We headed to the most recent 2000trees Festival, where the sun was blazing, the noise was loud, the beer is nice and cold, and the vibes are absolutely immaculate. We caught up with Nottinghams Cheap Dirty Horse to find out about their festival experience. With a name that’s impossible to forget and a live show that’s even harder to ignore, this band has galloped their way into the hearts of alternative music fans across the UK. Let’s dive in….

You’ve just performed at 2000 trees festival how was it for you guys?

Amazing!!! We played on a busking stage so it was not only our first ever Trees performance, but our first performance in this kind of set up. The crowd were awesome and we were all super excited and full of energy despite not starting until gone 1am. We’ve done a couple other unamplified shows before and they’re always fun because everyone in the band sings as many of the lyrics as possible to make sure it’s as loud as it can be. It felt pretty much as ‘folk-punk’ as you can get. It also felt a little bit like a home-city gig as so much of the crowd was from the Nottingham scene!!

Was there a particular moment during your set that really stood out to you?

It was really nice playing On The Rob and realising that (other than the people we knew personally) a big chunk of the crowd knew who we were and hadn’t just walked by and stopped because there wasn’t much else on, which was what we’d been expecting.

How does the energy at 2000 Trees compare to other festivals you’ve played?

So so lovely. It’s a great sized festival and you can really feel that it’s ran by people who care more about music than money, which is sadly pretty rare for uk festivals.

Did you get a chance to check out any other bands on the lineup? Any favourites?

Kneecap smashed it out of the park as always. BUDS. on Camp Frabbit the following night were also incredible. Perfect for that kind of environment, they got everyone singing along to every single song, it was a true masterclass!! We also discovered Coilguns for the first time and their set was awesome, so much energy and a really creative concoction of different genres.

What’s one thing fans wouldn’t expect about the behind-the-scenes of your festival day?

We managed to stay (relatively) sober all the way to our set, despite it not being until 1am!! Also half the band couldn’t arrive until much later in the day, and even though Solstice only had time to see one band before the curfew, they still managed to get blood all over their white t-shirt at Stick to Your Guns from going so hard in the pit.

Are there any new releases, collaborations, or tours you have coming up that you’re excited about?

We’re currently working on our debut album, eek! We’re also heading out on tour in September with one of our folk-punk-heros, Pigeon Pit. This is a dream come true for all of us but nobody more than Amy, who has said for a long time that Pigeon Pit were the band who reignited their creativity after years away from writing. When we were told the tour was happening by our friend Jude from Firejam Productions, she went completely non-verbal for about an hour. 

Where would you like to see the band a year from now — festivals, tours, or something totally different?

This year we’ve managed to sneak right onto the bottom of the line ups on busking and DIY stages at festivals like Bearded Theory, 2000 Trees, and Latitude. Next year it would be nice to fill the whole summer up with festivals and maybe even move slightly higher up the bills? If there are any promoters reading this, drop us a line!!