Back to the gorgeous setting of Baldersby Park in North Yorkshire Deer Shed Festival returned for it’s 16th iteration with thousands descending on the usually tranquil slice of countryside to experience what has to be the best family friendly festival of the summer. But it’s certainly not just about pleasing those with youngsters and there were moments that certainly challenged the comfort zones of plenty of the adult attendees. With a festival programme running to 145 pages fewer than 50 of which are about the bands performing on the four stages you know this is so much more than just a music festival. There’s a huge comedy tent, films, arts workshops, three science tents full of hands on activities, a noisy toys tent, literacy tent, the always hyper Feral Farm (basically an area where kids can rip hay bales to pieces and then chuck the bits at each other/their parents). There’s hot tubs, saunas, wild swimming, canoeing, a sports field and this year’s theme – Into The Labyrinth – a massive, interactive maze with elements of theatre, puzzles and escape room activities. There’s a decent variety of food and drink available at typical festival prices. Deer Shed never feels overcrowded and, perhaps most importantly, it feels incredibly safe, welcoming and friendly.
I’m here for the music and on that front you can choose from a huge variety of bands playing everything from mainstream to the alternative – electro, dance, punk, soul, disco, hip-hop, folk – you name it you can probably find at least one band that plays it. Mainstage headliners took us from the 70’s disco/Three Degrees vibes of Say She She on Friday, to the acerbic, bitingly sharp, wit and occasionally vitriolic social commentary of Sleaford Mods on Saturday before finishing with the euphoric poppy rock of Everything Everything, returning to festival 10 years after their first appearance here, on Sunday. And for every band it was joyful to see youngsters on parents shoulders or on the barrier, swaying around, beaming smiles, hand-made posters. Yes, even for Sleaford Mods. Some mumblings about foul language appeared on socials but, you know what, there was a load of other things taking place at 9.30pm Saturday that people could have gone to see.
For this reviewer it was the less mainstream, more noisy, more challenging bands that delivered the highlights each day as well as those that were just full of fun and slightly bonkers antics.
Friday opened with the dark, thumping, electronic beats of Crimewave quickly followed by the sharp, quirky, funky Talking Heads vibes from Formal Sppeedwear. Man/Woman/Chainsaw delivered a superb set of sometimes noisy, sometimes chaotic, occasionally enchanting, always captivating tunes packed with energy and in violin player Clio Starwood a mesmorising presence full of pent up energy.
Bar Italia brought the cool, atmospheric, post-punky sounds to the main stage early evening before I dashed over to In The Dock for Deadletter, a band I knew would be the standout of the day and a band that seems to get better and better every time I see them. Cloaked in a wash of hazy red backlights Deadletter demanded your attention from the get-go. Hard hitting, danceable, post-punk grooves, a sax that lifts their whole sound and, with Zac Lawrence on vocals a front person who knows how to move, how to stare, how to work a crowd without saying a word. And that’s before he goes over the barrier to join them. Songs rammed with social commentary, beats you can groove to, what’s not to like? 2024 album ‘Hysterical Strength’ was a highlight of the year. Album no.2 ‘Existence Is Bliss’ looks set to be a favourite of ’26.
A quick wander down to mainstage to catch a few songs from Say She She. Not my cup of tea but judging by the response from the thousands packing out the area in front of the stage having a great boogie I was clearly in the minority. But life would be extremely boring if we all liked the same things.
Saturday arrives and it’s a day that just keeps on giving with quality band after quality band. First of my day is Theatre on In The dock stage, highly recommended by mates who saw them support Wet Leg. They weren’t wrong. Theatre belt out a huge goth tinged set of songs full of fuzzy guitar and atmospheric vocals. Songs that seem to swirl around the rapidly filling tent, enveloping all who have made the effort to come in out of the sun to witness a band who must surely have a big future ahead of them.
LIFE never disappoint and despite a broken bass that necessitates swapping for a guitar and a short break in the performance, ably filled with drummer Stewart Baxter’s banter, today is no different. LIFE belt out a superb set mostly promoting recently released fourth album Abstract/Natural together with the always brilliant ‘Friends Without Names’.
Back in In The Dock Plantoid don’t manage to grab my attention like I thought they might. All a little too self-indulgent and ‘prog rock’ for me.
