“This is our celebration; come join the lost souls.“
Armed with a Hungry Toad breakfast bowl, joyously packed with carbs of the sort to get you through the third day of a festival, proceedings began with the exemplary Hidden Mothers. Their 2024 record, Erosion / Avulision, is one that, over time, has become an absolute gem of a release. Their atmospheric progressive post-hardcore filled the stage and captivated the early audience. A crisp and clear mix made Hidden Mothers sound incredible, as their tones bounced off the walls of The Cave.
Their ability to build tensions and traverse tempo is an impressive feat, with each track taking the onlooker on a winding journey that captures the imagination, even within a festival setting. To see a band of such quality so early in the day, and this was a trend across all days, shows how 2000trees booking has elevated over the past few years while keeping their ear to the ground for upcoming prospects. This was more than apparent when we wandered over to the Neu Stage to see Love Rarely.
The Leeds unit is a group that we have become more than acquainted with over the past 18 months. Between their performances at Burn It Down, opening for Sweet Pill, or their recent support on the Hail The Sun tour. At each opportunity to catch them live, it always serves as a reminder of just how good Love Rarely are, from both a songwriting and live performance perspective. Pulling off the technical prowess of their set with ease, Dan and Lew noodled away on guitar as if it were second nature.
Seeing a packed Neu Stage for Love Rarely before they had begun was a grand sight to see. In various forms, members of Love Rarely have been performing and writing for well over a decade, and in their current form have put in the hard miles when it comes to performing live. This and also writing one of the best EPs of 2024, Love Rarely had more than earned their place on this line-up. Rolling through now well-known tracks “Mould”, “And You Know It”, and “Entropy”, the well-oiled live performance of Love Rarely once again showed the wondrous act they are. Vocalist Levitt has the aura and energy of someone who was up on stage having a grand old time, an energy that moved through the crowd. Love Rarely look to remain a fixture here in the UK for the foreseeable future, and although there is little doubt that they will move onto bigger and better things, it’s only a matter of time before they are taken on a tour stateside. So, for now, be sure to make the most of every opportunity to see Love Rarely in a live setting.
Birmingham nu-core took over The Cave next, with Last Hounds looking to leave their mark. Vocalist Mikey Skelcher’s charisma was undeniable, and whilst the band’s lyricism was on the simplistic side, it is hard to deny that the energy his delivery packed into every word didn’t make it instantly enjoyable. Instrumentally, they’re exactly what you’d expect from a nu-core project. There are breakcore sections and riffs galore, all backed by a consistently punchy drumline. Whilst it was clear that a good portion of the crowd in attendance weren’t already aware of the band’s material, it wasn’t stopping them from having a good time. Two-steppers and moshers came out in droves, moving along at Skelcher’s command. What was perhaps the biggest surprise of the set was a feature from letlive.‘s very own Jason Aalon Butler for the band’s closing track. Creating a stark vocal contrast against Skelcher, this surprise inclusion truly elevated the performance and led to Last Hounds going out with a bang.
Danish hardcore newcomers EYES were up next, a project that had been on our radar but hadn’t had the chance to be fully embraced. Instantly demanding our full attention, vocalist Victor Kaas demonstrated an utterly ridiculous vocal range, all the while looking possessed. In fact, the frontman’s charisma was something which, until this point, we’d seen very few bands even close to reaching. Of course, it wasn’t just his talent that drew us in, but that of the whole band. Good old riffy hardcore, with a twist, the instrumental unit blended in aspects of metalcore and deathcore at times, keeping things incredibly fresh, and keeping us intrigued as to what would come next.
Playing a mixture of tracks from across their discography, it was perhaps the newer material from their recently released album “Spinner” that stood out as the strongest. In particular, “Saving Face on a Regular Basis”, “Better”, and “The Captain” shone above all else. Erratic vocals that jumped between different styles of delivery, always evolving instrumentals, and a performance that truly immersed us, EYES had us bending to their will. We found the set so fun and surprising that Jack went so far as to put “Fucking brilliant” as his note for their performance. With this being the band’s first time performing in the UK as well, we can only hope to see them return soon, and we fully expect them to blow up. God knows they deserve it.
