2000 Trees 2026: Thursday – Festival Review

2000 Trees Festival – Thursday
Upcote Farm, Cheltenham
8th–11th July 2026

Another year, another 2000 Trees falling right in the middle of the heatwave. But how does the festival’s 19th iteration stack up against previous years?

Another heatwave, another early morning due to the stifling nature of tents in summer. Thankfully, when we emerge from the sauna-like confines, there’s a light breeze blowing across Upcote Farm that lingers for much of the morning. By the time we find ourselves heading down to the Main Stage for 2000 Trees regulars BUDS, however, the sun is making itself very much known.

Having gone from opening The Forest a year or two previous, to opening the Main Stage today is an impressive feat, one that isn’t lost on the band who hand out party bags and balloons to those eager enough to get down to their set even earlier than we do. As such, by the time we find a place (somewhere behind Santa – yes, really and Vivian from The Young Ones) there’s balloons and bubbles floating across the late morning crowd. It’s a wholesome way to start a wholesome festival, and it’s clear from the outset that BUDS have a loyal following, with some people even singing along to songs that aren’t Building Blocks.

Speaking of which, as one might expect, it’s Building Blocks that closes out the bands set. With even more bubbles, and even more balloons, it’s difficult not to look around and just smile. If there was ever a way to perfectly sum up the festival before it’s even really off the ground, this would be it.

Over on The Cave however, opening that stage with what we’re informed is only their seventh ever show, Silo provide the perfect balance of heavy and melodic instrumentation with grungy vocals. If we can tell how green they are from their patter between songs, you wouldn’t know it from the rest of their performance. A very well-deserved slot for a band who we expect to be hearing a lot more about in years to come and certainly a decent way to blow away the cobwebs after last night’s party.

Across on the Axiom, a stage we don’t often frequent so early in the day, are London four-piece TOOTH. Declared by music press as London’s take on Midwest emo, the band take to the stage a little later than planned due to sound issues.
Not that you could tell by the time things are underway, however. The guitars on Hermit Song are flawless, and the band’s overall sound begs for bigger stages and bigger crowds. That said, the crowd they draw for the time of day is still impressive, and though many might be seeking to avoid the sun, there’s definitely a few of us who leave completely won over. Indeed, as if on cue, the person behind comments on just how good it is to see young bands doing their things. And he’s right. He also caveats that with how old it makes him feel. Aint that the fucking truth!

One of the beautiful things about this festival is that within five minutes you can go from headbanging in a tent to sitting against a tree in the forest being serenaded by local Cheltenham duo Saint Senara. Their sound is perfect for this setting and this time of day, with just a guitar, tambourine and the stunning harmonies of Andrew Bate and Chloe Gorman, they manage to sound bluesy, folky, even bordering on grunge or punk at times but throughout their set sound completely pure.
Gorman shouts out other local “Shire bands” who are playing across the weekend, most of whom it seems have turned out to support the two-piece this morning. Single Ophelia provides a few minutes of complete serenity, which is enhanced by more bubbles that lazily drift past us.

A magical half hour spent in a perfect cocoon amongst the trees, we opt to spend another 30 minutes safe in Forest’s shade for local Bath/Bristol five-piece Nightswimming.

An exquisite blend of London Grammar-esque soundscapes and the brooding vocals of Woman’s Hour, it’s icy and moody, and provides the perfect respite for the rising temperatures out of the shade. It also offers a welcome break from the weight and volume of much of what’s on offer elsewhere across the weekend.

From there, we brave the short walk across back across to the Main Stage for LA hardcore legends alter-egos Mariachi El Bronx. Having only caught the band once before, probably almost two decades previous, it’s one of the sets we’re most excited for.

Unfortunately, by this point the sun is at its hottest, and there’s little in the way of shade around the main arena in which we can hide. As such, despite the slight breeze, it proves to be the hottest set of the weekend thus far. Thankfully tracks such as Cell Mates, Wildfires and 48 Roses provide the perfect dust-caked soundtrack to the weather. Even still, we only make it three-quarters of the way through the set before tapping out and heading back to the tent for a cool down. It’s a shame, as it’s the band rarely make it over to these shores, but with hours left to go before sunset, something of a siesta is needed.

Nana naps completed, we make our way back to the arena, clamouring for some of Weston’s rhubarb cider and Chicken Shack burgers – a staple of any trip to Upcote Farm. Satiated and soundtracked by Pup’s second set of the weekend, we skip the pop-punks this time in favour of a trip back to The Cave for arguably one of the most important voices on the year’s line-up Deliah Bon.

Arriving just as she launches into second song, Brat, we join those spilling out of the sides. Hand-written signs decorate the stage with proclamations such as ‘My body My Choice’, ‘Trans Rights Are Human Rights’ and, of course, Bon’s signature ‘Dead Men Don’t Rape’. These, along with ‘Stop the blokes’ written across the frontwoman’s vest let anyone watching know exactly what this particular artist is about. Not that there seem to be many in the audience who are unfamiliar with Delilah Bon, as they scream every word back at her.

She dedicates an emotional rendition of Not The President to the queer community, which she sings at the barrier. A couple of technical hitches and issues with levels in the mix are a little distracting during the quieter moments – not that there are many. Bon handles it like a pro, though, switching mics mid song and carrying on. The set is exactly what we’ve come to expect from a Delilah Bon show. Full of rage, brimming with catharsis and utterly sincere in its delivery.

It’s as this point, in a fair and just world, we’d be making our way to across to the main stage for Chicago punks Alkaline Trio. Alas however, the dream is not to be, and whilst we are still making our way to the main stage, it’s for a very different band.

We’ve seen a lot of Don Broco t shirts over the last couple of days, and doubt that too many of the wearers are last-minute ticket buyers. Broco have a solid fanbase at this festival, a fact that is reinforced by the sheer number of people packing out the main stage area waiting for them to come on.

The band enters the stage with no fanfare and launch straight into Cellophane from their latest album. Vocalist Rob Damiani struts back and forth in his sunglasses despite the sun being long gone, and rather than their own banner, the 2000trees logo hangs at the back of the stage, although they’ve certainly brought their whole light show with them.

They’re a band who know how to write a hook, and the mixture of fan favourites such as Come out to LA and Manchester Super Reds No.1 Fan, and newer material like their latest album’s title track Nightmare Tripping, receive equally enthusiastic responses from the crowd. Sadly, there’s no surprise appearance from Nickelback, although with what the organisers have managed to pull out of the bag last-minute with Broco’s booking is nothing short of extraordinary in itself.

“We came off stage at Finsbury Park last week absolutely buzzing from what we thought was our last show of the summer and found out we’d got the offer.” Damiani tells us. He shouts out Alkaline Trio and how they’re impossible shoes to fill, sending well wishes to Matt Skiba and making it clear how honoured they are to back at the festival they triumphantly headlined two years ago.

During the breakdown of Gumshield we’re treated to our first pyro of the weekend, which triggers a surprised “Oooh” from the crowd as flames shoot up from the stage. Thankfully it’s cooled down enough by this point that the fire doesn’t have us dripping with sweat, and as yet more bubbles float up into the sky from the middle of the crowd we can’t help but draw a parallel to the forest this morning, and how the atmosphere couldn’t be more different.

Damiani waxes lyrical about the festival a couple more times, about how strong the line-up always is for all sorts of alternative music, and it rings very sincere as he shouts out everyone behind the scenes making it happen. This coming from a band who have grown up as part of this scene and are now at the top of their game, they clearly understand and value the importance of this festival for supporting emerging bands and artists, and nurturing them as they climb the ranks.

Each side of the crowd is pitched against the other during Bruce Willis, which is cheesy but good fun, nonetheless. And it’s during another new song, True Believers, just as we’re getting ready to lose our shit for the breakdown, that the whole band suddenly stops playing. A moment of confused silence as everyone looks around, nonplussed, until two people walk out on stage holding high signs which read ‘Hydration Break’. They’re met with a combination of boos, laughter, and a rousing chorus of “It’s coming home” before the band go straight back in where they left off.

A three-song encore which sees t-shirts being swung around heads comes to a furious close with yet another one from the latest album, Hypeman. It’s been a set full of bangers from start to finish. And as the band exits the stage to Three Lions, we don’t think we could have hoped for a better last-minute replacement.

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Dave Beech is a music writer based out of Manchester. Links to his work can be found over at his blog, Life’s A Beech, as well as his Louder Than War Author Archive. He also tweets as @Dave__Beech.

Additional words by Sally Hirshman.

Photos by Jez Pennington + Carla Mundy.