When it comes to not just being a breeding ground but also a proving ground for young alternative talent, there are few places as vibrant, varied and visceral as the UK. The infrastructure, from grassroots support all the way through to the festival stages, where dreams are realised and dispatched, the opportunity for a band to ignite the spark that kickstarts a whole fire inside of them has never been more possible and direct. And when it comes to 2000trees, you have a festival that, even after all of these years, puts the band first before anything else. A place where the moment that you step into it, you know that you are surrounded by not just those who are like-minded but have the same desire and passion for deep-set discovery.

This is something that Liam Cormier noticed straight away the first time that he made the trip to Upcote Farm with the Cancer Bats. The band have found themselves in Cheltenham twice in the last decade, specifically in 2019 and 2023, and the thing that lingered from both occasions is just how perfectly crafted the festival is for bridging gaps, forging connections, and encouraging both artists and fans to be completely themselves.

He also noticed just how one particular corner of the festival felt even more homely than he could ever have imagined being out in the countryside.

“Man, the Cave Stage, where we normally play, is as close to a club feeling as you can have whilst in a tent,” he smiles. “With the PA that they have, it’s just big enough that it’s not overpowering. It still manages to make the whole thing like a vibe. You immediately feel like this is a special kind of performance that you’re getting to be a part of.

“And across the whole festival, it really doesn’t feel like the lines are very blurred. Everybody is just kind of hanging out in the countryside. A lot of the time, you really don’t even get a chance to go out into the crowd. At 2000trees, I get to go out and see Rival Schools, chat with kids along the way as I walk to the stage, and then we all watch these bands together. It has such a good sense of community that way.”

When bands feel comfortable, they let their true selves shine even brighter. And in a career that has seen them play in every grassroots venue that the UK has to offer, for Liam, it has always been about being able to see the whites of fans’ eyes when playing.

“I’d rather have people sweating their faces off and falling on the stage and having the best time of their lives than anything else,” he smiles. “It was the same when we were growing up. And it’s great knowing that there are venues still out there that we love seeing shows in, embodying all the same things we love when we are playing.

“I want hardcore to get bigger, to be accessible,” he continues. “I want it to be as big as it can be for everyone, and I do feel like that there’s a lot of people, because of the actual culture, that are making sure that the two don’t ever get separated. It’s great that bands like Turnstile and Knocked Loose understand where they’ve come from. They know the position that they’re in right now, and so they’re still like making sure that all of that still translates, which I think is amazing.”

And the fact that those two bands, both doing incredible things for heavy music in all four corners of the world, have had their moments at 2000trees, too; both back in 2022. At a time where Cancer Bats are also nodding to their hardcore roots, both in playing their classic album ‘Birthing The Giant’ in full on the road and in their riffy new music found on upcoming record ‘Give Me Dirt’, set to be released on Marshall Records, it’s more important than ever to feel like the more chaotic parts of their sound are being supported and celebrated

That’s very much the case for KNIVES, as well, who are due to join the Cancer Bats on Marshall’s ‘Made Of Loud’ tour later this year. Another celebrated member of the Marshall Records family, with the recent era defined by debut full-length ‘GLITTER’ and redux EP ‘REGLITTER’, Bristol’s finest have been experiencing band life in screaming colour over the last year, especially when it comes to time on the road. More than anything, they are grateful for the opportunities they have been given on home soil as they have cut their teeth and found their footing

“We owe a lot to people who work in venues in Bristol,” vocalist Jay Schottlander explains.

“Harrison from Thekla, Miles from The Lanes. These people really put us on before anyone else and got us onto gigs with bigger audiences just because they were so into the project. Without those guys, it would have been impossible to kickstart anything. I think that support is so super important.

“And by the time we played our first headliners, there were people who had seen us enough times to pick up on the vibe, and that’s when I saw people singing along to us for the first time. It was crazy to me that people had taken the time to kind of see us enough to form these memories in their heads and come back for more.

