2000TREES 2026: THE RECAP

Four days, six stages and temperatures that made sitting underneath a tree feel like securing premium accommodation.

2000trees returned to Upcote Farm from Wednesday 8th to Saturday 11th July, bringing together alternative rock, punk, hardcore, post-hardcore and several bands determined to make those descriptions completely useless.

Trees has grown considerably, but it still manages to avoid feeling anonymous. You can watch an established band on the Main Stage, wander into a tent ten minutes later and accidentally discover somebody you will spend the next month talking about. It is also compact enough that most stage changes remain achievable, provided you are willing to walk quickly, ignore your knees and accept that you will be late for something.

The heat stayed with us for the full weekend. Shade became a genuine commodity, drinks became warm almost immediately and several afternoon crowds had the glazed expression of people trying very hard not to evaporate.

Thursday also brought a last-minute headline change after Alkaline Trio withdrew, with Don Broco stepping in at short notice. Rather than derailing the day, it gave the festival an unexpectedly celebratory closing set.

We could not watch everything. Nobody can, despite what an overambitious Clashfinder may suggest. These were the sets that shaped our 2000trees 2026.

WEDNESDAY

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LOVE RARELY

Love Rarely had the slightly thankless job of playing while half the festival was still finding wristband collection and arguing with tent poles. Inside The Word, the Leeds band combined intricate guitar work with vocals that stopped the songs becoming overly technical or emotionally distant. “Haunted” and “Entropy” moved between quieter details and heavier sections without feeling as though they had been assembled from completely different bands. It was an early set, but not one that felt like a rehearsal for later in the weekend.

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KAREN DIÓ

Karen Dió arrived at the Forest Sessions with considerably more energy than anybody standing in direct sunlight had any right to possess. Her set sat somewhere between punk, grunge and pop, but the songs were secondary to how naturally she held the space. Dió is funny, expressive and seemingly incapable of performing at anything below full commitment. A heavier version of Chappell Roan’s “Casual” worked surprisingly well beside “I Hope You Know It’s Not Me” and “Sick Ride”, rather than feeling like an obvious cover added for recognition.

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BLACKGOLD

BLACKGOLD changed the mood in the forest almost immediately. The masked London group mix nu-metal, hip-hop and modern metal without sounding like they are simply working through a list of references. Their cover of Cypress Hill’s “I Ain’t Goin’ Out Like That” was an easy entry point, but “Boogeyman” showed more clearly what they can do with that combination themselves. The masks attract attention, naturally, but the performance would still have worked without them. The songs had enough weight of their own.

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LAKE MALICE

Lake Malice closed Wednesday inside The Word, by which point people had unpacked, located their friends and were ready to move. Alice Guala rarely stayed still, while Blake Cornwall switched between guitar and electronics behind her. “Mitsuko”, “Stop The Party” and “Bloodbath” gave the set its biggest reactions, combining metal, industrial production and bright electronic details without smoothing out any of the sharper parts. They have become an impressively dependable festival band. Even if you arrive tired, warm and considering an early night, Lake Malice make that seem like a very boring decision.

THURSDAY

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LONG GOODBYE

Long Goodbye opened The Cave with melodic post-hardcore that took its time rather than immediately trying to flatten the room. The songs grew gradually, moving from restrained verses into larger sections without overstating every emotional moment. There was a looseness to the performance that worked in their favour, making the set feel honest rather than overly rehearsed. An early audience can be difficult to win over, but Long Goodbye gave people a reason to remain inside the tent.

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STILL IN LOVE

Still In Love were considerably less interested in easing anybody into the day. Featuring former members of Dead Swans, Throats and Brutality Will Prevail, the band delivered UK hardcore with a suitably bruised emotional centre. Nick Worthington performed as though each lyric had personally inconvenienced him, while the rest of the band kept the set tight and heavy. TIMEPEACE vocalist Robyn Challands joined them, adding another voice and another layer of pressure before “Pillar Of Strength” closed the set. It deserved a more physical crowd than the heat was allowing, but the band did not reduce their effort to match it.

