There’s a reason why the same faces return year after year to 2000 Trees Festival. Set in the cascading backdrop of green fields in the rolling hills of Cheltenham, the independent festival has prided itself on not only supplying the crème de la crème of emerging talent in the british rock scene, but encouraging a safe, community environment for revelers to party the July weekend away in.

After a triumphant 2016 ten-year anniversary edition of 2000 Trees Festival, the only thing marring the July weekend was the lack of a female presence onstage; called out by headliner’s Refused. With a far more inclusive bill for 2017 across a spectrum of underground rock genres and Safe Gigs For Women in attendance, 2000 Trees Festival once again welcomed hoards of music fans to Upcote Farm with open arms — with a blazing three days of sunshine to boot.

Thursday

Leeds multi-instrumentalist Grumble Bee set about opening proceedings on Thursday afternoon with his brand of brooding alt-rock. Drawing the first of many huge crowds to The Cave Stage, Jack Bennett and his full band work their way through impassioned, soulful melodies that get the first heads bobbing and a timid sing-along going. Jack’s vocals disappear under a bed of fizzing basslines midway through the set, sweat drenched from making the mistake of wearing a onsie in the 30 degree heat, but it doesn’t deter the three piece from kicking things off with a bang.

Londoners Bellevue Days look and sound completely comfortable in their own skin. Graduating from their 2016 set on The Neu Stage to The Axiom, the four piece draw on lolling vocal harmonies that live, punch straight into playful riffs that has the rather large turn out convinced that they are ones to watch. Puppy succeed in enticing the first mosh-pit at Trees. Live, the trio managed to do even more ear-bending things than they do on record; sitting somewhere between low-slung grunge and sludgy, brutal doom metal. The band are often compared to their contemporaries — think Weezer melodies married with Ghost/Deftones inspired riffs —but on The Axiom they completely dominate the sound as their own.

With the scorching temperature becoming unbearable, Tigercub’s Jamie Hall looms behind his microphone slipping into milder tones in a stripped back ‘Control’ and set closer ‘Pictures Of You’ before exploding into untamed growls that have The Axiom rife with beer drenched energy. Drummer James Alix sonically fleshes out the Brighton trio’s acoustic session on the Forest Stage later that night with the addition of an echoing drum machine that drives their sound delicately under a canopy of brightly coloured bunting. Having been thrown in the deep end, the band grow in confidence delivering their addictive brand of QOTSA inspired alt-rock that brings softer moments in ‘Burning Effigies’ to the fore.

Chaos descends for the arrival of bearded Kent rabble Feed The Rhino. It’s been a while since they last turned The Cave into a hundreds strong throng of rabid beasts, and this time around the scene explodes as soon as Lee Tobin calls to arms a circle pit from on top of the barrier; without letting up from ‘Behind The Pride’ to ‘New Wave’.

Friday

On Friday morning the heat refuses to abate, and by 7am the festival site is already awake, escaping from suffocating tents. By 11am, Wierds ensure that not a single soul is still asleep as they work their way through high-flung psychedelic, fuzzy rock that grapples with a dominating edge of grunge.

Emma Gallagher may have flowers in her hair, but that doesn’t mean that Making Monsters are sweet Irish cherubs. Tearing through menacing growls that effortlessly switch between honeyed cleans, Gallagher and gang have a strong chemistry onstage, their sound inescapably even tighter as they stomp their way through 2016s EP ‘Bad Blood’.

Likewise with Janine Shilstone, who time and again proves that looks can be deceiving: Vukovi keep the crowd waiting, but certainly don’t disappoint as they deliver an expected set of glitter studded pop-rock. Shilstone spends most of her time commanding The Axiom lying on the floor like a tigress luring her prey into the Glaswegian’s fun realm of whirlitzer guitars and punching melodies that keeps the crowd singing long after they’ve left the stage.

Where organisers have previously kept clashes between stages to a minimum, it seemed that this year time was of the essence, and on Friday afternoon a clash of titans Black Peaks and Employed To Serve had the festival site torn. Those amassed for one of the last ‘Statues’ sets from Brighton’s Black Peaks would witness Will Gardner and co. dominating the main stage as if it was a homecoming show. Having relentlessly toured their debut album for the last two years, it’s with a heavy heart that brilliant, melodious offerings ‘Glass Built Castles’, ‘Saviour’ and ‘Say You Will’ won’t get another live outing, and for one last time into the breach 2000 Trees give back everything they have in return.