4:20pm and we get to witness the set of the weekend. GANS just get better and better, their crowds bigger and bigger, wilder and wilder. In The Dock is rammed before they even walk on stage and then we’re hit with 45 minutes of pummeling, electro dance-punk all underpinned with an irresistable beat that has the place bouncing within seconds. It’s raw, cathartic. A band who throw every ounce of energy they have into what they do. From the opening drone of ‘A Fool’ telling us the “Gans is good for the soul” before exploding into a riotous noise, through the rousing ‘In Time’, ‘It’s Just Life’, the huge chants of ‘I Think I Like You’, a dubbed up ‘This Product’ and ‘Oh George’ a GANS gig really is an uplifting, life-affirming experience. Beautiful to see so many youngsters held aloft bouncing on shoulders whilst the pit swirls in the middle. Drummer Euan Woodman surfs around the venue whilst Thomas Rhodes slams his bass, pulls electronic magic from the keyboard and recent addition, friend and flute/saxaphone player Tommy Lawther lifts the GANS sound to a whole new level. Blown away every time I see them, if I could turn the clock back to my youth this is the band I’d follow everywhere.
Back on main stage jasmine.4.t plays a sublime set of skuzzy guitar tinged songs that are powerful, tender, noisy, gentle and hopeful all at the same time. Strong, supportive messages in a time when certain politicians will go all out to erase trans rights and suppress those opposed to the genocide still taking place in Gaza. Music needs more artists like jasmine.4.t.
The early evening ‘secret set’ is becoming less of a secret the closer we get to 6:20pm. Panic Shack don’t hold back and smash out a riotous, brilliantly rowdy set that’s full of fun as well as delivering some serious messages shouting out against misogyny and inequalities. ‘Baby’, ‘Gok Wan’, ‘Jiu Jits You’, ‘The Ick’, ‘Tit School’ and more it’s a no holds barred, relentless 45 minutes of bouncing energy full of punk rock attitude. Panic Shack don’t take themselves too seriously yet pack a real punch with their biting commentary on the social attitudes of many.
It doesn’t matter how many times I see Fat Dog I always leave thinking I’ve just witnessed something special. A heaving mosh pit that’s safe enough for practically all ages, an exhilarating, relentless set of songs with huge, hypnotic beats, kids on shoulders waving ‘Go Fuck Urself’ foam gloves. A band that feeds off it’s crowd response and a crowd that laps up every wild note make for an unforgettable experience. Singer Joe Love spends half the set on the barrier and in the crowd riling them up to ever more mayhem. Brilliant, brilliant fun from a band that this time next year should rightly be headlining festivals of this size.
Working Mens Club remind us just how good their heavy, techno, dance vibes are. A rumbling bass so heavy you can literally feel it whilst front person Syd Minsky-Sargeant dominates the stage front with his keyboard twiddling, swaying dance moves and vocal delivery.
Mainstage headliners Sleaford Mods ruffle a few feathers. There is absolutely no toning down of the language, the attitude or the swagger from this duo. And why should there be? Without the extreme expletives it wouldn’t be a Sleaford Mods gig. It was after the watershed, no-one was forcing those offended to watch or listen. A set perfectly summed up by the words of a mate and fellow photographer – “like witnessing someone having a complete breakdown and all of his frustrations and anger coming out, using extreme Tourettes as his vocabulary. Insanely creative”.
Sadly I can’t stay for their whole set and dash over to the Lodge Stage to end Saturday with a blistering set of spikey, off kilter guitars, pummelling bass riffs, ethereal synth sounds and quirky vocals courtesy of Montreal’s La Securite. A real mash up of the sounds of Devo, Gang of Four, Tom Tom Club with more recent artists such as Bug Club and Snapped Ankles. Sounds that hook you in and get your feet tapping. New to me (I missed them at Bearded Theory) but a perfect late night end to a brilliant day.
Sunday is another day that showcases just how good Deer Shed Festival has become for booking quality artists across a diverse range of genres. Bathing Suits tear In The Dock apart with their savage take on electro-noise bangers. Loud, dancey, sleazy, boundary pushing. The looks of shock on the faces of those walking in part way through Bathing Suits set shows this is a band doing something right at 1pm on a Sunday afternoon. Self indulgent, pleasure seeking, arty, brilliant.