Over in The Axiom were Humour, a bit of a change in pace from the erratic stylings of EYES, who preceded them in The Cave. Glasgow’s own took to the stage with a tent half-filled, with some looking for shelter from the sun to eat their breakfast, and others eagerly awaiting the band’s set. Taking to the stage with half of the crowd sitting down must be quite unnerving, but this didn’t seem to affect the performance whatsoever. Whilst there’s nothing we can fault about the music being performed, we do feel it important to critique the band’s attitude and stage presence; they did not look interested or excited to be playing whatsoever. For us, this put a huge damper on the performance and led to everything falling a bit flat. After seeing so many bands already, all of which were truly giving it their all, this was a stark contrast, and did not play off in Humour’s favour.
We’d like to hope that this was just our experience, and that others enjoyed the set more than we did, but judging from the crowd’s reactions, it was hard to tell. Sadly, Humour did not win us over here, and we’re not sure they won many others over either. Perhaps the experience would have been better on a smaller stage, after all, The Axiom is rather large. In hindsight, it’s easy to suggest things like that, but on the day, you’ve just got to give it your all, and sadly, it feels like we were given the bare minimum.
Love Is Noise was up next, and we were looking forward to having the mood lifted once more by what we were expecting to be a fantastic set. Having followed Cam Humphrey for some time now across a handful of projects, it finally feels like, with Love Is Noise, he’s truly hitting his stride. Playing in The Cave, we were hoping to see a heavier set from the project, and with The Throwaway Scene’s very own Sam Clark now a full-time member, we had high expectations. Sadly, due to a storm of technical difficulties, these were not met.
Kicking off their set with the recently released “Hole In Me”, things were looking good. Energy was high, the band sounded great, and Cam was running about the stage, hyping up the crowd. As far as first songs go, this was one of the best of the fest. Sadly, following this, everything seemed to fall apart, with the band having to stop the set multiple times when attempting to play their second track due to technical difficulties. Sharing that there were issues with the backing track, the crowd patiently waited whilst the band and stage techs worked to resolve the problem.
Managing to (mostly) get through their second song, the band was forced to stop once again, with Cam letting the crowd know, albeit somewhat bluntly, that “the click track is fucked.” As a result, they performed their hit single “Movement” without the click and wrapped up their set early, and to their credit, it sounded incredible. The track’s high energy and chaotic pace made for a thrilling conclusion, offering a glimpse of the full potential the set might’ve had.
They left the stage with a tongue-in-cheek “come see us on our headline tour, we’ll be less shit there”, a moment that summed up the band’s frustration with how things had unfolded. Technical issues are never ideal, and while they’re often out of anyone’s control, they also highlight just how dependent many acts have become on laptops and click tracks to deliver their sets. As Cauldron’s now-iconic “death to macbook metalcore” tee cheekily suggests, there’s an ongoing conversation in heavy music about the balance between digital reliance and live adaptability.
We’re big fans of Love Is Noise, and what we did get to see proved how exciting their live show can be, but in a time where raw, unfiltered performances are increasingly sought after, moments like this can be a tough sell. Clicks are standard, yes, but so is having a fallback when things go wrong. Hopefully, in the future, we’ll see the band build a little more resilience in that regard, because the talent is there.
On the walk over to catch Employed to Serve following the horrors of The Cave, we caught a brief portion of Tarmac, which confused us massively. Decidedly not our thing, this wave of Idles worship really could do with getting more creative, as there’s little to be excited about from third-rate imitations.
At this point, it would be fair to call Employed to Serve steeled veterans. They are a band that we’ve been seeing live through each album release for what must be nearing a decade. Simply put, even after all this time, it has become impossible to feel tired of seeing Employed to Serve live. Their ability to seemingly command a crowd, regardless of stage size, is always a sight to behold. Whether it has been the smaller venues, no barriers, that at times have seen stage divers adrift or, like here, cause a crowd to create a whirlwind of dust as they circle pit round to “Sun Up to Sun Down”.
Employed to Serve can pick through a rich discography. Whether it’s the classic “Eternal Forward Motion”, that will have you striking your fist in the air as “Eternal….Forward….Motion” is shouted back or “Whose Side Are You On?”, there will be very few bands who are refined as Employed to Serve when it comes to performing live, which is why they will continue to occupy the major festival stages across the UK and on the continent, and rightly so.
