Curtis Allen

Last weekend, I had the pleasure of attending the 2000 Trees Festival, an incredible experience filled with music, fun, and some unique surprises. Kate and I went last year for the first time, and as soon as it was over, we bought our tickets for the following year, having decided Download was getting to be too much money for the amount of hassle, walking, and general discomfort it comes with. 2000 Trees, as a medium-sized festival with great bands, is more convenient, with everything within 10 minutes walk of everything else. It’s friendly, well-run, and you can bring drinks into the arena. It’s a winner!

The weather was pretty great all weekend, with only a little rain during Frank Turner’s set, but that didn’t last long and didn’t dampen the spirits.

Wednesday Arrival and Lambrini Girls

I arrived around 1:30 PM on Wednesday, ahead of my girlfriend Kate, who was arriving that evening. With no phone signal, finding my friends who’d arrived about an hour before me was a bit of a nightmare, but I eventually located them and pitched my tent. We all enjoyed Lewis inflating his inflatable Mini-Me. Then we went and kicked off our festival with a performance by Lambrini Girls at the enchanting Forest Stage. Their politically charged and outspoken set was a fantastic way to start the festival – rowdy and raucous!

Bands and Highlights

Over the next few days, I saw an amazing lineup of bands including:

• Dead Pony
• Boston Manor
• Cassyette – Who we last saw in January supporting Bring Me the Horizon in Birmingham.
• The Gaslight Anthem
• Kid Brunswick – A pleasant revelation as I hadn’t really been into him before, but he was decent!
• Alt Blk Era – who I last saw supporting Zand on a tiny stage at Birmingham’s Victoria Pub. They absolutely shone on the Forest Stage at Trees!
• Spanish Love Songs
• Artio – who we’d missed at Slam Dunk and so were both very eager to see. They were great and brought a lot of energy.
• Cosmic Psychos – Getting mooned by four Australian men in their 60s had not been on my bingo card for the Friday, but there we go!
• Unpeople – I’d never heard of them, but I’ll be adding them into future DJ sets.
• As December Falls
• Nova Twins – who we last saw at last year’s Download festival. A lot of fun at a festival.
• Clt Drp – My mate Tim got me into them over Lockdown so it was ace to finally see them! Good danceable fun!
• Bob Vylan – Fourth time seeing them, I think. Last time was on the same stage at 2000 Trees last year. We did’t see him at Slam Dunk North a few weeks ago because he was removed from the line-up!
• Thumpasaurus – Very silly! Very talented! Very fun!
• Grandson – He did a stonkin’ main stage set on Friday evening, and then also closed the Forest Stage with a heartfelt and touching acoustic set.
• The Mysterines – who I’d seen the weekend before supporting Bloc Party in London.
• Cleopatrick – I last saw them in an O2 Institute gig a few months ago and they were great! I feel they lost something by being on a main stage at a festival, sadly. To be fair, maybe I needed to go further into the crowd than I was for these.
• Death From Above 1979 – My highlight band of the festival!
• Frank Turner & The Sleeping Souls – First time seeing him live and I can totally see the frustrated punk in him when he performs!
• Don Broco – Who were fine live, but after all I’d heard about their live shows, I was expecting more. Maybe it’s because I’ve never loved them. I just think they’re OK.
• Delilah Bon – Another highlight. We saw her last year on the Forest Stage, but this year, she was doing Silent Disco live set at the Forest Stage!

Unforgettable Moments

The highlight for me was definitely Death From Above 1979. I’ve been a fan for a long time and finally seeing them live was an unforgettable experience. So much energy and fun for just two guys! Royal Blood; – take note!
Another unique moment was Delilah Bon’s silent disco set. A genuine live set, but all the amplification isn’t played out loud, but transmitted to the crowd’s wireless headphones. Given that they were using an electric drumkit, whenever we took the headphones off, we could only hear the band very quietly singing and playing, with no cymbals from the electric kit, and the crowd singing along very loudly, creating a surreal atmosphere. We could even hear the artists’ feet clumping about on the stage! But it was a great set and a great show.

Winning Tickets for Next Year

One of the most exciting moments was winning tickets for next year in the fancy dress competition. The theme was “2000 Screams,” and Kate and I dressed as Gomez and Morticia Addams. Initially, we weren’t announced on the main stage because of some confusion regarding getting the giant Eddie from Iron Maiden puppet (that definitely deserved the “Best Group Costume” win that it got) onstage, but later, Rich, one of the judges, spotted me walking by while doing his comedy act in the Word tent, and with a bellowed, “YOU!!! You mother-fucker! I’ve been looking for you!!”, he incorporated me into his act and let me know we’d won tickets! Result!

Final Thoughts

2000 Trees Festival truly exceeded my expectations with its incredibly diverse lineup, representative of all sorts of people, and unique experiences. From the serene Forest Stage to the electrifying main stage performances, it was a weekend filled with memorable moments and fantastic music and really cemented for me again why it’s the UK’s best medium-sized festival. And I’ve now got a few extra artists to add to my DJ sets!

Thanks to all involved who made it a great weekend!

Stay tuned for more festival adventures and musical experiences!