Thus, consigned to a half empty Cave Stage, Employed To Serve leave a wave of destruction in their wake and secure their place as one of the bands to watch from the heavy scene in 2017. The Woking five-piece translate their maniacally brutal second effort ‘The Warmth Of A Dying Sun’ with hedonistic anger that sends the thin crowd into a raging frenzy. Distortion drenched guitars drive their brand of twisted hardcore while Justine Jones’ unquenched vocal chords growl their way to oblivion. She devilishly bounces off guitarist Sammy Urwin who death stares anyone in his periphery as those down the front are left happily seething, sweaty and tiny bit broken.

Finally heading to The Neu Stage for Personal Best after the sonic onslaught at The Cave keeps spirits lifted…in a nice way. The quartet are no strangers to the DIY live circuit: their brand of blissful indie-pop awash with cascading vocal harmonies between Kate and El — who sneakily send knowing looks to each other across the stage — on this outing have heads bopping and toes tapping aplenty.

“I want to see as many girls crowd surf for this next song!” yells Frank Carter. As soon as the first bass tones for ‘Wild Flowers’ kick in, hundreds of bodies, all women, push their way through the press of bodies gathered for Frank Carter & The Rattlesnakes on the main stage at 2000 Trees to crowd surf. There are no complaints from anyone, and the boys down the front are more than happy to lift a constant stream of eager, screaming females over the barrier; their faces plastered with rapturous joy. ‘Juggernaut’ renders the main stage into chaos, and like moths to a flame all eyes are on Frank Carter as he stands aloft in the crowd.

A barrage of pits — both circle and mosh — are of course expected and open up in all directions, and for this outing, Carter takes his place among his band-mates onstage rather than from within the crowd like usual. His demanding showmanship never falters, and he takes the time to stop the set on several occasions to hand back lost property, de-escalate a fight that broke out in the crowd and shut down any violence towards women in a live show setting — although after the fourth time became a little tiring. Landing on closer ‘I Hate You’ with all the passionate aggression you’d expect, Frank Carter & The Rattlesnakes have nothing left to prove, except for one hell of a show and safe space to punch your mate in the face.

Keeping in theme with chaotic scenes, St Pierre Snake Invasion have a rabid riot kicking off at The Neu Stage, and barely any more bodies can fit inside the tent. Someone attempts to climb the tent pole: a constant stream of stage divers launch themselves into the beer drenched crowd, and Jamie Lenman makes a camio for ‘Omens’ that sends the audience into a rampant frenzy.

Winding things down before the debauchery of the silent disco kicks off, which takes place across The Cave and The Main Stage — and if you tilt your head a certain way can pick up signal from the campsite, Penelope Isles stun the serene Forest Stage with jangly summer guitar melodies and delicate vocals. The four piece have opted to go full electric, and siblings Jack and Lily Wolter merrily make their way through lolling rhythms that leave the audience with jovial smiles spanning from ear to ear.

Saturday

Dehydrated, sweaty, smelly and hungover, the final day of 2000 Trees gets off to a slow start.

Kate Flynn’s piercing vocals wake up The Axiom stage as Irish quintet The Winter Passing embark on their first UK festival appearance, treating those brave enough to venture out into the midday sun to raw punk energy married with a pop-punk zeal that hinges on uplifting indie quirks. Kamikaze Girls follow suit with hard-hitting and deeply personal lyrics that sit in orderly fashion under a bed of fuzzy guitars and simple, racing drums. Lucinda Livingstone and Conor Dawson wanted you to know that it’s ok to be sad on their marvellous debut record ‘Seafoam’, but today their impassioned DIY indie/punk placates a perfectly happy crowd, and is totally apt for many a conversation had across the weekend as soon as they rip into ‘KG goes to the pub’.

Cheshire three piece Peaness modestly address the crowd gathered at new stage, appearing nervous at first but dominating their sound as they ease into pristine pop inspired indie-punk, their polished harmonies in a racier rendition of ‘Oh George’ entices a sing-along.

“Touch me again and I’ll fucking kill you” screams a feisty Ren Aldridge. Petrol Girls’ vocalist commands The Neu Stage like the leader of a riot, openly referencing G20 protests and sexual violence at gigs in-between songs. Punching hard and fast, the multi-national feminist post-hardcore punks drag a justified fury through scuzz laden riffs that hit the target — riling the audience up for change. An anonymous voice-over describing a sexual assault that took place at 2000 Trees 2016 strikes a chord, and in the simplest of ways Petrol Girls are rightfully setting a revolution into motion, one punk show at a time.

