There’s always a bittersweet feeling on the final day of a festival, especially one as welcoming and glorious as 2000trees. On the one hand, you’re going to miss watching bands all day long but on the other, some time out of the sun – especially after a year as hot as 2025 – is most welcome. With live music starting from 10.30am (and other activities before then), there’s still so much to pack in on a Saturday at Trees.

Hunny Buzz were featured in our list of ‘hidden’ gems on the lineup and did not disappoint as they opened the Neu tent. With echoes of Wolf Alice and Yeah Yeah Yeahs in their melodic and occasionally melancholic indie-rock sound, singer and guitarist Lydia Read was telling the crowd how she’d normally be asleep at this time but was so glad she wasn’t today. We then moved over to the Cave for the raw power of Hidden Mothers. A wake-up call for any Saturday stragglers, the band mix angular guitar hooks with meaty riffs to build a crescendo of math-led noise and hearty shouting.

Another BSM band, Love Rarely, followed, opening their set with a high-octane version of ‘Whiplash’ that perfectly set the tone for the next 25 minutes or so. Pulsating from start to finish, when the band do drop the tempo, the songs become more dramatic and atmospheric – think somewhere in the vein of Pianos Become the Teeth. Glaswegian post punkers Humour arrived on the Axiom with band members in T-shirts ranging from Deftones to Sabrina Carpenter – and their agit-pop sound captures their diverse set of influences perfectly. Similar in tone to Mush but with nods to At the Drive In and Interpol, there’s a sense of humour running through their stomping rhythm.

Paddy Considine’s (yes, the Paddy Considine) band Riding the Low battled through technical difficulties in the Forest to deliver a shortened set of punk-infused rock and roll. Paddy showed Gallagher levels of swagger as he stalked the stage, put on a clown mask and wielded a baseball bat with good grace. Proudly declaring they’re an independent band on a few occasions, there’s an instantly hummable quality to many of the melodies and he really is letting the music do the talking. Brooklyn, New York singer-songwriter Kevin Devine returned to Trees for the first time since 2017 – offering a nod to his Elliott Smith covers set that year with a rendition of ‘Between the Bars’. Before that, there were impassioned pleas to free Palestine and those gorgeous songs that can’t fail to raise the hairs on the back of your neck.

James Ward’s Sparta delivered 50 minutes of melodic alt-rock in the mid afternoon on the Main Stage, with the At the Drive-in co-founder telling the audience how grateful he is for how supportive Britain has been to him over the years. Girlband! followed in the Neu tent with an instantly infectious set full of songs for anyone who’s ever considered themselves an outsider. Joking about their manager giving them new microphones as they need to ‘provide more content’, there’s no need for this when the songs are so good. Potent power pop with irresistible melodies, the trio are a vital band.

La Dispute packed out the Axiom for their second set of the weekend, delivering almost an hour of enthralling post rock-infused storytelling. ‘Woman (in mirror)’ with its repeats of ‘all the notions of ordinary love’ had the crowd swaying, while Jordan Dreyer’s speech about those of us who still have compassion and empathy sticking together in the face of the rise of the far right before ‘I Shaved My Head’ was as articulate as it was emotional.

We finished our weekend with Black Foxxes‘ headline set in the Neu tent. Now a four-piece that leans into more of a post-rock sound, the band played five songs in 50 minutes but every moment was bewitching and powerful. Opening with ‘Badlands’ and its question of ‘Why’s this so hard?’, there were elements of The War On Drugs in its bass line and psych tinge, while the saxophone (a very welcome addition to the live set-up) added even more poignancy. ‘Shakey’ from this year’s ‘The Haar’ album was an aural delight, while an extended version of ‘The Diving Bell’ finished the set – and our festival – in exhilaratingly experimental fashion.

Now, it’s time to start thinking about 2026… Who’s coming?

Spectral Nights Saturday facts
Band count: 12
Step count: 14,806
Band of the day: La Dispute

Read our review of Thursday at 2000trees 2025.
Read our review of Friday at 2000trees 2025.

2000trees Festival takes place on Upcote Farm, near Cheltenham in Gloucestershire every July. You can buy tickets for 2026’s 2000trees now. The festival will be on from Wed 8th July to Sat 11th July 2026.