Deer Shed returned for it’s 14th year and once again proved to be the shiniest jewel in the crown of family friendly festivals. Music, arts, comedy and a whole plethora of other activities Deer Shed is relaxed, friendly, safe and relatively small (for a festival) with 8000 people attending. Musically any festival such as this is going to aim to please the huge number of casual music listeners – those who like a variety of songs from the more mainstream, easily accessible genres – and it does this brilliantly. That’s not to say there’s nothing here for those into the more off-kilter, bizarre, raucous, noisy offerings from the alternative scenes. There is plenty for all to enjoy. The impressive line-up this year included indie icons The Coral, Bombay Bicycle Club and Mercury nominated CMAT headlining the main stage while bands such as BC Camplight, The Go! Team (they’ve released 7 albums you know) and Los Bitchos drew in big numbers of people for their sets.
The world would be an extremely boring place if we all liked the same sort of music. For this reviewer the musical highlights were always going to be the more punky, obscure, noisy sets that were to be found mainly on the In The Dock or Lodge stages. Early evening Friday saw Jessica Winter get everyone in In The Dock absolutely bouncing with her glorious cutting edge pop whilst later on the Lodge stage hosted Nana Benze Du Togo who were simply superb with their socially on point lyrics and blends of traditional African beats and modern dance vibes. Powerful, visual, infectious. And where else will you see anyone getting a tune out of an ‘organ’ made from drainpipes being hit with the insole from a shoe. Brilliant.
Unfortunately one of the absolute ‘must sees’ of the festival, Chalk, pulled out of their Saturday slot but the day still saw me witnessing some of the weekend’s highlights. Full of sharp observations regarding the many social inequalities resulting from our political leaders, together with songs full of catchy, post punky beats and a front person who completely owns the stage Deadletter were the perfect mid-afternoon injection of energy on the main stage. Over on the In The Dock stage the hard hitting, punk infused rap of Frozemode brought the party. Baba Ali followed, the huge, raw, frenetic grooves produced by this duo absolutely superb in the hot, sweaty atmosphere of this giant tent.
Another pull out, this time John Francis Flynn (who I’ll admit I’d never heard of) on the tiny Lodge stage is replaced at the last minute by She Drew The Gun guaranteeing that this small tent, half-way across the festival site, is absolutely rammed for their politically charged, left leaning, powerful messages. Louisa Roach is outspoken and direct and it’s all done with with great music and without a hint of aggression – the best way to say what needs saying.
Sunday proved to be another incredible day. Again, my real highlights all happened in In The Dock. Home Counties brought their funky, electronic, dance infused songs to the early afternoon. Irresistible grooves had everyone swaying. O. were completely new to me. O. completely blew me away. O. were fantastic. No vocals, a baritone sax, a drum kit and a shed load of effects this duo consisting of Joe Henwood (sax) and Tash Keary (drums) took us on an instrumental journey that often felt like it should just fall apart but it never does. Experimental noises, textures and rhythms, other worldy noises that manage to sound both completely well honed and completely improvised at the same time. Amazing how many ways Henwood made his sax sound, all underpinned with some huge drum beats. Their set started in front of a crowd consisting of a few who knew what was coming and a lot drawn in by a sense of ‘wtf is this?’. By the end the place was swinging, the roar of approval when they finished proof that something so unique, so ‘out there’, so different can be appreciated by the masses.
MADMADMAD, another ‘new to me’ band and another festival standout, hammer us all with their blend of disco, techno, punk infused electronica. Driven by a constant, unrelenting background beat it’s an all engulfing set that again sees a packed In The Dock bouncing.
And so to Fat Dog. In The Dock headliners and what a way to finish. Frenzied would be an understatement. Their reputation has reached rural North Yorkshire and there’s a real sense of anticipation. And what a crowd. Youngsters who are perhaps just 9, 10, 11 years old but who have seen Fat Dog before on the barrier along with those well into their later years. Two songs in and keyboard player Chris Hughes is in the crowd encouraging everyone to crouch before one huge leap and from this point on the place explodes. Fat Dog are fun, dramatic and know how to work a crowd with their perfect blend of punk rock attitude over superbly addictive foot tapping beats. From start to finish there is absolutely no let-up, the In The Dock tent becoming one huge, surging moshpit. The only place to find any calm is at the back but that’s not what Fat Dog are about. Fat Dog are an experience and to really appreciate them you need to join in. That is exactly what those here tonight do with even the fringes of the moshing masses lined with youngsters on parents shoulders beaming with smiles, arms waving. I doubt Deer Shed has ever seen anything like it in it’s 14 years. Superb.
Deer Shed isn’t just about the music though. You need look no further than the festival programme for proof of this. Over 140 pages with just 42 about the music/bands appearing. There’s comedy including well known names such as Alex Horne, Mark Watson and Shaparak Khorsandi appearing over the weekend. Packed out talks from Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham and poet laureate Simon Armitage, book signings, meet and greets with bands, record signings, bush crafts, a superb science tent. There’s tree climbing, kayaking and a sports field with skateboarding workshops, nerf guns, football and more. There’s dedicated areas and activities for the under 5’s. Feral Farm is the perfect place for young ones to burn off energy breaking up bales of hay and throwing it at each other or else burying their parents under mounds of the stuff. You can pre-book wild swimming sessions and sauna sessions. In short, although primarily a music festival I doubt anyone with a family would be bored even if they didn’t see a single band.
All this in the glorious surroundings of the North Yorkshire countryside. Deer Shed really is a festival that everyone will enjoy. Families, friends, music fans and anyone else who appreciates relaxed, chilled out vibes amongst like-minded people.
Early bird tickets for Deer Shed 2025 sold out in just a few hours so grab a ticket from www.deershedfestival.com sooner rather than later to be sure of not missing out on all the fun next year.
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