2000trees has long been heralded as one of Britain's best small festivals and this year's line-up, once again, lives up to the hype.
Headlined by Scottish indie-folk heroes Frightened Rabbit and south coast rockers Band of Skulls, this weekend's event again highlights one of their core values: sustainability. It speaks volumes about the state of the British music scene that they've managed to collate such a strong line up of bands largely from these shores.
The addition of The Cave a couple of years back saw the festival branch out from its predominantly indie-folk ancestry and open up to a different style of band. This year, that tradition is continued with Arcane Roots and the Computers even finding their way onto the main stage.
There's also room for bands on the fringes of the Kerrang!-driven mainstream, with the Blackout, Canterbury, Blitz Kids, and Kids In Glass Houses dotted around the line up at Upcote Farm.
The true essence of the festival can often be found on the acoustic stages, though. Ben Marwood, who receives criminally little attention in the wider music scene, played to a packed tent last year, with The Croft now set to take over the role after The Greenhouse was shelved. Acoustic sets from Andy Oliveri, Sam Duckworth and Crazy Arm could be some of the weekend's finest.
For the diehard fans, 2000trees offers Thursday evening early entry, which this year will be headlined by Dan Le Sac vs Scroobius Pip, who previously topped the bill alongside Frightened Rabbit in 2011. This time around they’ll be backed up by a fine array of talent in Johnny Foreigner, workhorses Gnarwolves and Marwood. Special things can happen on Thursday and just last year Frank Turner took the opportunity to play an acoustic set of ‘Love Ire & Song’ in its entirety.
Away from the music, there's a wide selection of locally produced food and drink tied in with the festival’s stated aims. The Cotswold Brewing Company will again provide the beers, and, happily, there's not a big brand name in sight. Plus, Saturday's fancy dress - consisting of a 'TV Shows/DVD Box Sets' theme - is always a good chance to have some fun playing dress up.
Tickets are still available, including day passes to facilitate the sampling of some great music and still being back in time for the World Cup Final.
NOTE FROM THE EDITOR
We don't run any advertising! Our editorial content is solely funded by lovely people like yourself using Stereoboard's listings when buying tickets for live events. To keep supporting us, next time you're looking for concert, festival, sport or theatre tickets, please search for "Stereoboard". It costs you nothing, you may find a better price than the usual outlets, and save yourself from waiting in an endless queue on Friday mornings as we list ALL available sellers!
