I like to consider myself a 2000Trees Festival veteran. The first time was 2015 when my best friend bought me a ticket for my birthday. Our friendship is a delicious recipe of cocktails, hangovers, secrets, sun burns and Deaf Havana, so this was the perfect gift.
Deaf Havana headlined that year and we completely fell in love with the festival, which, from then on, was named 2ktrees, or simply Trees.
Over the years we've seen the likes of Twin Atlantic, Mallory Knox, Neckdeep, While She Sleeps, The Bronx, Moose Blood, ASH, Lonely the Brave, The Xcerts, Slaves, Lower Than Atlantis, Nothing But Theives, Frank Carter & The Rattlesnakes, Young Guns, Boston Manor, ROAM, Enter Shikari, Holding Absence, Frank Turner, The Skints, YouMeAtSix, Flogging Molly, and most recently, Jimmy Eat World. So if any of those bands tickle your fancy, you might be in your element at Trees!
This is by no means an entire list, there's just too many, but check out the last few years' line-up posters below.
So why do I love trees? For starters, it's small, friendly, relaxed and you can take your own booze to the stages. Many festivals don't allow this, and are so big you can't see the whole festival in one weekend, yes I mean you Glasto; and Reading festival wouldn't even let me take a bottle of water in!
Trees is different, it's all open. From where you camp up, you can access everything with ease, and I reckon you can walk from stage to stage to stage in 15 minutes. There's no barriers or gates, as long as you wear your wristband, you can go to any stage, with any drink, and with your camping chair or blanket, and set yourself up for as little or as long as you please.
I prefer this, I enjoy being able to go back to the tent if I want to, without an hour long hike. I like being able to bring my own drinks if I don't want to spend a small fortune on cider, and most importantly, I love not having to queue for ages to move between stages, or to get some food or drink. If 2 years of lockdown has turned you into an anti-social, anxiety ridden hobbit, then Trees might be the place for you to adventure out.
Luckily for me, a lot of my lovely friends are like-minded and were easily sold on 2ktrees. Our group has grown each year, and it's even brought us closer together. What happens at Tree stays at Trees, and so do the reluctantly shared embarassing secrets.
What's great about a festival like 2000 Trees is the community feel and the overall vibe of friendliness and comraderie. We all laugh how strange it is to see so many goths and greebos in one place, but we love it. I find (most) Alt people chilled and accepting, and over the years we've met some lovely people; need help with your tent? Can we lend your mallet?Lost your friends? I like your hat! All are acceptable conversation starters and will gain you an invite into Camp BlackCountry for a game of beer pong.
One of my favourite memories, was 2017, after the last headliner, pitch black, nothing but the festoon lamps lighting our path, and walking back to our tents, Phil breaks out into Bohemian Rhapsody and everyone walking with/near us joins in. We sang the whole song and I knew I'd remember that night forever.
Now, I know what you're all thinking... Zoe, get to the food! Hands down, the 2nd most exciting thing for me, behind a weekend with my friends, is all of the amazing food. It's genuinely amazing, and although we were all devastated by the retirement of Becky's Bhajis this year, we deffo didn't go hungry.
You'll find something for everyone, I go straight for the vegan vendors and stuff my face with falafel or pad thai, but my friends said the Chicken Shack and Castaway Gyros were incredible. The woodfired pizza is always a winner, and this year there was a Mac & Cheese stall which was so good I had to try something else from the menu the next day. I did miss my chance to try Happy Maki's vegan sushi, because it was so hot I missed a few meals, but I'll definitely keep an eye out for them in the future.
So, what should you wear? Honestly, anything. There's a guy who dresses as a fridge every year, and I've seen more nipples than I can count. No-one cares, just wear what makes you feel comfortable. This year I took nothing but Teva sandals for my feet and that was a mistake, yeah my toes weren't sweaty, but they were dusty and cold at night, so I recommend your trusty Vans, but otherwise, anything goes. There's a fancy dress theme each year too if you want to join in.
Another thing we love about about Trees is the silent disco, it's on every night. Grab your glitter and warm up those vocal chords, this is easily the most fun part of the festival. *pro tip, take off your headphones mid song and hear thousands of voices singing to absoutely nothing but their headphones.
If you're a festival virgin and wondering what you need to take, I've turned my yearly list into a digital download available on my Etsy store. I can't pack without it, and my friends use it too!
The things I would hate to forget are my toiletries, it can be rough camping for 3 nights, and in July you're likely to get some sun too, so anything that can help me feel clean is an essential.
My life-saving, can't leave without products are;
Biodegradable baby wipes/toilet wipes
The Bodys Shop Camomile cleansing butter
Liquid Talc - Little Angels from ASDA
Dry shampoo - can't beat Batiste
A really good deodorant - I like the Dove 48hour cream
SPF - the higher the better!
If the port-a-loo is your idea of Hell, I feel you, I've been there, and it's a common subject of discussion in our camp, but 2ktrees loos are the least scary festival toilets I've ever used. They're still a challenge, but cleaned regularly and almost always have tissue and sanitiser. Just remember, everyone's thinking the same as you, no-one wants to spend a second longer in there than they have to, and always lock the door.
This year, for the first time, we booked VIP tickets, and although we had a few complaints, me paying £8 for a shower being one of them, we still loved it and there's no doubt we will return in 2023.
Trees has grown over the years, tripled in size I heard, and although it seemed much busier this year, it's still a million miles away from Reading & Leeds or Download, and I 100% recommend it.
What's your favourite festival? Are you a Trees veteran too? Let me know with a comment below, and help my blog grow :)
Zoe x
Great read about a great festival