After a brisk walk back up the embankment, we caught hardcore crossover act Anxious, who delivered a powerful reminder of why both they and their genre remain so cherished. Riding high off the success of their sophomore album Bambi, it was no surprise to find The Axiom packed well before their arrival. Taking the stage with the same grounded energy they bring to every show, vocalist Grady Allen wasted no time winning the crowd over.
Tearing through a set that balanced highlights from Bambi and Little Green House, Anxious gave fans far more than they could have hoped for. It was, without question, the most chaotic set that stage had seen all weekend. Every call from the band, for moshers, dancers, and crowd surfers, was met with immediate obedience, the room a swirling mass of bodies and catharsis.
The set was smartly split in two, opening with newer material and closing with deeper cuts. Newer fans sang along with joy to “Counting Sheep” and “Some Girls,” while longtime followers showed up in force for the grittier hardcore edge of “In April” and “Your One Way Street.” What truly elevated the performance, though, was the band’s pacing and commanding stage presence; each moment felt distinct yet perfectly connected, a masterclass in flow and intensity.
Anxious’ 2000trees debut should be studied as a blueprint for how to deliver an unforgettable festival set, one that’s not only emotionally resonant but wildly inclusive. If there’s any justice, we’ll be seeing a lot more of them in the coming year.
Vukovi feel more emboldened than ever, firmly in a new era with MY GOD HAS GOT A GUN. They are riding a wave of popularity unlike what they’ve seen before. It had always felt like a matter of time before Vukovi were performing on the main stages at festivals. Their journey to here has crossed paths with Cheltenham and 2000trees before, headlining the Neu Stage in 2022 and performing at Cheltenham’s Frog and Fiddle in 2019 as part of their Fall Better tour. Each occasion had seen a crowd fully buying into the Vukovi performance, and this time on the big stage in the sweltering heat, it was no different.
A set opener, “GUNGHO” is one hell of a track to get a crowd instantly waving and dancing along. As the speakers blast out their groovy riffs, Vukovi’s swagger elevated this track to an absolute anthem. With energy that did not dissipate, as they moved through the epic “LASSO”, an infectious aura made onlookers bop along. The likes of “SLO”, “I EXIST”, and “MY GOD HAS GOT A GUN” saw crowdsurfers begin to move over the barricade. Vukovi had the mold of absolute superstars during the performance, and now for the Scottish unit, anything seems possible.
Back over at The Cave, melodic hardcore powerhouse Birds in Row were gearing up for the performance of a lifetime. No strangers to festival stages, the French trio have long set themselves apart with their experimental approach to post-hardcore, breaking convention through fractured song structures and raw, boundary-pushing intensity.
They took the stage to a rapture of applause and wasted no time diving in. What caught many off guard, however, was just how captivating frontman Bart “B.” Hirigoyen proved to be, his screams striking a rare balance between ferocity and fragility, commanding attention while bleeding emotion. The band’s performance was utterly mesmerising, a whirlwind of feeling and force.
Racing through a set packed with fan favourites, Birds in Row kept crowd interaction to a minimum, focused instead on delivering as much music as possible. Each track flowed into the next with barely a breath in between, adding to the sense of momentum and urgency.
They closed with a devastating trio, “Last Last Chance,” “I Don’t Dance,” and “You, Me & the Violence”, each song hitting harder than the last. Emotionally charged and high-octane, it was a finale that left the crowd clinging to every last second. Very few bands channel this level of intensity with such clarity, and Birds in Row prove time and again that they’re in a league of their own. If you haven’t seen them live yet, consider this your warning: you’re missing out on something truly special.
La Dispute are the tricky one, where it’s difficult to put into words what seeing their spectacle was like. This act had blossomed into something beautiful during their second set of the weekend. As expected, The Axiom had a good 15-20 minutes before the set even began, with only space on the outer fringes left for those turning up later. Whether it be the emotive nature of their lyricism and sound that has captured the hearts of many, the sparse options to see La Dispute this side of the Atlantic, or a little bit of both, there was that sense of anticipation brimming in the room.
Alternating before their more poetic tracks in “I See Everything” and “Woman (in mirror)“, and their tempo-driven tracks in “HUNDSONVILLE, MI 1956” and “Footsteps at the Pond”, the audience sang and chanted along like a dutiful choir from the start. Dreyer took moments to speak eloquently between sets on the horrific scenes from Palestine and on LGBTQ rights. With new material in “I Shaved My Head” and “Man With Hands and Ankles Bound” weaving into the setlist, this wasn’t merely a set to simply retrace well-loved paths. The first moment of an audience in full voice came as “Andria” closed out, shouting, “If I can’t love you as a lover, I will love you as a friend”.