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SNAKE EYES

Snake Eyes brought distorted guitars, strong choruses and a relaxed lack of fuss to The Marshall Stage. Their music pulls from grunge, punk and alternative rock, but never feels overly concerned with explaining which section belongs where. The result is immediate and easy to settle into, particularly during a festival afternoon when your brain has already processed several very different bands. There was nothing unnecessarily theatrical about it. They played good songs, played them properly and looked like they were enjoying themselves.

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LONESOME

Lonesome were one of the few bands capable of making the festival temporarily slow down. Their post-rock built through careful guitar layers rather than obvious hooks, with each song gradually opening into something larger. It asked for patience, but never felt indulgent or needlessly drawn out. For half an hour, people stopped checking the time, stopped discussing the next stage and simply stood with it. At a festival organised around constant movement, that felt valuable.

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NATIVE JAMES

Native James continues to make genre descriptions feel particularly unhelpful. Grime, punk, metal and electronic production all appeared during his Forest Sessions set, often within the same song. “Do What You Want” was full of confidence, while “GTFU” prompted exactly the response its title had requested. By “Block”, the woodland crowd had become one of the busiest and most involved of the day. Native James does not perform like somebody hoping to be noticed. He performs like somebody who assumes you are already paying attention, and usually makes sure that you are.

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DELILAH BON

The Cave suited Delilah Bon particularly well. It kept the crowd close, held the noise inside and allowed very little emotional distance between the stage and the front rows. With a full band behind her, “Brat” felt even larger live, while “Time’s Up” and “Dead Men Don’t Rape” were delivered without softening what they are about. “Not The President” provided the most affecting part of the set. Performed near the barrier, it felt less like a staged moment and more like direct communication between Bon and the people who understand why the song exists. Her performances are often described only through anger, but that misses the amount of care involved. The anger has somewhere specific to go because the audience around it feels safe enough to receive it.

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SUPERHEAVEN

Superheaven arrived at the exact point in the afternoon when most people had begun moving more slowly and speaking less. Their thick, melancholic alternative rock suited that state surprisingly well. “Sponge”, “Leach” and “Numb To What Is Real” filled The Axiom with distortion without requiring the audience to throw themselves around underneath it. The crowd response was quieter than the band might ordinarily receive, but that seemed more connected to the temperature than the performance. Superheaven did not fight the exhaustion in the room. They gave it a soundtrack.

STATIC DRESS

Static Dress found themselves playing opposite the newly announced Don Broco headline set, which was not an enviable clash. The audience inside The Cave may have been smaller than expected, but the band played as though the tent were full. Olli Appleyard moved constantly through “Pharmacy Film”, “Nostalgia Kills” and material from “Injury Episode”, treating every available section of the stage as temporary. There are clear links to bands such as Glassjaw, who would play later in the weekend, but Static Dress have developed their own visual and musical language around those influences. Their sets feel designed rather than simply performed, although never so rigidly that the danger disappears.

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DON BROCO

Don Broco had only days to prepare after Alkaline Trio withdrew from the festival. A more cautious replacement set would have been entirely understandable. Instead, they arrived with pyro, production and the apparent intention of pretending this had been in the diary for months. “Cellophane” opened the set before “Pretty” brought one of the first enormous crowd reactions. Newer material added a darker and heavier tone, while “Everybody”, “T-Shirt Song” and “Bruce Willis” supplied the songs people wanted to shout with several thousand strangers. Don Broco did not try to recreate the headline set that had been lost. They turned the replacement into something separate, upbeat and specific to the circumstances. It felt less like filling a gap and more like everybody agreeing to make the best possible night out of an inconvenient situation.

FRIDAY

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GUILLOTINE

Guillotine opened The Axiom with short, abrasive hardcore songs and no apparent concern for the fact it was still relatively early. The guitars were sharp, the vocals urgent and most of the songs ended before anybody had time to settle into them. It made for an effective start to Friday, particularly for those who had arrived still carrying the previous evening in their faces. There was no gradual introduction. Guillotine simply began, and the room had to catch up.

