Review: 2000 Trees Festival 2017 – Thursday

There is no denying from the sauna-like tents or ridiculous sunburn that 2000 Trees 2017 was a scorcher; but considering the usual weather conditions for British music festivals, it made a refreshing change as fans were treated to three lovely days in the Cotswolds.

Opening the festival on the Thursday; the heat was perhaps not something that Grumble Bee had considered before he took to the Cave stage for his set in a onesie. Despite the soaring temperatures both inside and outside the tent; Jack managed to pull off an energetic set with bandmates Callum and Zach, which saw the tent at almost full capacity despite the festival gates having only opened a few hours prior to that. This also turned out to be the first of three amazing performances for Grumble Bee at the festival over the course of the weekend, as Jack performed acoustic sets in Camp Reuben later that night and also replaced Lower Than Atlantis’ cancelled acoustic slot in the Forest on the Saturday.

Thursday was the day to check out some of the best new British acts around at the moment, as I checked out sets from Bellevue Days, Straight Lines, Muncie Girls and Black Foxxes dotted between the Axiom and Cave stages for most of the day; all of which impressed me greatly. I also found myself wandering to the Forest Sessions stage at one point for some much needed shade, only to see a beautiful acoustic set from London indie band Tellison.

Later, it was time for the golden oldies, as some established names took over the Axiom and the Cave stages. This provided the perfect opportunity to see some huge acts, such as Young Guns, Pulled Apart by Horses and Mallory Knox on smaller stages than usual. In particular, Pulled Apart by Horses really shined during their set in the Axiom, as they offered a brilliant set of retro rock craziness that I just couldn’t stop watching.