Tag: Employed To Serve

Upcote Farm, Cheltenham

9th – 12th July 2025

Cover 📸 Joe Singh

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2000trees 2025 – the big review!

Isn’t it funny that particular years at festivals get remembered for certain things? There are years at festivals that are infamous for the weather, events revered for landmark performances, weekends fondly remembered for a special attraction, and of course those other oddities that make something memorable.

2000trees is now a staple of the festival calendar. The pilgrimage to Upcote Farm in Cheltenham has become a must for passionate fans and when something becomes routine, even a positive one like attending this great festival – our brains need something to help differentiate between each occasion.

Well, 2025 is going to be long engrained in the memories of attendees for a number of reasons which we will get into during this review. 2025 at 2000trees for now though can simply be summed up with three words – heat, Kneecap and wasps!

Yes, in amongst the endless jokes from bands about counting the trees were quips of 2000 degrees and 2000 wasps. The intense and unrelenting heat has a massive effect on the weekend; it makes everything difficult and means many will have had to tailor their expectations of what they wanted to see across the weekend.

It would be easy to write an essay on the inferno that we all survived, but all we will say is that the wonderful 2000trees community deserve all the credit in the world for banding together to ensure that the festival was still a resounding success.

We came to see some bands though, so let’s get this thing started!

WEDNESDAY

The Wednesday at 2000trees is seriously special. A relatively small selection of early birds get to make the most of the beautiful Forest stage. This stunning setting always has a unique atmosphere, but the opening night party always hits differently.

The first band on, just two hours after the gates open, are returning heroes Haggard Cat! The band have no problems in getting the crowd moving and the love they receive just goes to demonstrate the connection that this group of passionate fans build with those acts that impress at 2000trees.

Another fantastic example of this comes next as Blank Atlas hit the tiny Word stage near to the forest. Usually reserved for podcasts, comedians and kids activities, on Wednesday the Word stage alternates with the Forest Stage to give fans a relentless live music experience like only trees can. Having wowed crowds with an early morning set last year, Blank Atlas return to deliver another great slot this year.

2000trees are a rarity among bigger festivals in that appearances over consecutive years aren’t just accepted, they are expected! Wednesday is known for bringing favourites back and next is a group made of members of various trees favourites – Vower. They keep the evening building nicely, as do Buds. in the Word tent next.

It’s clear that unpeople are heading for big things and they play the first of two sets this weekend next. They take the route of not repeating any songs across their two performances and this set takes the party theme to a new level with new songs punctuated by fun covers of ‘Fight for Your Right (To Party)’, ‘Hash Pipe’ and ‘Sugar’!

Other Half, Blood Command and Meryl Streek all keep the night flowing perfectly before Panic Shack provide an early highlight and Grove Street ramp up the intensity of the crowd.

We are then treated to a special throwback set from Kid Kapichi which is poignant with this being the last festival for the original line-up. The Meffs are their incendiary selves as they headline the Word tent and Forest stage headliners Hot Milk bring their fantastic new album, ‘Corporation P.O.P.’ to life with a fun set.

As the blazing sun finally disappears, the best bit of trees can commence – the after-hours activities. The silent disco at trees is legendary and a recent addition is a live band in the forest but played through the silent disco system. Listening to 2000trees royalty The Xcerts through our headset is a very different experience and the band make the most of the setting by delivering a crowd pleasing setlist.

THURSDAY

A warm night sleep then finds us awaking to an even hotter Thursday and the first day proper of the festival. As we’ve touched on, if you are that way inclined then you can watch non-stop live music all day and we happen to be that way inclined. So, deep breath…

Hangovers be damned, first up in the NEU tent at 10:30am (yes it’s early but it’s far too hot to be in your own tent) are Terminals who like Blank Atlas before do a great job of engaging the morning zombies.

Meryl Streek follows his fantastic Word tent set with a bigger opening set on the main stage and Youth Killed It kill it with a great set over at the Axiom stage. It helps in this heat that four of the stages are tented, but Karen Dio attracts a relatively decent crowd for her bop of a set back at the main stage.

PAVÉ, HIMALAYAS and CHROMA all keep the pace going with more really fun performances. It’s already becoming clear that the standard of acts booked for trees again this year is high, and despite the hazardous conditions, each band is determined to grab their opportunity with both bands.

Indeed, across the weekend there aren’t many disappointing performances at all and that is a credit to the artists but also a testament to the regard this festival is held in. Bands want to do it justice but also know that a big performance here can elevate their career more than an early set at a bigger festival. At 2000trees they are playing to a smaller crowd of engaged fans and not a group of often disinterested attendees looking to kill time.

The continued rise of unpeople began at 2000trees and it’s marvellous to see them really thriving. As such their appearance today on the main stage feels like a crowning moment for them and the reaction to the likes of ‘The Garden’ just convince you further that this bands trajectory will see them headline this festival within five years.

Dream Nails and SNAYX are next on our watchlist before we head into the Axiom to enjoy the return of another typical trees band – Puppy. Having been away for a while, the trio get a huge reception and the likes of ‘World Stands Still’ and ‘Entombed’ remind you how special the band are.

The Hunna make the most of their first trees appearance on the main stage and you can’t help to enjoy the infectious Hyphen in the NEU tent. BIG SPECIAL sound big and special on the main stage and Kid Kapichi smash out a second set of the weekend at the Axiom stage as we head into the first evening of the full festival.