This, of course, was always going to be usurped by that moment, in that song. “King Park” is one that had been absent from La Dispute’s setlist for a time, which at shows led to incessant shouting for them to play it. Now felt like the right time for it to return to the setlist, as there had been enough instances where lyrics had been misconstrued on Tumblr posts for it to make a healthy comeback. As La Dispute moved through “King Park”, Dreyer had the crowd in the palm of their hand. As it reached its closing moment, the sheer volume of “Can I still get into heaven if I kill myself?, Can I ever be forgiven ’cause I killed that kid?” was likely heard across the 2000trees camp. A moment of sheer force and emotion, it was unmatched across the entire weekend.
Taking to the festival’s main stage, letlive. had their sights firmly set on making 2000trees history. The only set that we’re aware of that came with a special security briefing beforehand, everybody in attendance knew full well that it was going to be something truly special. A key stop on the band’s farewell run, this set would prove to be many’s first and last time seeing the band before they called it a day once more.
Exploding onto the stage, Jason Aalon Butler instantly started with his signature on-stage antics, wild behaviour, and erratic vocal delivery. Taking the opportunity to throw mic stands around, slide across the stage, and generally look unhinged, he oozed energy, something which quickly caught on in the crowd and incited surfers and headbangers alike to come out in full force. There was little time to catch breath as the set progressed. “The Sick, Sick 6.8 Billion” into “The Dope Beat” into “Homeless Jazz” was pure, frenetic energy. When “Muther” came to start, Aalon Butler took pause, noting that whilst the band are attempting to achieve many “firsts” on the tour, this was the first time a crowd had predicted the next track by singing the outro ahead of time; a hilarious yet equally emotional moment. As a prelude to the track, a speech was given about how women deserve respect, with Aalon Butler poignantly stating “I’ve become much calmer, so if you disrespect or abuse a woman, I’ll beat the shit outta you, then we can talk about it”; a point which saw mass approval from onlookers.
Later in the set, the Marshall mascot appeared, surfed to the barricade as if being delivered directly to the stage. Picking up on this, the mascot was welcomed and became a part of the band’s equipment for the following track. And as if the stage antics hadn’t finished here, Aalon Butler threw in a good old climbing session for good measure, ascending to the top of the stage’s scaffolding.
letlive. are a beloved band by so many, and getting a real send-off is something that many have been yearning for. It goes without saying that the performances are consistently fantastic, but this band has always been about more than the music; it’s been about the memories and the messages spread through their work. Whether you’re an existing fan or this was your first time seeing them, this set is something that will truly stick with you for a lifetime.
Having released their latest record in Edge of the Abyss the day before, Calva Louise’s performance at The Cave felt almost like an album launch show for them. Despite one of the harsher clashes of the weekend against letlive., a strong audience still turned out to see Calva Louise’s glorious sound. Allanic’s voice is a sheer joy to hear live, an impressive range switching between the harsher end of the spectrum before moving into enthralling melodies, which she showcased from the get-go on opener “W.T.F.”. While many older tracks were present and performed with the razzmatazz that Calva Louise have come to make their own, this was the moment to see how their new material would sound on the big stage.
With “Impreccable”, “Hate in me”, and “Under The Skin” debuting from Edge of the Abyss, each showed a facet of Calva Louise’s songwriting ability. The groovy synth-led hooks of “Impeccable” are an earworm, and had the majority of the crowd swaying along to it in some form. “Hate in me” showed their more ruthless side, with the track bordering on one that could induce a circle pit. With “Under The Skin” striking further at a similar heavy sensibility, the chorus here sang out across The Cave sounded impeccable from Allanic, with her pitched tone on the chorus further showing that deeply impressive vocal range they possess.
How to wind the road between bombastic acts of Calva Louise and letlive. to the grand finale in Alexisonfire was a scenario that faced the crowd at hand. It could be one last pop-punk hurrah in As December Falls at The Forest, or in our case, inspecting the expansive post-rock layers of Black Foxxes. An act who have shed their previous skin, with the material on I’m Not Well and Reiði now a distant memory, Black Foxxes played a lengthy sound that builds out a landscape and tells a story for the attentive, amidst tracks having a run-time on average of about eight minutes. It was perhaps a moment to take stock and rest the mind ahead of 2000trees closing moments, although it is hard not to feel that Black Foxxes would be more suited to the festival’s counterpart in ArcTanGent.