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GOD COMPLEX

God Complex made The Cave feel smaller. Their combination of metallic hardcore, industrial sounds and heavy low end created an enclosed, unpleasant atmosphere in exactly the intended way. Even with daylight visible around the edges of the tent, the set felt dark and oddly airless. The riffs did most of the work. They were repetitive without becoming dull, building pressure rather than constantly changing direction. It was an early performance, but already one of the most physically heavy sets of the day.

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PETROL GIRLS

From the first note, the Cave was a wall of jagged riffs, driving basslines and relentless drums, with Ren Aldridge pacing the stage as if every lyric needed to reach the back of the room. Their set moved seamlessly between blistering punk and moments that gave the songs space to breathe, creating a push and pull that never let the energy drop. Tracks like Preachers, Fight For Our Lives and Touch Me Again landed with the same urgency they’ve always carried, while the crowd matched every ounce of intensity in front of them. Even a brief restart during Monstrous was brushed off without fuss, the band laughing it away before throwing themselves straight back into the song. In a weekend full of memorable sets, theirs was one that left the Cave hotter, louder and somehow even more united than when they walked on stage.

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HOUSE OF PROTECTION

House Of Protection appear to regard the stage as a vague suggestion. Stephen Harrison moved into the crowd during “Learn To Forget”, while Aric Improta ended up balancing on a board held above the front rows. Both would be impressive enough individually. Doing it while maintaining a tight performance made the whole thing feel slightly unreasonable. The unreleased “99 Per Cent” sounded particularly strong, while “It’s Supposed To Hurt” closed the set with the kind of energy capable of temporarily waking a heat-struck Main Stage crowd. Their physicality would mean very little without the songs underneath it. Fortunately, the songs are catching up with the spectacle.

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ANTHONY GREEN

Anthony Green’s Forest Sessions set was one of the weekend’s quieter pleasures. His solo material appeared alongside Circa Survive and Saosin songs, including “Seven Years”, stripped back enough to reveal just how much of its character sits inside his voice Green can move from softness into that familiar rasp within a line, which made the woodland setting feel intimate without becoming overly precious. People sang, listened and largely resisted talking through the quieter sections, which is never something to take for granted during an acoustic festival set.

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MILITARIE GUN

Militarie Gun returned to 2000trees looking significantly more settled than during their reduced 2023 appearance. Ian Shelton remains the obvious point of focus, but the band around him felt tighter and more confident. “Fill Me With Paint” bounced along with very little effort, “B A D I D E A” carried plenty of attitude and “Kick” received the strongest response of the set. The Main Stage did not make them look small or premature. They looked like a band whose audience has caught up with what they were already doing.

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GREYWIND

The Forest Sessions setting made sense for Greywind’s dramatic alternative rock. Steph O’Sullivan’s voice travelled easily through the trees, while the instrumentation grew around her rather than competing for attention. A medical incident in the audience required the set to stop, and the band waited without making the moment about themselves. When they returned, the interruption had not damaged the emotional shape of the performance. Greywind’s music can be theatrical, but the feeling underneath it remained clear and unaffected.

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AS EVERYTHING UNFOLDS

Charlie Rolfe is impossible to take your eyes off. One minute she’s delivering these beautifully melodic vocal lines, the next she’s unleashing screams that somehow sound even more controlled. It’s not a gimmick, it’s just what the songs demand, and the whole band moves with that same confidence. What struck me most was how naturally the newer material sat alongside the older songs. Nothing felt forced or like filler. The heavier moments landed with real weight, but they never came at the expense of melody, something As Everything Unfolds have always managed to balance better than most. By halfway through, the crowd had completely bought in. Singalongs were effortless, pits opened almost instinctively and there was that lovely feeling you only really get at Trees, where it feels like the audience is rooting for the band just as much as they’re enjoying the set. If there’s still anyone questioning whether As Everything Unfolds belong amongst the upper tier of the UK alternative scene, this probably answered it.