This year features five acts billed as headliners and the first of those is up next on the main stage. PVRIS are out celebrating the anniversary of their incredible debut ‘White Noise’ and songs from that album feature prominently in what is a truly fantastic performance. Lynn Gunn is an absolute star and the singalongs that the band conjure in the most intense sunshine are refreshing as hell.

2000trees continues to grow year on year and that is demonstrated by Twin Atlantic returning to headline the Axiom having previously twice headlined the main stage. Clearly bands want to play trees and the festival have a great relationship with their regulars. The crowd loves every moment of another standard set from the fan favourites.

Kneecap were a controversial booking for the festival (if that even is possible), even prior to the media frenzy that has accompanied them in recent months. Although they’ve played before, musically they were an outside choice as a headliner.

When first announced some speculated online how many (or few to be precise) would watch them. Well now they are the most infamous band at the festival and the field is packed! Easily one of the biggest crowds the festival has seen, there is a real party atmosphere amongst attendees.

The set itself feels more like a celebration of cause as much as a rousing endorsement of their musical output. It however will go down as one of those ‘I was there’ moments for 2000trees.

It’s then time to hit the full multi-stage, multi-channel silent disco again and take in another live disco set, this time from the ever-charming Dream State.

FRIDAY

Friday feels hotter still and you can certainly see the crowds really beginning to flag. Each band however still get their own personal group of fun starters and somehow the 2000trees atmosphere never wanes despite the challenging environment we are in.

Failstate and Mallavora get the early slots today and again are both able to make the most of them. EVER, Eville and Oversize follow for us and we again find ourselves locked into a cycle of mightily impressive bands one after the other.

The good times vibes are essential to 2000trees and Press Club, Youth Fountain and BLACKGOLD keep them coming as we make our way through our third day in heaven (but with the climate of hell).

We then make our way to the forest and another special feature of 2000trees. You can often catch bigger artists doing intimate things in the woods and this year we have the privilege of trees icon Frank Turner playing his album, ‘Love, Ire & Song’ acoustically in full.

Trash Boat, VENUS GRRRLS, FIDLAR and Benefits get things a lot noisier again next and all four are again in top form. As are Coheed and Cambria who attract a huge crowd to the co-headline performance. Always a bit of a marmite band, the crowd at trees welcomes them with open arms and the band get to see for themselves why this event is so special.

We’ve had a few returns and reformations at 2000trees this year, but it’s the appearance of Frank Turner led Million Dead that has garnered the most excitement. They don’t disappoint and their five-piece version sounds absolutely huge headlining the Axiom today.

The last band on the main stage today are Taking Back Sunday and whilst a fun time is had, poor sound mix, an uninspired setlist and a lack of real energy mean that they are perhaps the first band to not truly hit the spot this weekend.

Thankfully that feeling doesn’t last long because next we head into the campsites, which at 2000trees are another unique feature. Whilst the partiers will rave in the silent disco, others will find themselves at the tiny busking stages. We head to Camp Turner to catch a special unplugged performance from Cyan Kicks which is simply stunning. The beautiful set being the best way to finish the penultimate day of this special festival.

SATURDAY

With the sun still showing zero sign of giving in, the final day of 2000trees is here and Saturday begins with a really fun run of Honey Buzz, Gen and the Degenerates, Love Rarely and The Molotovs. These acts ensure that despite surreal levels of lethargy kicking in the crowd is still given a rousing slap across the face!

Perhaps though a bucket of water over the head would work better today and Bad Sign, Catbite and Daytime TV are on hand to deliver that with more enjoyable performances. Love Is Noise sadly experiences catastrophic technical problems next however and cuts his set short.

Split Chain, Employed To Serve, Anxious and Soapbox are all on hand afterwards however to reinvigorate us as we head into the final straight of the weekend. Cyan Kicks then plug themselves in and deliver another real highlight of the festival in the forest. Magical!

The set of the weekend however belongs to the incredible VUKOVI who absolutely own the main stage and elicit frenzied scenes that belie the overpowering temperatures.

Making no reference to the footwear needed by vocalist Janine due to the lava like feel of the stage floor, the charm and charisma that she possesses should see VUKOVI able to headline this event in the future. Each track sounds massive today and if the weekend had ended here, it would’ve been very fitting.

It doesn’t end here however, and we still have time to squeeze in performances from La Dispute, letlive., SPRINTS and final main stage headliner Alexisonfire. Underground favourites, returning icons, new heroes and a band made to headline trees – just a perfect reflection of what this festival is all about.

Throughout this review we’ve used the word special an awful lot to describe 2000trees and that’s because no other word does it justice. The event feels like less of a typical festival and more of a family gathering. As it continues to grow however, the event will face some dilemmas because if it grows too big it will lose the very thing that makes it so special.

Thus far, despite the growth the organisers have managed to do that. They can’t do anything about the weather or the damn wasps, but they may have some online criticism coming their way this year for car park exiting and VIP overcrowding.

That said though, the things that they got right this weekend far outweighed any issues. Every festival has issues, it’s how they are dealt with that demonstrates the passion of the organisers and you can be sure that 2000trees will ensure that concerns are listened to. Credit must also be given to the organisers for sticking by their guns and allowing artistic integrity to remain intact.

Despite the wasps, the controversy, the extreme heat and any minor gripes 2000trees 2025 is another resounding success. The bands, the atmosphere, the food, the drink, the party, the side quests, just everything about this festival is special and we can’t wait for 2026!

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