2000 Trees - 2026 review

Every July sees a pilgrimage for so many of us to the delights of Upcote Farm down in Gloucestershire. If you've never been to 2000 Trees Festival before... It's kind of hard to explain how special this place is! But I'm gonna give it my best shot!

Although Trees may not be the biggest Festival in size... It's definitely the one that means the most to a vast majority of people that go every year! You will find that once you start going to Trees and you understand the ethos and the incredible nature of the festival and its attendees, you'll never want to go anywhere else! 

Unfortunately due to some extenuating circumstances, I could only go for one day this year but I wasn't about to miss it completely so made the most of what I could do! 

Trees pride themselves on being an inclusive and family-friendly independent festival (heroes buy beeros! IYKYK!) and work hard on maintaining this incredible ethos and Festival! The last couple of Trees have been incredibly hot.... But at least this year we weren't invaded by wasps! 

My first band that I managed to catch on the Saturday were on my recommended list and although they were on early they absolutely pulled a crowd which we love to see! Carsick are a relatively local band to us, hailing from down the coast in the Salisbury. As I mentioned, when I talked about them in my who to go and see post, their live shows are absolutely bat shit in the best possible way! You never know what you're going to get with regards to what may appear on stage or who may jump into the crowd, but they always have an incredible vibe and the performance they put out is always super fun! 

If you get the chance to go and see these guys when they're out on tour later this year, I would highly recommend it! They're playing a headline show in Salisbury in December as well as going out with The Skinner Brothers for some support slots! Go see them and have some fun in the pit! 

Although we didn't get to see every band due to interviews, we did get to see a few one and one I've been very excited for was Bodyweb! 

The beauty of Trees is that you will find bands on the lineup that you have never heard of, but as soon as you listen to them you know you are going to absolutely love them! Bodyweb was this band for me, I hadn't heard of them before I checked out the Trees line up! I was having a look through some of the smaller bands to see who was playing and I stumbled across these guys. If you're into hardcore music, you're going to love them. Seamless songs, ridiculously heavy riffs and massive pits that opened up in the middle of the Cave Tent...despite it being 30 + degrees outside! Their set was incredible and I cannot wait to see them live again! I'm hoping to try and catch them on a headline show later this year... But go check em out and lemme know what you think!

Part of the beauty of Trees is that you can just wander around and you will never be short of things to do! Marshall have a great tent at the festival, where you can get your own tote bag printed and you can also chill! There is also... A rather exciting one-armed bandit game! You can win Marshall products including headphones, miniature portable, speakers, pin badges and goodness knows what else! I decided to give the the game a go, and having seen lots of people with Marshall pin badges I assumed this is what I would win! However... I was incredibly lucky and won myself a portable Marshall amp speaker! So if you ever see them at a festival or an event... Go and see the guys at Marshall! They're very friendly and you never know what you may come away with!

After an afternoon spent interviewing bands and chatting to friends in the Press area who I don't get to see anywhere near often enough it was off to the Forest! 

I absolutely adore, the beautiful Forest Stage! 

Nestled, as you'd fully expect. Right in the middle of the forest at the farm! The team behind the festival have built a beautiful tranquil space, which in my opinion holds some of the most special and memorable sets of the festival every year. Not to mention also having a silent disco after hours! 

The glorious A were performing when I popped down! Seeing nostalgic hits such as Starbucks, and bringing out Sean Smith from The Blackout for Nothing! 

Evening wise, it was always about mainstage for me. As a 2000s emo kid, Glassjaw were a non negotiable! I've been wanting to see them since the day I heard them live all those years ago, and they've always been an elusive band for me! 

Hearing Cosmopolitan Blood Loss (amongst others!) the same week as seeing The Black Parade album in full live... Has absolutely healed parts of my inner teenage emo that I don't think I can ever explain! Drawing a huge crowd down onto the main stage as the sun was setting, they were unbelievable. I am thrilled to say that even after all of these years, Daryl's vocals are still as incredible as they were way back when I first heard them on a friend's profile song on Myspace! 

Following finding some delicious food (Trees, you are absolute heroes with your food options!). We headed back to mainstage for Neck Deep, with special mention going to the crew we passed in inflatable Dino outfits headed to Axiom for Dinosaur Pile up! Inflatable suits in 30+ degree heat!? I salute you guys! 

Neck Deep haven't played at the farm since 2016, and since then their career has gone from strength to strength becoming one of the stand out British bands in the Pop Punk Scene. But, they came out swinging and proved to everyone, why they deserved to close the festival as the Sunday night headliner. 

Opening with "Can't kick up the roots", an ode to their last performance at Trees, and swiftly followed by a mega set list of hits and fan favourites. With the final songs of the set being "December" and "In Bloom", it's safe to say that Neck Deep solidified themselves as a festival headliner! 

Special mention of course has to go to the Silent disco heroes! Especially with the football happening on the Saturday night, the ability to be able to watch the game despite it being late, through the headphones was an experience of its own to end the weekend on! 

Hearing everyone screaming "It's coming home" over the top of the headphones, and with bubbles filling the warm night air... It left for a great end to a beautiful day! 

Next year is already on sale and tickets are moving quick! 

If you've never been to Trees, give it a try! Specially as next year is their 20 year anniversary! There's already chatter online about dream line ups, who people would like to see headline and special treats for the anniversary year! So come get involved and have some fun!