Brogeal start slowly on main stage but the couple of clearly obsessive fans on the barrier are a sure sign of the fun to come. This young Scottish outfit soon have the rapidly growing crowd bouncing with their punk tinged folk full of fiddle, guitar and banjo. By the time they finish you feel as though you’ve been part of one massive party.
Dublin’s Madra Salach are powerful. Really powerful. Between songs the light-hearted banter from frontman Paul Banks is genuinely amusing whilst their songs, opening with the harmonium drone of Blue & Gold before Banks sings “I’ve … nothing in my pocket” bring Irish storytelling straight into the 21st Century. Not in that leap around way bands such as The Pogues did so well but in a slowly building atmosphere of brooding sincerity. Their set is intense, mesmerising, emotional. Sounds that slowly wrap around you, drawing you in completely until nothing else really matters apart from the sounds flowing from the stage. Set closer ‘The Man Who Seeks Pleasure’ is six minutes of pure, heartfelt emotion with every person in that tent completely spellbound. Few bands nowadays leave you with little to say except “Wow!” Madra Salach are one of those bands.
BCUC deliver a glorious 50 minutes of infectious dance rhythms driven along by huge drum beats and deep rumbling bass riffs. Drawing hugely on the sounds of South Africa and their hometown of Soweto it’s impossible not to move to the beat with practically the whole field in front of mainstage up on it’s feet swaying away.
Roller Disco Death Party bring the party to Wilderwood Stage with their non stop fusion of punky disco noise. But they’re far more suited to a late night slot, in the dark, lights flashing where you can completely loose yourself in the sounds than outdoors, early evening, daylight, loads of youngsters running around and people stood around the periphery talking over the music.
Latest album from The Twilight Sad, ‘It’s The Long Goodbye’ is raw, visceral and often heartwrenching. No surprise given that it chronicles frontman James Graham’s mothers decline and ultimate death from dementia and it’s this that perhaps makes their set particularly poignant for those present who have been on the same journey. Live you can see the emotion and pain etched across Graham’s face as the band power through openers ‘Dead Flowers’ and ‘Designed To Lose’ followed not long after by ‘Attempt A Crash Landing’. Graham and the band’s only other permanent member, guitarist Andy MacFarlane, have been joined by ex Benefits/Mogwai drummer Cat Myers and bassist Simone Butler, formerly of Primal Scream, and together they deliver a soaring, indie rock sound that seems to engulf the whole area right back to the distant Ferris wheel. All the while Graham wanders the stage from side to side, his voice cutting through everything. Graham doesn’t just sing his songs, it’s like he’s exorcising all his pain and sorrow in 4 minute snatches of time. Earlier material – ‘Last January’, ‘There’s A Girl In The Corner’ and more are soaked up by a crowd who have clearly followed this band for most, if not all of the last twenty years. They close with ‘Waiting For The Phone Call’ and leave plenty here tonight wondering why The Twilight Sad weren’t the mainstage headliners.
In The Dock headliners Getdown Services are, quite simply, magnificently bonkers. Rarely can a band work a crowd up into so much joyful fun but Getdown Services do it with ease – the whole place becoming a mass of hot, sweaty, jumping bodies within seconds. Josh Law and Ben Sadler entertain with wit, self deprecating humour and plenty of banter both between themselves and those watching. Their fans are obsessive, loyal and appreciative of everything this duo does and armed with a set of catchy, infectious songs – ‘Crisps’, ‘The Radiator’, ‘Eat Quiche, Sleep, Repeat’, ‘Dog Dribble’ and more it seems Getdown Services can do no wrong. It is a brilliant 60 minutes of unadulterated fun, described by a friend as like being trapped in a mad Butlins cabaret, that leaves the crowd on a real high. You couldn’t really ask for a better way to bring In The Dock to a close.
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, there really is nothing to dislike about Deer Shed Festival. It’s a festival that really does bring people together and that anyone regardless of age will enjoy. Relaxed vibes, surrounded by like-minded souls, lush surroundings, a place to meet up with friends old and new, Deer Shed really has found the perfect balance of what a safe, welcoming, all ages festival should be.
Early bird tickets for 2027 have already sold out in record time. Tier 1 tickets are available here. Grab them before it’s too late.
photos/words: steve white
