It is day one proper and day two for all of us die-hards, with plenty on the cards to open up the main stages on this hellishly hot Thursday at 2000trees Festival. Eyes will doubtlessly be on tonight’s controversy-stricken punks Kneecap, but there is a whole day of exciting new and old rockers before we get there, kicking off with Terminals.
Terminals
Opening up the Neu stage were Terminals, a band fresh on the scene based out of Birmingham. The three-piece have been building a name for themselves in the scene, having released a new record just two months ago, and their appearance today will undoubtedly boost their profile.
The unbearable heat made the shaded tent the perfect place to hide out, much to the advantage of the exciting new project. Terminals sport a sound that can be compared to festival favourites Holding Absence with the beautiful juxtaposition of serenity and angst, creating beautiful soundscapes alongside vicious riffs and passionate drums.
Meryl Streek
Less than 24 hours since proceedings began, Meryl Streek have already completed 2000trees. Having played both the smallest stage and the largest stage at the festival, he has seen it all and a Main Stage performance was the perfect way to cap off an impactful appearance.
Meryl’s show picked up with the frantic ferocity of his previous day’s performance, immediately launching into the aggressive, political punk rock we have come to expect.
Standing triumphant with his microphone stand raised, it was only a short while before he descended to greet the crowd at the barrier, driving home the potent messages he was sharing.
The assertive wordsmith owned the early mainstage crowd and had precisely the energy and volume to justify his place on the largest platform at the festival. With this said, I cannot help but feel like I enjoyed his set on the Word stage more.
The intimate venue with concentrated support felt more involved and collaborative. When we think of punk music, we rarely think of glamorous, expansive stages but intense, sweaty basements.
I am steadfast in my belief that this is where Meryl Streek is best suited, not because he is not worthy of a larger platform but because sticky dive bars are where revolts are built.
Karen Dio
In a set that had its share of technical issues, we would never have known had Karen Dio not kept us in the loop playfully with her natural wit and charm. The rambunctious Brazilian vocalist first suffered no clicks in her monitor, and in solution to this, they played her clicks so loud that the singer explained they were kicking her ass.
Needless to say, the singer clearly did not need to worry about any clicks, as she was in fine form, kicking into her vibrant punk rock performance.
Like a prime Freddie Mercury, the rocker raised us in a chorus of warm-up harmonies to pump us up in the furious midday heat. Karen Dio feels like the perfect unifying force for pop fans and punk enthusiasts. Her undeniably rock-centric performance has all the vitality of the pop stars running rampant on the charts at the moment, and her set even included a cover of Chappell Roan’s Casual.
Do not let the pop music association fool you, though. The musician’s tracks are heavy through and through, with aggression-filled lyrics juxtaposing her upbeat and inviting personality.
As the set drew to a close, there was somewhat of an unexpected encore. Karen’s husband and guitarist just so happened to be celebrating his birthday today and was treated to a round of the happy birthday song from the crowd before being presented with a cake.
A beautiful moment that I am sure both will remember for a long time.
Hyphen
The Neu stage offered a vital shelter from the roaring heat, but I suspect it made no difference in the jam-packed crowd of charged punks waiting to see another of their revolutionary heroes.
If they were not ready for a fight, they sure would after the sound system yelled in true boxing style, “Let’s get ready to rumble!” before rolling into Led Zepplin’s Immigrant Song.
Hyphen arrived on stage with all the swagger you would expect from a cult hero who has just finished a tour with one of the festival’s favourite sons, Bob Vylan.
The breathless set packed as many hits in as the exuberant musician could manage, soundtracking the world’s greatest issues in the most defiant and optimistic he knows. If there was ever a man to rally you into action, this was him.
The key message that the entertainer opened his set with was to show us through his community that we are never alone in our anger at the world.
The set spanned many of the issues we currently see: the uneven distribution of wealth, immigration, trans rights and mental health. It is safe to say the crowd were in full agreement with all of the artist’s passionate assertions, such as his dismissal of JK Rowling’s anti-trans rhetoric, his distaste for the current and previous government and the idiocy of racists. 
The show had a brief technical issue, but uniquely, it only added to the atmosphere as the crowd took full control of singing duties in a beautiful moment that summed up the adoration of the rowdy crowd.
Pvris
Our first main stage headliner of the festival comes in the form of the formidable Pvris. The rare UK festival appearance was bathed in the golden light of the sunset as the iconic Lynn Gunn took to the microphone for the first fiery track, Burn The Witch.
The kick-ass first song set the tone for the powerful electronically influenced alt-rock legends who found plenty of support from what was frankly the perfect crowd. Pvris tapped into a special source of fandom in the early 2010s; the alternative scene whipped up a frenzy that spread like wildfire through platforms like Tumblr.
