After three days of glorious sun, it wouldn’t be a British music festival without the rain coming down on us. Despite incredibly wet and windy conditions on and off throughout the day, nothing could stop crowds from getting out and getting stuck into the last day of music.
With music starting as early as 10:30am, if you weren’t already awake this was your wake up call to get out the tent and stuck into the final day.
After an entire weekend of grafting to pull in a massive audience, Pet Needs pulled in an insane crowd for such an early set in the day. Taking to the stage at The Axiom at 12pm, nothing seemed to stop fans new and old coming out in their masses for this alternative/indie band. With their fan base of “The fractured party people” spending the weekend spreading their name in all kinds of creative ways, you know this is a band that is destined to go far. From human billboards to people walking around in dinosaur costumes with cardboard signs, if you weren’t already curious from the multiple posters dotted around, this definitely sparked a curiosity. With a really fun and non serious energy about them, it was really easy to get stuck in. There was a large amount of people that had just come along to find out what the promo had been about all weekend, and they’d come to no disappointment.
With a bit of a pop punk nature about them, it was also a great chance to have a bit of a dance and sing along, even if you didn’t totally know the words. Throughout the set the band also took plenty of chances to express what it meant to them to be on that stage and have such a big audience come to see them so early on the day. From having fans help support to putting on an incredibly slick performance, this is absolutely as band that need to come back to trees in the future with a longer slot.
Taking things over tot the main stage, another American rock band, Dead Poet Society demonstrated their perfect fit for 2000Trees.With the rain still coming down between bursts of sunshine, this band pulled in another impressive crowd that were here for a great set. Even with only half an hour, the band managed to cram in 7 of their fan favourites, so even those who were new to the band would be able to get stuck right into the fun.
Not caring about the rain coming down, front man Jack Underkofler dove straight into the crowd for that rockstar moment of crowdsurfing and singing along. With the rain pouring down it felt like such a cathartic moment to be a part of.
Mixing things up and providing something totally different, Electric Six delivered arguably one of the most fun and ridiculous sets of the weekend. Even with playing one of their most famous tracks, Gay Bar early on, there was a huge crowd consistent throughout the set.
Many bands have to hold those famous tracks to make sure their audience don’t stray, Electric Six held their crowd throughout. With such a charismatic and eccentric energy it was really hard not to get pulled into the atmosphere and have a good giggle. This was another great band that broke up the genres of the weekend a bit, and pulled it off flawlessly.
With their often incredibly bizarre lyrics that echoed out, there was no surprised that thought the set more and more people flooded down to the main stage to see what the fuss was about. With the fancy dress winners being announced following their set, and the theme of 2000 believes, you really couldn’t make up the weird and bizarre atmosphere of the main stage. Having many attendees dressed in spooky or alien costumes, it really felt like the perfect set up.
Having completely smashed their Wednesday Forest performance, Holding Absence fans were out in their masses to see them for their second set of the 2023 festival. This is a band that continue to go from strength to strength and consistently deliver flawless performances. Having worked their way through all the other stages at the festival, you can see the hard work they’ve put in has paid off.
Opening with Like A Shadow gave an atmospheric opening before packing a huge punch. Before really talking to the audience for this set, Holding Absence bashed out False Dawn and phenomenal track Gravity.
With such atmospheric tracks and a fast pace to match, a Holding Absence show is one you need to go in ready to leave out of breath having spent all your energy. Having played such a perfect set in the forest, you’d think it would be hard to top, but the band smashed every expectation with elevating their show to an even bigger crowd. With a mix of heavier moments and melodic vocals its clear why theres such a wide range in fan base. Further showing off their diversity In Circles was simply put a beautiful moment in the set. Giving us something a bit slower and heartfelt you could feel the love pouring out from the audience.
With a truly excitable crowd and so many attempting to get in their crowd surf, things were taken up a notch once again, with front man Lucas demanding a legendary crowd for penultimate track and famous hit, Afterlife. This track is one that will so easily get you hooked on Holding Absences sound and wanting to join their amazing fan base.
Having played the festival multiple times, as well as headlining in previous years, it’s clear Deaf Havana are 2000Trees favourites and have earned their places as trees legends. With their main stage performance being their second set of the weekend, it seems you can never fully meet the demand for Deaf Havana fans, with the earlier forest set fully packed out as it has been in previous years.
Never failing to provide a phenomenal performance from start to finish, this was no exception. Walking on for their second set and main stage performance, Sing felt like a perfect opener and gave that incredible nostalgic feeling for some older Deaf Havana bangers. It’s a track thats hard not to have a grin to while you’re singing along and reminds you so much why you fell in love with the band. Jumping quickly into Fever, this is another ultimate festival banger. With a full crowd, the chorus of this track felt something special to be a part of singing along.
While we managed to enjoy a few tracks with dry weather, it wasn’t long before some of the heaviest rain of the weekend was unleashed. Although it was horrible weather, it was a testament to the love Deaf Havana fans have for the band, with many of them sticking it out and just embracing the rain while dancing along.
Totally un phased, the band and audience continued to deliver banger after banger with such a slick performance. Having not long changed the line up of the band, the quality of their performance was completely unaffected. If you’ve always wanted your main character moment of singing in the rain like no one was watching, this was your chance to do it.
Trigger was one of the biggest tracks to get the crowd going and with good reason. It’s a song that hits wether you’re listening to it through headphones, in a small venue, or with a massive outdoor audience. With a guitar intro that gets stuck in your head and works so well to echo out throughout a crowd, its a perfect choice for a festival. As one of the cult favourites of Deaf Havana its another where everyone in the audience sings out to the chorus. Arguably one of the moments that is just even better live than on a studio recording, theres something so timeless about Deaf Havana that still stands all these years later, and shows why theres such a love for them continually being invited back to 2000Trees.
With a day filled with rainy sets and crowds soaked right through, it was only right that the rain held off for our closing act of the weekend, Frank Carter & The Rattlesnakes. Even with many festival attendees still struggling to dry off, nobody wanted to miss this incredible final set from another one of 2000Trees favourites.
Check out even more highlights from the weekend captured by Carla Mundy in the gallery below:
