FESTIVAL REVIEW + PHOTOS: 2000trees Festival 2025 – Saturday

Want more 2000trees? Check out our full reviews and galleries of Thursday and Friday.

On a still-sweltering final day of 2000trees, leave it up to Gen Glynn-Reeves to have more energy than anyone reasonably should. Granted, the Gen And The Degenerates singer is sprightly at the best of times, and with a main stage slot, a cadre of slick alt-rock bops and a serendipitously-placed bubble machine in the crowd, excitement is natural. It pays off, too; the early-doors crowd is appreciative of both the winking sharpness that informs Girls! and Girl God Gun, and the heartfelt sentiment of badgering local MPs to see any semblance of a positive change in communities. The light, playful tone throughout is a must-have, if only to keep Gen And The Degenerates up there among the most determined-to-have-fun bands of the weekend. They get there, and then some.

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Love Rarely bring their blistering blend of emo, math-rock and screamo to the NEU Stage.

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With the blessing of letlive.’s Jason Butler on their side, Last Hounds take their hardcore punk over to The Cave.

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Of all this festival’s reunions or appearances to capitalise off them, Bad Sign’s has arguably had the least airtime. Even on the day, a low-key, small-stage slot hardly feels conducive with the revival of a severely underrated post-hardcore band after seven years. However, you get the impression that Bad Sign aren’t ones to dwell on it much. A big, Hans Zimmer-esque score heralds their arrival, and they’re ready to rip, still on top form. Without a speck of rust to be found among some exceptional breadth, clarity and elegance (all while sporting a hell of a bass tone to anchor it all down), the whole thing is so casually nailed. The resoundingly positive reaction to frontman Joe Appleford’s positing “Who thinks we should come back properly?” say it all. Off you go, boys—give the people what they want.

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There’s ska on the main stage, folks! Catbite want you to know it, too—there’s the two-stepping; there’s the squelchy keys; there’s the fact that Madness’ Baggy Trousers blares out into the field to welcome them. For a sunny day like this, a band bringing the epitome of US-styled ska levity goes down a treat. The band themselves are raring to deliver, led by the clarion well of charm that is Brittany Luna. Special mention should go to keyboardist Kayleigh Malloy, though, hunched over and breaking a sweat for her magic moment on Scratch Me Out as if were played by the Phantom of the Opera. As ska must be, it’s a little repetitious—even the snake-hipped slither of Tired Of Talk is a pre-approved mode—but uncut joy from front to back can always allow for that.

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Daytime TV take to the NEU Stage, for their next step towards an indie-rock breakthrough.

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There was never a moment when VOWER wouldn’t be pencilled in for a main stage slot here eventually. Both Palm Reader and Black Peaks were longstanding ‘trees faves, so for their combined, exceptionally big and melodic brew, it was written in the stars. Even just after one EP, they can fill the space their given with imposing, intelligently-crafted post-hardcore, carried by Josh McKeown after his evolution to a capital-F Frontman. A few more distinct swerves would be nice, though, rather than wearing out this grand, dramatic template too much. The lack of material and things to do with it scuppers VOWER at this stage, and they’re left mostly with proven profiency instead of the means to build outwards. They absolutely do warrant a slot up here; right now, though, it’s a little premature.

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With how meaty and crushing their post-hardcore / grunge / shoegaze / nu-metal concoction can be, it’s no wonder that Split Chain are one of the bands of the moment.

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If you’re after no-BS metal superstardom, you’d have a hard time beating Employed To Serve right now. Up on the main stage, they look like proper heroes of the scene, with guitarist David Porter and bassist Nathan Pryor casting a stalwart, headbanging silhouette, and Justine Jones up front giving a vocal performance fit for an icon. This is easily the mightiest variant of Employed To Serve that there’s been, stretching for miles with the solo and cleans on Atonement and an especially punishing Fallen Star to bring it crashing headlong back again. You’d almost think that the blazing sunshine was the optimum condition for something like this, such is Employed To Serve’s pinpoint precision and overwhelming power. A stream of crowd-surfers that rarely lets up (and an oft-unseen wall of death during Sun Up To Sun Down) would suggest that the majority are in agreement. Put simply, it’s the purest and best that straight-up metal can get for 35 minutes.

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They’re one of emo’s top names at the moment, and a charged, energetic set from Anxious proves exactly why.

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There’s something big brewing with Soapbox, and it’s not singer Tom Rowan. Well, okay, he does look like a total colossus of a man as well, big-framed and shaven-headed with a mischievous face as he jigs and lolls his head across the Cave’s stage. But rather, what Soapbox have amassed already is really worth sitting up and taking notice at. A sizable, attentive crowd is one thing, but there’s this central element of roughneck punk fire that’s shooting so far so soon. The hoary rowdiness that ‘Scottish punk band’ might instill as a concept surges through this, spanning a sloshed, tempo-sliding chant-along on Private Public Transport, to The Fear which finds Rowan drowning amongst the crowd, re-emerging covered in dirt and dust, and playing on. And, of course, there’s the boiling political side that breaks out on the commentary of Disgrace and Good Guy, sold with fitting, vein-bulging intensity. It’s just another in a long list of things that Soapbox are doing right, and they’re already a force to be reckoned with for it.

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We’ve all been dealing with the heat for the past few days now, but it’s time for Janine Shilstone to weigh in on things. To no one’s surprise, the Vukovi frontwoman also thinks it’s hot. Though in her case, dressed in a tasseled bodysuit and barefoot onstage, it’s probably more uncomfortable. So much so that someone from the crowd hands her a pair of Crocs to perform in, a fact that she really finds herself reiterating a lot. For Vukovi, it only builds on today’s audition to headline proper; the lack of airs and graces are par for the course, so anything memorable helps. Hell, they’ve even got past 2000trees lore tidbits seeing some payoff. Mr. Fridge returns—an individual dressed as a cardboard fridge from the far-gone year of 2019—only to die as they lived and have their costume torn apart while crowd-surfing.

Vukovi’s history with this festival is clearly longstanding, evidenced by the massive throng who’ve facilitated their status as mainstays. Clearly it’s not been for nothing either, with this being by far the biggest they’ve ever sounded. Every giant alt-rock and -metal impulse is channelled into where they are right now, swinging out the traps with GUNGHO and never letting up once. When they bring out unpeople’s Jake Crawford to lend some pleasantly formidable screams to MY GOD HAS GOT A GUN, it all might feel ever bigger again. Such is the nature of Vukovi at this stage, a band who’ve distilled the essence of cutting-edge alt-rock into this enormous, headline-ready package. Figuratively and probably literally, Vukovi are on fire.

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A packed-out Axiom awaits La Dispute for the post-hardcore titans’ newest session of emotive bloodletting.

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So this is it—one final, flying visit from letlive. before the ultimate end of one of post-hardcore’s all-time greats. People are ready for it, too; they’re aware of the occasion and the reputation. Right from its initial announcement months ago, this has been one of the tentpole moments of 2000trees 2025. So to see all the tension and firepower back with a vengeance, and Jason Butler back in ferociously unpredictable wildman mode, it can honestly be difficult to view this ‘objectively’. There’s not been another band quite like letlive. since, yet here they are, where if it weren’t outright said that the end is on the horizon, you’d think they’re still at the very top of their game. The spark has never dulled, even after about seven years of dormancy. For the final time, letlive. are back.

Call it bittersweet that this might be the last time to ever catch them, but the degree to which they can suck anyone in handily supersedes that. For Butler, a big main stage is just a bigger playground. Obviously, there’s more space for spin-kicks and mic-tosses on Renegade 86, or to yank fill-in drummer Sage Webber’s riser forward all on his own during Dreamer’s Disease. And, of course, there’s the climbing, where he strips down to his underwear on 27 Club to make his way up the stage scaffolding and onto the lighting rig. Insane behaviour, yes, and even when the sound is pulled for the duration of his little adventure, the spectacle is gripping enough. Chances are that’s the seared-in moment of letlive.’s set for many, but there’s a bounty of others, even outside of strict music. All still centre on Butler, mind, who’ll speak on his family relationships and the disrespect and disempowerment of women before Muther, while on that very same song, pausing to bring onstage someone dressed as an amp and stand them with the rest.

It goes without saying that he’s a multifaceted guy, but it’s really noteworthy how much that plays into this set, and with the dynamics of letlive. as a whole. Muther isn’t as emotionally broken and thoroughgoing as on record, but the feel is still there; elsewhere, Banshee (Ghost Fame) and Good Mourning America ride their waves of unsullied, screaming righteousness. Across the board, it’s a perfect mix to net the passion, unpredictability and soul that’s so essential to letlive.. And by the end, even if you’re left wanting more, it’s the right way to end. “We’ve been letlive.,” says Butler, “and so have you.” Perfect.

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They might not have the legend status of tonight’s headliners, but Imminence’s symphonic metalcore on the Cave still proves to be one of the most ear-catching sounds in its genre.

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Better late than never for the weather to get a bit milder, eh? Evidently the forces of nature also know that Alexisonfire have arrived, and have deigned to give the self-proclaimed ‘Only Band Ever’ their due. They are, after all, the only band to get to top billing all to themselves this weekend; no co-headlining business here. And as the absolute cream of the post-hardcore crop to many, they play a complete blinder. The opening run speaks for itself—Accidents into Boiled Frogs into Sans Soleil, three very different songs executed without a hitch. The latter especially leaps out, thanks to an ever-incredible lead performance by Dallas Green that carries over in subsequent powerful slow-burns like Sweet Dreams Of Otherness, or a keys-and-pedal-steel-assisted Rough Hands.

As far as ‘for the fans’ performances go, this is how you do it. A healthy amount of representation across the catalogue is a good start, but a band consistently firing on all cylinders is what makes it work. Alexisonfire have that in spades, even in just the three-headed vocal team of Green, George Pettit’s gnashing leadership, and Wade MacNeil’s sparing, guttural accents. As an entire unit…well, they might just have the most complete and effective sound of any of this year’s headliners, even if eye-widening highlights are in shorter supply. Though, in truth, that’s only because Alexisonfire have such a high threshold for their material, even a decade after reuniting where ‘proving themselves’ isn’t on the table anymore. They’ve done that, and when you get a monster cut of This Could Be Anywhere In The World to wrap up the main set, it’s significant. So does the old ‘Only Band Ever’ nickname still hold? Well, we did have letlive. only an hour or so earlier. Otherwise? Absolutely.

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Words by Luke Nuttall

Photos by Will Robinson (Instagram)