Hooba

I was under the impression previous capacity was 12,000 but it never sold out - hence the figure of 10k. There was also a conversation there with a couple of locals who voiced their surprise that they had been approved for the increase to 15k. The Download Pilot bought a different crowd. I don’t want to say bad, because in general they weren’t bad - they just had a different mentality to the usual Trees crowd. So it was like going to your favourite non metal club, only to find out it had been turned into a Metal night for 17-23 yr olds. Don’t get me wrong, it was by far the worst year for dickhead behaviour, obnoxious campers, and people just treating people with a lack of respect. Queue at the toilets? No, let’s all just piss in the bushes. Go to the Forest stage to chill and listen? No, let’s just all pile in and talk over the acoustic acts. It was evident post festival as well, if anyone raised any issues / concerns with how things were run, it was met by loads of people who joined the groups in the last 2 months telling you to “fuck off if you don’t like it, festivals are all about slam diving, partying, and staying up all night”. Make of that what you will.

Trees this year was not the same festival. An intimate, green, friendly festival that had slowly increased to 10,000 people in 2019 festival has turned over lockdown into a 15,000 person festival in 2022 without any real increase in infrastructure and facilities. As mentioned before, it felt like most of the increase was overflow from the Download pilot and the vibe that bought was completely at odds with the vibe it used to have. I’ve been each year since 2014, and it was my favourite festival - this year is likely the last year I will go.