they still got to watch their favourite bands meaning no one was being left out. Finally, Trees' disabled access was also a class above the rest. The car park was right next to the campsite which made it easy to set up and take down our camp and easy to get to the main arena. The viewing platforms also gave any disabled fans a great vantage point to enjoy the music. Some were a bit small so they could become busy for some fans, but given the festival size, it was understandable.

Overall

Last year, I asked the question of whether 2000Trees was able to compete with some of the bigger festivals such as Glastonbury, Reading and Leeds and Download. For sure, Trees may not be able to get the legendary names that the major festivals can get, but they do book some incredible up-and-coming talents and some fan favourites at an affordable price which allows many fans to enjoy a weekend of live music. With this plus a range of activities, great food places and a welcoming community, I highly recommend going to 2000Trees and that's what I will be doing this year as 2000Trees returns with another fantastic lineup and with more to be announced, all the signs are pointing to another excellent weekend.