A last minute line-up change sees Norwegians Sløtface swapped out for Woking’s doom hardcore outfit Palm Reader, whose menacingly sinister riifs and desolately brutal bass licks captivate an astoundingly large audience to The Axiom, although not quite enough to start a pit.

Indie punks Doe however, bring a slice of resplendent noise to their peppy pop-punk. Droning guitar are looped through feedback and Nicola Leel’s vocals juxtapose with Jake Popyura’s that leaves a welcome ringing in the ears.

Emotions run high for Kevin Devine’s solo show on The Axiom, playing a mix of Bad Books’ ‘You Wouldn’t Have To Ask’ and ‘It Never Stops’ covers and his own material on just an acoustic guitar. There’s no fourth wall when you watch a Kevin Devine show — his stage talk often consists of conversations with himself that the crowd are happy to join in. The relentless obsession with chanting “Ohh Jeremy Corbyn” hasn’t escaped the clutches of Upcote Farm, and on this occasion gets swapped out for ‘Ohh Kevine Devine” and “Ay up our Kev!” and someone hands him a Camp Kevin Devine flag that he proceeds to wear on his face. His vocal reach is astounding for the latter half of his set, using the nuances in piercing expanses of silence to draw an air of suspense before lapsing into beautiful melodic climaxes that for closer ‘Brothers Blood’, Devine’s voice threatens to break and barely leaves a dry eye in the house.

Philadelphia’s The Menzingers dub 2000 Trees “2000 Beers” festival, and have clearly been having fun throughout the day. They approach an acoustic session on The Forest Stage with an arsenal of rarities that don’t usually make into their live repertoire. ‘Time Tables’ and ‘Male Call’ are delightfully delivered with an air of glee and nostalgia, while ‘Midwestern States’ and ‘Bad Catholics’ taken form their new record ‘After The Party’ highlights their knack from writing songs that transport you into the moment. It traverses across both of their performances at 2000 Trees. You’re as much driving down the highway to L.A as you are sat on the floor of a forest in Cheltenham.

With bodies spilling out the side of The Cave for their headline slot, The Menzingers are the party. Revelers in varying degrees of sea themed fancy dress and drunkenness fly through the air over the barrier, and sweat drenched and salivating for more the band have everyone 100% with them hook, line and sinker. Midwestern drawls slide under harking chords. Bouncing drums rip through the air to entice the hundreds of amassed bodies off their feet. ‘Lookers’, ‘Bad Catholics’ and ‘I Don’t Wanna Be An Asshole Anymore’ receive the greatest reception, but so does every single thing the band are doing onstage: from cracking jokes to drinking beer to just being The Menzingers.

You can cut the tension with a knife the anticipation for Oathbreaker builds at The Axiom. They are an adverse booking on the bill, clashing with Kentish punk duo Slaves on the main stage, but the Belgian black metallers bring a sonic onslaught that is a welcome addition to closing out 2000 Tree Festival 2017. Down-trodden refrains are crushingly epic as they launch into the grueling ‘10:56’ — Caro Tanghe’s enchanting vocal delivery explodes like a banshee with an intensity that threatens to stop the world outside of the tent. Like mesmerists the band attack their instruments with a ferocious intensity that draws you into their realm with very little effort: the raging cacophony of drum melded slow burning bass in ‘Needles In Your Skin’ entice mixed bag of sorrow and aggression that turns insides to bile, and it’s inescapably epic. Oathbreaker are well into the dawning of a new era after the release of their desolately crafted record ‘Rheia’, and with a performance as heart-wrenchingly glorious as this one, they wont be playing stages as small as this for much longer.

2000 Trees Festival 2017 delivered an unrivalled plethora of talent rising the ranks of the underground rock scene, and it was refreshing to see an eclectic swathe of acts performing across the weekend who don’t identify as cis male. Tepid choice of headliners aside (Nothing But Thieves, Mallory Knox, Deaf Havana), major UK festivals should take note, as people return year after year in their thousands for a friendly atmosphere, an un-missable silent disco and a main arena that you’re allowed to take your own booze into. By the time you’re trudging back to your car at the end of the weekend, you’ve made some new life-long friends, most likely screaming in their faces at the silent disco or sharing a beer or two around one of the busking stages in the campsite. Repeatedly, the festival organisers showcased how an independent festival is really done, and we can’t wait to return next year.