The popularity of the band not only stems from their phenomenal musical offerings but also from the representation offered by the frontwoman. As both a woman and openly gay, Lynn Gunn offered much-needed representation not only for women in the alternative scene but also for the sapphic community.
The set was a beautiful way to experience the sunset, and the band were musically perfect. Early in the set, Lynn, feeling a bit cheeky, chose to bully the crowd for not being loud enough, but being the unduly modest person she is, she spent the entirety of the rest of the set apologising for this.
The musical performance was infallible. However, I could not help but think, as a co-headline set, the stage lacked much notable production. This is, of course, secondary to the actual performance, but it would have been nice to have seen such a triumphant performance paired with a more standout light show or stage effects like the co-headliners Kneecap received.
The show came to a close with a rendition of GODDESS, received with the sort of ovation the incredible band truly deserved. With just a short European tour this summer, we can consider ourselves exceptionally lucky to have attracted them to our modest field for the weekend.
It is unclear when Pvris will be back on our shores, but it is sure to be a fantastic set of shows when they do, and I would be overjoyed to be there.
Twin Atlantic
Twin Atlantic are no strangers to 2000trees. They have already graced a headline appearance in 2018 and were vocal about their support for one of the first English festivals that took a chance on them.
The Scottish band have amassed a strong catalogue of both energetic rock hits and gentler emotional tracks. Twin Atlantic have been around the block for a while now, and that was reflected by the crowd who sang back the lyrics of popular songs such as No Sleep, Hold On, and Crash Land.
The show even drew on the age-old tradition of waving lighters in the air, but with a twist, this rendition included a fairy light-clad crutch.
The performance drew to a close with a rendition of Heart And Soul and thankfully, unlike their headline show in 2018, they didn’t “flick the switch on the generator” and were able to deliver the whole song to a precession of cheers as they left the stage. 
Kneecap
I do not think it’s a controversial statement to suggest Kneecap were the biggest talking point in the run-up to this year’s festival by some margin.
The Belfast boys were on a sharp trajectory of their own accord following several packed-out tours and even a biographical film to their name.
The steady rise quickly hit the stratosphere as the band was mired in controversy following some choice words from Mo Chara at Coachella Festival in the States. Since the infamous event, the British establishment has tried their absolute hardest to silence the three-piece at every opportunity.
Before a sound was made, the show began poignantly with a reminder projected on screen that 60,000 people had been murdered in Gaza by acts enabled by the UK Government before the now-familiar statement “Free Palestine.”
The show started out with some of the slower songs in Kneecap’s repertoire. However they were quick to reassure us that the heavier songs were coming. They just had to get through the sexy ones first.
This tongue-in-cheek moment addresses a very important point, which is what are a predominantly rap and dance music band doing at what is typically a rock and Metal festival?
I, too, had my questions coming into the show, wondering both how their sound would coexist with the rest of the band and how they would be received.
My questions were answered viscerally as we were introduced to the band’s heavier material. Whilst clearly dance and rap music are at the core of what they do, the lyrics are spat with such venom, and the bassline is so overwhelming that the closest comparison I could draw is a sort of cross between The Prodigy and The Beastie Boys, undoubtedly welcome in the rock space.
And, of course, in true Metal show form, there were plenty of sizable mosh pits, which the artists encouraged but also insisted we look out for one another and pick each other up if we fall down.
Kneecap had plenty of kind words for the festival that stood by them and the crowd that has supported them.
2000trees has been one of a limited number of UK festivals that has insisted an artist should not be censored for sharing their political opinions through their music, and it is those very opinions that have united the occupants of Upcote farm, proudly waving hundreds of Palestinian flags in support of the downtrodden nation.
After a raunchy glance at DJ Próvaí’s nipples, per the request of the rest of the band, things swiftly flew off the rails in the absolute best of ways. The dark of night intensified the sensory assault of strobe lights to accompany the increasingly brutal music with songs like Fine Art, C.E.A.R.T.A and Get Your Brits Out.
One date looms over the trio, and that is the 20th of July when Mo Chara is summoned back to court. The band are optimistic about fighting the charge, however, looking forward to beating the Brits “on their own turf”.
The ensemble are making somewhat of an event of it, encouraging everyone to flock to London in support of the renegade vocalist, calling it their “Criminal Live-Aid.”
The mind-bending show came to a close with no less energy than we had come to expect. A raucous rendition of H.O.O.D was belted back from the crowd, which was indisputably the biggest of the weekend so far.
It was a fleeting visit for the boys as they swiftly disappeared in the deep of night, but I am sure after tonight’s performance, Kneecap will be welcomed back any year, at any time.
2000trees Festival is being held from 9–12 July 2025 at Upcote Farm, near Cheltenham, Gloucestershire. You can read all of MetalTalk’s 2025 coverage here.