Meanwhile, the final act to play on The Cave stage were delivering an emotional conclusion to the festival. Swedish metalcore band Imminence were a treat, putting on a captivating performance, complete with Eddie Berg‘s anguished screams echoing into his violin. The set ended with the beautiful violin solo which closes out their 2024 album The Black, and Eddie then made a heart gesture to the crowd before walking silently off the stage to the backdrop of approving applause.
The final set of a festival weekend always has a certain air to it, more so when it’s the case of Alexisonfire seeing off 2000trees, a band who hold a strong emotional resonance with many in attendance. As the sun began to set on the Cotswolds hills, the 2000trees crowd descended upon the main stage to give the festival one magical cap off.
Weaving through their famed discography, dropping the likes of “Boiled Frogs” early on, the first moment of pure heart came early on with “Sans Soleil”. A true festival moment of a crowd upon each other’s shoulders, smoke bombs in hand, while they sing to Alexisonfire’s gorgeous ballad. As “Where you end, I begin” reverberated, the crowd was in full vocal unison along with Dallas Green. Pettit was in the mood for some mischief, demanding an inflatable chair be brought to the front, so he could embark on his own crowdsurfing expedition during “We Are the Sound”. One that resulted in the loss of his in-ear monitors, Pettit took it on the chin with the remark, “Looks like one lucky fan is going home with my in-ear monitors”.
With a breadth of tracks to choose from in their discography, Alexisonfire had put together a set list that would be any fan’s dream. As “Born and Raised”, Rough Hands”, and “Dog’s Blood” were performed to perfection, a broad smile would have taken hold of many at 2000trees. With Macneil donning chainmail and boldly claiming, “It is chainmail weather, England”, it displayed the fun that even the Canadian unit were having on stage. The set finale, “This Could Be Anywhere In The World” was always going to be track that would set the crowd fully alight. “This city, this city is haunted”, yelled out by a baying auidence that was still keeping up the crowdsurfs, appropriately footnoted Alexisonfire’s sublime performance.
An encore formed with the hidden gem that is “Young Cardinals”. A track with its tempo is perfect for one last moment of chaos. 2000trees was sung out by “Happiness by the Kilowatt”, one of many heartfelt songs from what is an exemplary discography. As “Was this what we hoped for?” was sung out, the answer is most certainly a 100%, yes. As shown with their London performance the following day, there is still really nobody who does it like Alexisonfire does. They are a band you can truly call unique. Their melodies that play on the heart strings and sounds packed with pure energy encompassed the perfect way to close out an even more perfect weekend.
With the sun firmly set on 2000trees as the thousands made their way back to their tents or means of getting home, it was also the setting of Cheltenham and the wider region’s time in the sun for another year. It is still often astonishing how blessed we are to see acts from across the globe, and thousands descend on these hills, only a stone’s throw away from somewhere where some of us call home. The Cotswold hills still provide a heavenly backdrop to what is one of the UK’s finest festivals. Yet it does raise the question, once the tents and stands are packed up for another year, what becomes of a region fading into the backdrop until the festival and tour posters reemerge next year?
This isn’t to say there aren’t people in the towns of Cheltenham, Worcester, Bath, Hereford, and Swindon working hard to put on shows in their local venues. Yet for a region so rich in talent when it comes to the likes of Heriot, Mandragora, Monochrome, Convey, and Grief Ritual, the area, more so than ever, feels that it pivots on Bristol and its near surroundings. While this will often be the case for many regions across England, there is perhaps more fertile ground somewhere that such a magnificent festival like 2000trees could call home. Whether the festival itself will ever be a hallmark of this change is yet to be seen. The spirit that 2000trees fills those who pass through it should be taken to enrich and support our local scenes, from all the corners of this fine country we come from, as it is the foundation of so many of these festivals we are blessed with.
2026 tickets for 2000trees can be purchased here, with a 30% off offer in place until the 28th July.
Shot on the 12th July by Joe Steven Hart – contact before any use. Words by Jack W, Joe E and Hayley W.