And now, the end is near, and so we face the final day of 2000Trees 2026. It’s been beyond a blast, but it’s not over yet: we’ve got new favourites, old friends and one heck of a headliner to mark the close of the biggest little festival in the world!
Words: Kate Allvey // Photos: Penny Bennett and Paul Lyme
Frozemode
“Chill, It’s Frozemode!” – The shoutout is doubly ironic considering it’s hot enough to cook an egg on your laminated clashfinder today, and Frozemode are anything but mellow. They’re a starting pistol for the day, with hiphop bars and ska beats heard on ‘Stick That’. ‘Vermin’ bring catchy melodies, a carnival atmosphere and a packed-out field of festival-goers ready to get dancing.
Battlesnake
The power-metal iconoclasts who may or may not have murdered the Devil (at least according to their track ‘I Killed Satan’) are leading a crusade against seriousness. ‘The Battlesnake’ rocks by way of Led Zep and Spinal Tap via the planet Arrakis, and ‘I Am The Vomit’ proves the Aussie world-builders are the scourge of boredom, a source of endless entertainment.
Heart Attack Man
The Hammy Army are out in force for the sarcastic millennial punks. ‘Pitch Black’ brings the nihilism and arcade guitar, but it’s ‘Spit’ that drags us to the front for the “seasoned veterans” of 2000Trees. Who cares about the UV Index when Heart Attack Man are dropping ‘Like a Kennedy’ or providing a surreal juxtaposition with the fancy dress circle pit during ‘Lay Down and Die’?
Dead Pioneers
Unflinching and uncompromising, Dead Pioneers are impossible to ignore. The indigenous hardcore punks light a torch with ‘No Kings’, a song which blazes with righteous fury against the systems of oppression. Uninhibited, dissenting street poetry gives way to a Roger Miret energy on ‘Never Alone’, and their unique voice reminds us that the personal is not only political, but also very pit-able.
High Regard
Over at the Forest Stage, the atmosphere is infinitely more serene as High Regard create chaos, only to then rise above it. Their prickly guitar lines and shady sentiment flourish among the trees, and when breakout single ‘Dead To Me’ drops, we’re hypnotised into a compact yet joyful slam as water pistols fire above. Delicacy and fury are delivered with a spin and a smile, and we’re eager to see where they’ll go next.
Mouth Culture
If we’re talking about bands whose momentum never slows, look no further than Mouth Culture. They “played here two years ago at 11am” and now they’re leading a circle pit around a cartoon shark on the main stage. When they go heavy, they’re brilliant, but today it’s the mellow summertime melancholy of ‘Happier’ that has Mouth Culture at their best. “It’s the first time we’ve played a main stage,” explains Jack Voss, and based on the moody, striking ‘Regret 101’, it won’t be the last.
As Everything Unfolds
As Everything Unfolds provide a hefty dose of heaviness that’ll make you nod in affirmation throughout a tense set. They deliver lightning-sharp crashes on ‘Set In Flow’ that are punctuated with beachballs to a packed-out Axiom. We’ve got big jumping numbers, rare treats like ‘Twilight’ and euphoric vocals on ‘Let Me Go’, all in a show that speaks to everyone across the Trees spectrum.
Marmozets
‘A Kiss From A Mother’ provides a punchy start for the crowd waiting for Marmozets. New song and anti-ballad ‘Closer To You’ sends our hands waving after ‘Play’ provides mighty garage guitar and rebel energy. “I’m the happiest woman alive right now” vocalist Becca Bottomley shouts, and we’ve got to be coming in as a close second due to the sheer joy of seeing Marmozets live on the biggest stage.
Ho9909
The duo promise us a death cult, and they might just get one. Every song thoughout Ho9909’s set feels like a welcome rainstorm, or a portal to another world where the boundaries between hardcore and rave mean nothing. Just when we’ve got a handle on their majestic and complicated beats, they trick us with cheesy nineties samples, but that’s why we’re rammed into the Axiom for Ho9909: the sense of the dark, unknown and fantastic.
The Xcerts
Let’s calm ourselves down with a rock party that sounds like the clouds parting to reveal a ray of sunlight. The Xcerts beam out ‘I Do It To Myself’ before the rippling guitars of ‘wow” explodes with sensitive lyrics and riffs that sooth like aftersun. Their welcome and genuine emotion is only outdone by how pristine their white t-shirts are.
Glassjaw
Glassjaw give us a set which challenges then inspires from the very start. ‘Tip Your Bartender’ makes us feel like we’re a Rubik’s Cube that they’ve mixed up, and whether you’re tumbling in the pit or picnicking at the top of the hill, you’re enthralled. The clattering whirlpool of ‘Mu Empire’ sucks us in with it’s twists and turns, making Glassjaw one of the most thrilling acts of the weekend.
Dinosaur Pile-Up
Another incredibly full tent plays host to another set that makes us realise how far we’ve all come since the wallflower days of our youth. ‘Bout To Lose It’ shoots grunge prom vibes into the air like confetti before the retro, Ramones-influenced ‘Punk Kiss’ and ‘Stupid Heavy Metal Broken Hearted Loser Punk’ booms out over the nodding heads and inflatable bananas. “This is fucking crazy!” Matt Bigland yells, but it’s only what Dinosaur Pile-Up deserve.
Neck Deep
“True fucking unity” is what Neck Deep are aiming for, and they achieve it. While they’ve graciously adopted their label as “generic pop punk”, the second Welsh headliners of the weekend offer us so much more. Their 90-minute performance, despite protestations that they’d rather be watching the football, is a perfect goodbye that brings together every single corner of the Trees site into one glorious manifestation of the joy of pop punk.
‘When You Know’ or ‘A Part Of Me’ might be the love songs of the weekend, and ‘Lowlife’ cements them as the successors Blink-182 should acknowledge, but when Neck Deep drop a banger like ‘More Bricks’ or ‘Where Do We Go When We Go’, there’s a enchantment that can’t be replicated or bettered as a goodbye to Trees. We’re feeling the unity through ‘December’ (because why not drop a Christmas song in the middle of July?) before the band take a bittersweet final jump through ‘In Bloom’, because Neck Deep throw a farewell party that hits the right note across the board. Or, rather, across the field.
Kate Allvey
