21/07/2025
In a world that is skilled at stressing everyone out, the outlet of live music is always a blessing - and 2000 Trees truly brings the joy and catharsis that a camping festival is meant for. The festival is an absolute gem of the independent festival scene, with a community that is ready to make the Cotswolds mosh every year.
The site isn’t incredibly large but it makes excellent use of the rolling farm land - dense enough for a run to a food stall on the opposite end in the gap between sets, without ever feeling overly packed. This year's festival collided with one of the sweltering heatwaves that the UK has been blessed with, and the festival site had made efforts to ensure that it stayed safe: plenty of shaded areas across the site, and all the bars had clearly signposted free water. Entry to the festival was truly smooth and easy, with the camping areas open for you to get set up in before getting your wristbands, which cut down hugely on the queues into the main site, a real boon on the heat of the day.
After making our way in and setting up the tent - dodging the wasps that were persistent all weekend - it was time to catch the music. Across the five music stages, there was a genuine variety, reflecting the genre-spanning alternative community that 2000 Trees has cultivated. From the anthemic Welsh rock group Himalayas and the iconic PVRIS on the main stage, to the homegrown duo Baby Said in the shady Forest Stage (a special joy to watch two sisters perform with my own sister beside me), and the feral, female-fronted metal thrash of Terminal Sleep on the Cave Stage, the range on offer was truly impressive.
Trees also continue to be truly understanding of the cost-of-living issues so many of their attendees are facing, maintaining their policy of allowing outside drinks to be brought onto the site, as long as it was in plastic bottles or cans. On top of this, the bars each had a wide range of drinks available, with two special bars dedicated to local brewery Arbors various beer offerings, and Weston’s cider range. I only encountered one instance of a bar running out of any stock, and all these drinks were available at very reasonable pricing.
The food continued the trend of familiarity and comfort, with the quintessential Bunnychow and Paellaria standing out, alongside the joys of standout choices - from churros to jacket potatoes. There was a huge range of not just meaty, but also vegetarian and vegan choices. My IBS and festivals are not often comfy company, but Trees truly made it easy for me - never queueing more than a few moments for a loo, and with plenty of vegan and dairy-free food options available.
Between the dusty sunlit paths and shaded tent stages, there was a lot to see and do - including a fantastic Marshalls area with a free photobooth and screen-printed tote bags you could customise, and the Crazy Golf with its bright statues.There was plenty on for all ages, including a shaded kids’ area in the main arena and a forest school to keep the younger ones busy. One of the biggest joys of the setup 2000 Trees has going, in my opinion, is their Word Stage - offering entertainment like circus skills workshops and family-friendly moshpits for young kids and families in their shady tent during the day. Then, as evening approached and it got marginally cooler, they opened the floor to an array of comedians - not just familiar faces like Andrew O'Neill, but also up-and-coming acts like Tom Hutchinson, who had the crowd down to a T and made us laugh massively. In the heat, it was genuinely nice to sit down and be thoroughly entertained.
Although the heat the UK experienced during the festival unfortunately got the better of me and led to an early departure from 2000 Trees, the time I had there was as engaging as ever - and I’ll be back again soon to scream along and mosh once more with the joyous family of Trees and their loving community.