Dear Andy, Brendan, James, Mark, Rob and Si,
(NB: so far this is stressful, I mean I’ve shot for
alphabetical but feel free to rearrange in your minds.)
As you’re aware (hopefully, worrying otherwise) on Saturday
2nd July I arrived at Upcote Farm, the site of your festival, child
and shining accomplishment, 2000 Trees.
Whilst I had a strong suspicion, I couldn’t have been sure
at the time but what followed was one of the best weeks of my life and having
now somewhat recovered (though post-festival blues have hit me real hard) I
think it’s high time I started to thank you all.
I’m going to take a big deep breath, forget everything I
pretend to know about writing and do this as coherently as I can.
Thank you for letting me see your world.
The deep rooted love I have had for live music since I was
10-years-old has been troubled only by the unhappy feeling of exclusion that
has, on occasion, come with it. For the longest time I have wanted to see what
it takes to pull off a festival like yours, to get involved and be a part of
the experience that so many people spend all year counting down for. Thanks to
you I’ve finally seen it, and it was everything I have ever dreamed of.
On Saturday July 2nd there was a small stack of
scaffolding in a field, next to some trees. On Saturday July 9th I
watched thousands of people standing in front of an incredibly impressive Main
Stage having the time of their lives. I’ve seen many stages, of many sizes in many
places but to see one so full of life that simply wasn’t there days before is
something absurdly special.
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| Main Stage Upcote Farm 02/07 |
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| Main Stage Upcote Farm 05/07 |
Above and beyond that, it was a privilege to see how much handcrafted work goes in to building 2000 Trees and an honour to be trusted with some of it myself! This is something that I’m not sure you would see at any other festival and everybody should be made aware that artwork, signage, fairy lights, perimeter fences, monitor covers (you’re welcome ;) ) all got constructed/painted and put up by your crew, and that’s remarkable for a lot of reasons but none less than the fact that there are a group of people who are as proud of your wonderful festival as you are.
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| Bar Artwork Upcote Farm 2000 Trees |
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| Monitor Covers Upcote Farm 2000 Trees |
Thank you for telling me your stories.
It was a pleasure, and frankly awe-inspiring, to hear all
about the days when the six of you would do all of that by yourselves without
even having vehicles to cart yourselves around in. I cannot claim to understand
where you found the energy and drive to do that but I know for a fact that I’m
not the only person to feel eternally grateful that you did.
The best 2000-Trees-Tale that I picked up during my time
with you was about the early arrivals in your first year. Nothing could sum you
all up more than the fact that you let the first guests into the site a day
early because otherwise they would have been finding a different campsite in
the dark. Well, maybe the fact that you gave them biscuits is even more
indicative.
I’m sure you already know this, but it occurs to me that
this was the trend-setting experience for your festival. You started a tradition
of friendliness that I had heard about before arriving but didn’t really
understand. Having now seen it first-hand I get that it’s precious because that
tradition is your trademark. People come to 2000 Trees because, simply put, it
has the happiest atmosphere going.
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| Our Wonderful Chef - Smokin' Hot Tamales John Upcote Farm 2000 Trees |
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| The Tree Upcote Farm 2000 Trees |
Thank you for having a belter of a line-up.
The fundamentals of the matter are that for three days,
across five stages, you brought a spectacularly broad spectrum of damn good
music to that farm and you did it with the absolute minimum of frustrating
clashes. After ten years, it’s hardly a wonder that you’re experts on this but
it still deserves our tenacious appreciation. It’s what everyone came for after
all.
From the second that Max Raptor took to The Cave stage on
Thursday afternoon, fulfilling the wants of pre-existing fans and converting
the rest in seconds, it became obvious that 2000 Trees would not shy away from
my personal primary expectation of a festival: to be a place you can see bands
you adore, bands you’ve only heard of and bands you’ve happily just stumbled
upon.
Through Black Peaks, Milk Teeth, Moose Blood, Mallory Knox,
Neck Deep, Muncie Girls, Lonely The Brave, The Xcerts, While She Sleeps, Dead!,
Creeper, Ash and Refused (I could go on but…you’ve seen the line-up you made
right?) your festival was a real celebration of the rock community and beyond,
as well as being the very best way to support British Music in its full glory.
Just a word on Twin Atlantic, a band that I could not think
more of and that you just so happened to have headlining the Main Stage on
Friday night. They completely smashed that set out of the farm and it was a
tear-inducing, childhood dream type of honour to be able to see that in the
fashion that I did. For that, I thank you again.
Thank you for all the friends.
I’ve
heard it be said that you’re “lucky” to have such an amazing team of volunteers
and friends who make this magic happen. I’m tempted to dispute that on the
grounds that luck has nothing to do with it. The team you have built is remarkable
but that’s because you’ve earned it.
With
hindsight, it does not surprise me in the slightest that some of the volunteers
have been doing this with you for years and years. It doesn’t surprise me that
people will take time off work to help with set-up. It doesn’t surprise me that
people will literally get on a plane from the USA to help you build 2000 Trees.
I’ll throw a bit of Spock into the mix and go as far as to say that it is
simply logical. It might sound absurd but it makes complete sense.
I
don’t even become surprised when I consider what work had to be done. Fences
were painted, huge areas of grass was raked (with only the one rake), trenches
were dug, bars were built, huge artwork was constructed and painted, a million
goody bags were packed, huge barns were cleared and swept but ultimately many, many
good times were had.
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| Bar Building Upcote Farm 2000 Trees |
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| Gaffa Taping Upcote Farm 2000 Trees |
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| Grass Raking Upcote Farm 2000 Trees |
But the team you have built is not only special because of their ability to graft and share in your vision. It’s special because it is made up of some of the kindest, interesting and warm people I have ever had the pleasure to meet and I am ultimately grateful to have spent time with them, to have worked alongside them and to call them my friends.
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| Nick...doing...something Upcote Farm 2000 Trees |
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| Elliott, Me (completely normal) & Kristina Upcote Farm 2000 Trees |
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| Work is hard! Upcote Farm 2000 Trees |
I
mean, if nothing else my Instagram looks absolutely BANGING
now.
I could go on and on but frankly there are Uni students with dissertations that are shorter than this letter has become so I’ll start to wrap up.
Thank
you for absolutely everything.
I
hope I’ve managed to convey just how hard you and the whole team worked to make
2000 Trees 2016 what it was but, although it pains me to say that words aren’t
omnipotent, I’m not sure I could ever convey just how grateful I am to have been
involved.
So
Happy Birthday 2000 Trees, and congratulations on ten hugely successful years.
Please never stop doing what you do, you are far too loved for that.
And
hey – turns out I wasn’t the only person who wanted to send you birthday
wishes…
Until
next year – Peace Out 2K Trees.
Yours
Faithfully,
Hayley xx
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