It will be time for festival goers, some perhaps wearing war wounds form Download, Outbreak and Glastonbury, to make their way towards God’s favourite Regency Spa of Cheltenham to attend 2000trees. A town that plays hosts to the Cheltenham Races each year and home to the shires best football team in Cheltenham Town FC, it is also being home to one of summer’s metal and alternative mainstays in 2000trees over the years, adding another reason to why it’s such a wonderful part of England.
Over the years the likes of Architects, Fozzy, Vukovi, In Fear and Heriot have performed in Cheltenham, between the Two Pigs and the well-known Frog and Fiddle. Arguably the presence of 2000trees has helped maintain a local scene. The festival itself has seen Jimmy Eat World, Turnstile, Basement and Enter Shikari grace their stage. Underneath this all has always been an array of quality bands, all deserving of their place on the line-up. We now take a look at 10 bands you should be sure to catch in amongst the excitement of 2000trees.
Cauldron
It would be fair to say in both a studio and live capacity, we’ve been huge fans of what Cauldron have been doing. Dropping one of our favourite albums of 2023 that continues to age perfectly, which will no doubt be seen as a gem of this decade. More importantly in this context, they’re nailed their live performance by being a sheer workhorse of the scene. Recently playing alongside The Callous Daoboys and performing at Ieper Fest this last weekend, Cauldron know have perfected their setlist to get a crowd’s attention and a room moving, while their revival metalcore sound will offer up something a little bit different at this year’s 2000trees.
Knife Bride
Another band that has been a Boolin Tunes pick for a long time, Knife Bride are a seasoned touring band who we’ve caught supporting Vukovi and Graphic Nature. Currently their material is dotted across singles and their EP, and the fact that this has gotten them to stages such as 2000trees is another vote of confidence. Recent single “MELANCHOLIA” balances their modern taken on pop metal with djenty breakdowns, encapsulating the band in one go, but go back further in time to hear gritter tracks, like the incredibly catchy “FANG DUMMY” and “sacrifice/surrender”. Theirs is perhaps the most unfortunate clash of this list (Static Dress), but as long as you’re seeing one of these two bands at 3pm on Thursday, our editors will be happy.
Negative Frame
UKHC makes it to way to 2000trees with Negative Frame. The London unit will be making their way up the M4 to deliver their riff-packed hardcore sound. Having previously shared a stage with the likes of Terror, Desolated, Kubliai Khan and Thy Art Is Murder, those looking for something heavier and juicer should be sticking Negative Frame on their list of bands to make an effort to see this year. Plus, along with Cauldron, it’s likely this will be many attendees chance to get in a two-step while their out at Upcote Farm.
Overpower
Crossover hardcore thrash will also be at 2000trees, with Overpower bringing their metallic sound to The Cave. With fresh material on their recent EP Becoming The Tyrant, in attendance will get to hear riffs and hooks fresh off the record press. On at a nice and early 11am, those looking for something to shake away the cobwebs and get the adrenaline pumping while their sip on their morning tea or early beer should make note to go see Overpower.
snake eyes
One thing that has become evident from following snake eyes over the years is that they love writing and performing music. While we’ve not been lucky enough to have any new material in 2024, the Brighton unit have had a string of releases each year since their debut in 2021. Toe-tapping and catchy tunes aplenty, there is plenty of vocal hooks in snake eyes’ discography from “crybaby“, “lean” and “scuttlebug” that many might find humming to themselves days after 2000trees has closed it doors.
Shooting Daggers
Love & Rage has put a lot of momentum behind Shooting Daggers. What makes them particularly good for a festival is the fact that they touch on a lot of genres. Rooted in accessible punk, they dip their toes into hardcore rather than diving all the way in, so you won’t walk away thinking they were too heavy for their 12:30pm slot. They’ve even brought their dreamy shoegaze tracks to recent live sets (“A Guilty Conscience Needs An Accuser” and “Love & Rage”). In our interview we chatted about some of the cool support slots they had in 2023, but 2024 has perhaps been even better – Spaced, One Step Closer, Arms Length, and La Dispute, to name just a few.
awakebutstillinbed
awakebutstillinbed are thoroughly within the modern emo scene, particularly the “midwest” style, where bittersweet nostalgia chimes through every chord. Even if the American Football house is not your own personal Tower of Babel, awakebutstillinbed are well worth seeing. In a different light you can consider them a singer-songwriter project, as their songs are a vehicle for frontwoman Shannon Taylor’s vulnerable stories, most recently focused on relationships and touring life. When it comes to touring, the UK is perhaps their home away from home (look no further than the video for “far” to gauge the vibes). They’ve already played London on this tour, a show we can confirm was truly special (alongside Michael Cera Palin who you can see on Saturday).
Burner
Burner’s last festival was Incineration, an extreme metal festival, where they ranked approximately in the middle of the “heaviness” scale – therefore they might just be the heaviest band at 2000trees. It All Returns To Nothing presents the band as a sort of “blackened technical Converge”, full of stop-start sequences, wretched vocals, and triumphantly agonal slowdowns that will have you questioning what a breakdown really is. They’ve also been playing with Sylosis, Suffocation, Distant, and will be with Deicide and at Bloodstock next month. If you’re a fan of heavy shit, don’t miss them.
Loose Articles
Stella-fuelled Manchester punks Loose Articles will be bring their frantic and joyous sound to the Forest stage on the Friday of 2000trees. Colourful performance will capture the memory and their fun sound the ear. An appearance and 2000trees alongside supporting Foo Fighters this summer, should see Loose Articles garner some much deserved attention and build momentum going into their debut full-length, Scream If You Wanna Go Faster, which is set to drop this coming July.
Gouge Away
The return of the South Florida unit Gouge Away on a full-length record has been a highlight of 2024 so-far. After breaking out on records , Dies and Burnt Sugar, Gouge Away proved themselves not only as an impressive group on record but also incredibly impressive to see a live setting. Packed with a discography that demands to be yelled back, and a set of whole new material that is making its debut upon our shores, Gouge Away should be an absolute must see for anyone at 2000trees.