As the eagerly anticipated 2000Trees Festival draws near, we took the opportunity to connect with some of the bands gracing this year’s lineup. This renowned festival, held at the picturesque Upcote Farm, is celebrated for its eclectic mix of emerging and established artists, creating an immersive experience for music lovers.
We caught up with THANK & TAYNE ahead of their performances later this week. Both bands play the Neu Stage this Friday with THANK on at 14:30 and Tayne at 15:40. We discussed their festival essentials, what they’re most looking forward to, and their plans for the rest of 2025.
What are you most excited for at 2000 Trees?
THANK: I’ve never been to 2000 Trees before! So I guess I’m just excited to be there full stop, I’ve heard good things. This year will be our second time playing ArcTanGent as a band, and my third time playing it as an individual, obviously there’s a lot of overlap between the two festivals but I’ve always suspected that Trees might be a better fit for us than ATG. Excited to test my theory. Is that a normal thing to be excited about? I am excited about the scientific method.
TAYNE : It’s our first time at trees, it has always looked like a stacked line up and cool vibes. We are excited to pop our cherry see what the noise is about.
What can people expect from your set?
THANK: Our bass player Cameron is taking a couple of months off for mysterious reasons. It’s actually for a completely normal reason, but he doesn’t want me to make it public. Possibly because he loves his privacy, or more likely because he loves forcing me to come up with vague ways of referring to it without making it sound like he has died. I cannot emphasise enough that Cameron Moitt is not dead. Anyway, 2000 Trees will be one of a handful of gigs where we have Naomi from Empire State Bastard and Bodyweb filling in on bass, so you can expect to see her! You can also expect to hear an unreleased new tune.
TAYNE : Big Honks. Lot of noise, very little talking and a crammed set of Industrial Noise Pop bangers off our album we dropped in January. FFO Nine Inch Nails / Health / Depeche Mode
Let’s Get HONKIN!
Which bands are you most excited to see over the weekend?
THANK: We’re only onsite for the Friday, but I’m excited to see our pals Mclusky as always. Pour one out for Benefits, that’s a tricky clash! An old band of mine once clashed with Lightning Bolt at a festival and it was brutal. Honestly though, I often really struggle to get out of the “performing” headspace and into the “watching” headspace, so I probably won’t watch very many other bands. It isn’t very cool to admit that, and it’s even less cool to admit that if I can find somewhere with good enough signal I will probably spend a lot of the day playing online chess.
TAYNE : Kneecap / Bambi Thug / Brids In Row
I love Calva Louise too, hoping to catch the rip it.
Are there any upcoming bands from your area that people should be checking out?
THANK: The three bands I’m most excited about right now are Tormented Imp (slapstick d-beat hardcore in the vein of G.I.S.M. and Poison Idea), Obnoxious Concoction (freak mode death metal) and Gravel (jangly but austere power pop). Also when the guitarist from Gravel first told me about his new band he said it sounded “kind of like early Siouxsie and the Banshees”, except he accidentally said “Sushi and the Banshees”, so now unfortunately I am unable to listen to their excellent demo without thinking about sushi.
TAYNE : Hmmm, London is crammed of loads of good stuff. I love the Believe in Nothing stuff I’ve heard.
What are your plans for the rest of the year?
THANK: We’re playing some more festivals! Including but not limited to Truck Festival, Tramlines Fringe and ArcTanGent. We should also have some tour dates in October/November but I’m fairly sure I’m not supposed to say what those are yet.
TAYNE : We’ve still got some shows to announce for the second half of the year along side a few more release to see the year off. Then album 2 incoming….fast.
What are your festival essentials?
THANK: You’ve gotta have a good bum bag! A bag that comfortably fits your wallet, keys, phone, earplugs, a bottle of water, and perhaps even a small book, except you sort of wear it more like an item of clothing so it feels like you aren’t really carrying a bag at all? That’s the dream, I think. Free Palestine, also.
TAYNE : Keeping it trashy with some white claws (cherry only)
A good vegan food truck slamming out spicy AF food to cleanse the bowels.
WHERE:
2000trees Festival is located on Upcote Farm, near Cheltenham,
Gloucestershire. GL54 4BL
WHEN:
Wednesday 9th / Thursday 10th / Friday 11th / Saturday 12th July 2025
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2000trees Festival tickets available – HERE