“I think we’re really lucky that we live in Bristol. It’s the best city for being a growing band. It really is the greatest music scene, maybe in the world, to be honest with you.”

It’s a great point, because support doesn’t always come just from the crowd in front of you. It’s from everyone surrounding live music. The sound technicians, the techs, the promotors, the venue staff. Everyone plays their part in making sure a show is as good as it can be, and the bands that are playing receive the plaudits they deserve. Having that backbone of community in place goes a long way.

And that community aspect also then extends o why 2000trees continues to be such a special place for bands as much as for fans. The opportunity to meet peers, swap stories, share gear, and watch how everybody gets the best out of their own time on stage, it is as personable and pivotal as it gets.

“I love getting to meet other bands, especially other bands that are doing the same thing as you,” bassist Ben Marshall adds. “You’re going through the same motions, whether or not they’re a bit bigger or a bit smaller, and you know you’ve taken very similar steps to us. So it’s nice we can all show that we have had the same experiences.”

It’s within those interactions that KNIVES have also been able to outline best practices for everything they have coming up. With more tours booked and their sophomore album in the works, it is the lessons grassroots has taught them that are preparing them best for whatever is still to come

“I feel like we are now just more equipped to do all of the proper touring stuff,” Ben remarks. “Having more fun with what we are playing, switching it up, throwing in loads of audience participation and interacting with the crowds much more. It’s been a massive transitional period for the band, going from all of us working jobs and leading normal musician lives to being away for two or three weeks at a time on tour. I just think we are so much better prepared now.”

Laurie Vincent is on a very similar path to KNIVES right now, but from a slightly different angle. After spending the last decade becoming absolutely massive with Soft Play, he has turned his attention to a new project in the form of Big Truck alongside friend and former Lady Bird member Sam Coppins. To pull up the roots and start all over again takes more gusto than you think, but for Laurie, it is knowing that there are practices in place and people he can trust surrounding him to allow this new venture to get the love and attention it deserves.

One such component is Marshall Records, which he knows has built the perfect homestead for his new adventure.

“It’s like they’re actually outside of the music industry, looking in. They’re an amplification company working out ways to put their money where their mouth is and actually back grassroots. I can’t think of a record label that’s investing in that way.”

And it is within that support that Laurie has been able to create something with Big Truck that looks and feels like nobody else. It’s all part of his wider pursuit of reminding people what it means to be connected to real music made by real people. Of stripping away whatever baggage has been added to the scales and focusing on the heart, soul and humanity that make art great. And in returning to the very root of that, both in venues across the country and at 2000trees, that connection is only getting stronger.

“The thing that I find fascinating about going back to this grassroots phase again right now, with the benefit of hindsight and actually wanting to engage with it again, is re-interacting with the people at the core of this from the ground up.

“There are lots of bands that I’ve witnessed hit the second stages or the third stages of the world through a viral trend or gaining immense popularity really quickly, and it’s almost like a fundamental bit is lacking that they don’t realise there’s a community that forms a web to put them where they are. They don’t know what a fan is, and without fans, the gig doesn’t really exist. Meeting your audience is essential, and I think that’s almost why some things fail, because that’s where the soul is. There’s like a flame that you have to nurture.”

Though all three bands have come from different corners, built their foundations in different ways and released different varieties of rock music, they are all connected by that one thing. The love and respect for the places and the people that allow them to be themselves. And as long as those components stay in place – from the Thekla and The Lanes inBristol, to the Cave at 2000trees to Marshall Records finding the next big thing – the future will continue to look bright. New bands will have the opportunity to thrive, audiences will have the chance to dance, sing, mosh, and laugh, and the scene will bolster and blossom even more than it already has.

As long as there are people who believe, there will always be a path for great music to find its audience. Or as Laurie puts it perfectly, “There’s a really beautiful thing about grassroots, where it feels like the intention is pure.”

This feature is brought to you by Marshall.