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THE WILDHEARTS

The Wildhearts arrived with more surrounding context than most bands on the line-up. They had been added following the withdrawal of Lambrini Girls, while Ginger Wildheart had recently shared news of his cancer diagnosis. Understandably, the crowd’s response carried more affection than a standard afternoon festival set. Chants of “Ginger” spread through the audience, while the band played a tight collection of melodic, messy rock songs. There was tequila, a visit from Ginger’s dog Maggie and considerably more warmth than anybody standing under the sun required. The set was celebratory without pretending the difficult context did not exist. Mostly, it felt like people were pleased he was there. Sometimes a festival moment does not need to be more complicated than that.

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ARCANE ROOTS

Arcane Roots were playing only their second show since returning from an eight-year hiatus, and The Axiom was packed accordingly. “A Wave, Across The Sea” began with strings and piano before the rest of the band entered, immediately reminding everyone how well Arcane Roots understand contrast. Their songs can move from almost complete stillness into complicated, heavy sections without making either feel ornamental. The set did not resemble a band tentatively checking whether people still cared. They sounded sharp, deliberate and much more interested in what they could do next than in recreating the past exactly as it was.

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FUNERAL FOR A FRIEND

There was additional meaning attached to Lucas Woodland fronting Funeral For A Friend at 2000trees. He had previously played across the festival with Holding Absence. Returning as the vocalist of a band he grew up admiring made the headline slot feel both unusual and oddly fitting. “All The Rage” opened with immediate purpose. “Streetcar” had to be restarted after an audience member needed assistance, but the pause did not lessen the reaction when the band began again. “She Drove Me To Daytime Television” returned to the set, while Neck Deep’s Ben Barlow joined the band for “Juneau”. The closing run of “History”, “Into Oblivion” and “Escape Artists Never Die” naturally carried nostalgia, but the performance was not limited by it. Woodland approached the songs with respect without appearing frightened of them. Funeral For A Friend sounded like a functioning current band rather than a museum piece with a new vocalist.

SATURDAY

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A FOREST

A Forest may have been making their live debut, but there was a quiet confidence that made it feel anything but tentative. The project, led by 2000trees’ own Matt Hughes and brought to life alongside members of Arcane Roots, traded spectacle for sincerity, delivering a collection of deeply personal songs that felt perfectly suited to the festival’s woodland surroundings. There’s an intimacy to the music Hughes writes with disarming honesty, exploring love, loss, fatherhood and the passage of time, while the musicianship behind him gives those stories room to breathe. Andrew Groves’ unmistakable guitar work and Bjarni Biering’s delicate piano textures elevated every moment without ever overshadowing the songs themselves, creating something that felt cinematic yet remarkably restrained. The Forest stage has always rewarded artists who embrace atmosphere over volume, and A Forest understood that from the outset. Rather than trying to fill the woods with noise, they filled them with emotion. Every crescendo felt earned, every quiet moment held the audience’s attention, and by the closing notes there was a genuine sense that everyone present had witnessed the beginning of something special. For a first outing, it was astonishingly assured. If this performance is anything to go by, A Forest won’t remain one of 2000trees’ best-kept secrets for very long.

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BATTLESNAKE

Battlesnake opened Saturday’s Main Stage in white robes and with songs called “I Killed Satan” and “I Am The Vomit”. It was not a subtle start to the day. The Sydney band combined traditional heavy metal, theatrical nonsense and genuinely precise playing. The humour worked because the music underneath it was taken seriously, even as clothing was gradually abandoned under the midday heat. By the end, vocalist and guitarist Sam Frank was performing in his underwear and nobody appeared especially surprised. Battlesnake gave a tired Saturday crowd something ridiculous to look at and enough riffs to prevent the joke wearing thin.

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LASTELLE

Lastelle built their set slowly inside The Axiom. Spoken sections, layered guitars and increasingly strained vocals gave each song room to develop before reaching its heavier conclusion. Their music deals openly with grief and emotional difficulty, but without reducing those subjects to a dramatic aesthetic. It required more attention than some festival sets, particularly by the fourth day, but rewarded anyone willing to give in to witness vocalist Adam Rigozzi crowd suring and comanding his crowd as ever.

