Will Varley recently brought the tent down at this year’s 2000Trees Festival, as he and his guitar took to a packed out Neu Stage. In the 30 minutes and 4 pints that followed, Varley convinced me that he is Main Stage material. 

Picture the scene. It’s a relatively small stage inside a similarly small tent, and it’s packed. The crowd are spilling out the sides, and it´s only the sound check. I can think of few occasions over the weekend where a stage was that full so far in advance. When he did start, Varley set the standard at, what I believe to be, the highest he’s set yet.

Of course, there were all of the classics, including his now traditional ‘what is the next line?’ He also treated us to a brand new song. A beautiful brand new song, I should add, and one I cannot wait to hear again at future shows, or indeed on a future album. 

As he continued playing, the crowd continued to grow and spill out beyond the tent. Varley offered his take on our admittedly bleak political outlook, as he turned towards the end of the set and concluded, as he frequently does, with ‘I Got This Email’. As always, this is where Varley’s inner comedian and actor shone through, putting on a surprisingly accurate West Country accent to suit the location, and changing the lyrics to reflect Boris Johnson’s spectacular destruction of British politics. 

This, for me, ranked among some of Varley’s best shows – and I remember vividly his amazing show at Scala earlier this year. I fully expect him to blow both of these shows out of the water in the near future, and would be overjoyed to see him command the attention of that sized crowd – maybe even larger – on the Main Stage of next year’s 2000Trees festival. Time and again he has proven that he is up to the task, and if his upcoming tour of the U.K. tops his latest performances, I feel it would be a crying shame to see him absent from a larger stage. 

Will Varley is due to tour the U.K. later this year. For more information and to book tickets,visit his website. 

Watch Will Varley´s Xtra Mile Recordings session from the 2000Tree´s site below.

Written by Luke Vogel

Photo Credit: Ben Morse