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MARMOZETS

Eight years had passed since Marmozets last played 2000trees. The length of that gap was not especially obvious once they started. Becca Bottomley’s screams remained startling during “Why Do You Hate Me?” and “Major System Error”, while the band’s more melodic songs carried just as much impact. New track “Closer To You” already sat comfortably beside older material, rather than sounding like the obligatory point where a reunion set asks the audience to concentrate on something unfamiliar. “Captivate You” provided a more emotional moment towards the end. Marmozets did not return sounding like a band attempting to remember who they used to be. They sounded like themselves, which was enough.

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HO99O9

Ho99o9 moved between punk, rap, industrial music and rave without pausing to make the transitions comfortable. “Power In Numbers” was blunt and physical, while “BATTERY NOT INCLUDED” pushed the set further towards electronic noise. The performance regularly changed tone before the audience had fully adjusted to the previous section. They also played beyond their allotted time and eventually had the sound cut. It would be difficult to imagine a neater ending feeling appropriate.

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GLASSJAW

Glassjaw’s first 2000trees appearance came with a substantial amount of expectation attached. “Siberian Kiss” still sounded volatile, “Tip Your Bartender” drew an immediate response and “Ape Dos Mil” provided one of the more melodic moments. The wind interfered with the sound in places, carrying parts of the performance away from sections of the field. As a result, the set occasionally felt more distant than the music required. Even so, watching Glassjaw on the Main Stage had obvious significance at a festival containing so many bands shaped by their approach to post-hardcore. It was not a flawless, life-altering set. It was still Glassjaw playing those songs at Trees, and that mattered.

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HIGH VIS

High Vis brought post-punk melancholy into The Cave without losing the weight of their hardcore background. Live, the songs felt more physical than they do on record. Graham Sayle’s vocals held frustration, tenderness and anger without exaggerating any of them. There was a plainness to the performance that made it more affecting. Nothing was dressed up beyond what the songs required. By Saturday evening, when everybody was tired enough to stop pretending otherwise, that directness felt particularly well timed.

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NECK DEEP

Neck Deep returned to headline 2000trees ten years after their previous appearance. They opened with “Can’t Kick Up The Roots”, using one of their biggest songs immediately rather than keeping it stored away for the encore. “Where Do We Go When We Go” followed, while “Dumbstruck Dumbfuck” and “Lowlife” kept the set light enough for a final-night crowd. Older track “Crushing Grief” appeared alongside “A Part Of Me” and songs from across the band’s full career. The set did not feel built around proving Neck Deep were worthy of headlining. They seemed more interested in giving the festival one final opportunity to sing together before everybody returned to their tents and began thinking about packing. “In Bloom” closed the weekend without unnecessary spectacle.

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After four days of dust, sweat, missed bands, accidental discoveries and repeatedly checking whether anything in the tent remained cold, singing it with a full field felt like enough. 2000trees has become larger, but it has not yet lost the slightly peculiar closeness that keeps people returning. Established artists can headline the Main Stage without the smaller bands feeling like decoration. The Forest Sessions can turn familiar songs into something completely different, while the tents continue to produce the kind of sets you only entered because you had twenty minutes to spare. There were sound problems, difficult clashes and heat that occasionally reduced even enthusiastic crowds to quiet observation. That did not prevent the weekend from producing plenty worth remembering.

Don Broco turned an awkward headline replacement into a proper occasion. Arcane Roots returned without relying entirely on sentiment. The Wildhearts received one of the most affectionate crowds of the weekend. Funeral For A Friend treated their history as something living, and Neck Deep closed the festival without attempting to make the moment more profound than it naturally was.

People often describe 2000trees as feeling like home. That phrase may be used too often, but there is something in it. Perhaps it is simply a festival where people know where they are going, know why they have returned and are still willing to make room for somebody who has only just arrived.

Photos & words by Abbi Draper-Scott