The First {Festival} Day of Summer

In 2018 I was incredibly privileged to be able to attend more than a dozen festivals throughout the UK and Europe. Some I volunteered for as a photographer or reviewer, some as stewarding crew, but most I committed to as a regular punter. It’s taken me well over a decade to realise that I absolutely LOVE festivals. I love open air, indoor, multi-stage, single room, camping, inner city, grassroots diy, community-funded, corporate-sponsored, independent, label-driven, industry-hosted Live Music Events.

By far the most complicated event on my festival schedule last year, in terms of logistics and accessibilty, was the inaugural Black Deer Festival in Kent. Buying a ticket was the easiest part of my plan. The festival takes place on an enormous patch of undulating countryside just outside of Tunbridge Wells. Getting there from my home base in Scotland would be an epic journey by any means, however, in 2018 I was not travelling from home. The opening night of the festival coincided with my being in Berlin to see The Rolling Stones. That’s not a problem worth complaining about but it did present a few issues that negatively impacted my experience of the first festival.

My unwillingness to fly my festival camping equipment from Glasgow to London via Berlin meant a compromise in the form of a “luxury” Bed & Breakfast stay in Tunbridge Wells – exceptional accommodation for a festival in a field. (This was actually a cheaper option than taking hold luggage on my flights.) The downside to staying somewhere off-site (with an ensuite and cooked breakfast) was the lack of transport to the festival. Shuttle buses were provided for the return journey which was a great help but having read information on the festival’s website saying the location was “just a short bus or taxi ride” from the train station I, as a seasoned budget traveller, attempted to reach it by public bus. A mile-long walk across fields in the baking hot southern sun not only left my water bottle empty after 15 minutes, but meant I had another hour to walk around the perimeter of the site as I could not get access at the production entrance – my first point of contact with the festival. This was not a great introduction for me and Black Deer.

All that said, what a lovely time I had there there! It was without question my hottest UK festival weekend of the year, with a mix of outdoor and tented stages and near limitless daylight there was really no escaping the summer vibes. When the sun did eventually set on the Saturday night it painted the sky in neon orange and red as Iron & Wine played out a most beautifully chilled set on the main stage. The family atmosphere during the daytime made it feel like a bit of a play park with the added novelty of constant world-class entertainment, between the live music, food and beverage samplings, craft demonstrations and cultural displays, it was a fantastically busy and interesting place.

I can’t lie; when the 2019 line-up was first announced my heart skipped a beat. My first impressions really put this festival in the “too hard” basket. Too far, too complicated and too expensive. It was hard to imagine putting myself through that stress again for the sake of a “fun” midsummer getaway. But my lasting impressions … and that line-up, even only half-formed … I’m taking a chance; I’m going back to the park this Solstice!

There’s a bunch of artists playing the festival this year who I’ve seen before, some I’ve seen several times. A few are old favourites, particularly as festival sets go. Band of Horses headlined the first year I went to Green Man; like the novice I was I got a pitcher from the Rum Shack right on my way to the Mountain Stage and spent most of their set jumping and dancing ferociously at the back of the crowd, charging down to the front occasionally to snap a photo. The last two times I saw them live was during the summer of 2017, at Haven in Copenhagen and at End of the Road in Dorset, where Ben Bridwell held the sweetest on-stage conversations with fans in the crowd, playing requests and having the apparent time of his life. I have never seen the band deliver anything but the most joyful performances. I basically bought my ticket just for Band of Horses.

John Butler Trio are another festival favourite from my uni days when I volunteered at Groovin’ the Moo to get event management experience. I completed 3 hours of wristbanding and got to see some of the biggest Australian bands of the time. My love for JBT goes back a lot further than that though; they were the first band I ever snuck into when I was underage. When I say I “snuck”, I mean my Mum wanted to see them and didn’t want to go alone so she took me to their gig at the Yamba Bowling Club when I was 17. They played a 3-song encore that lasted around 30 minutes (1 song was an 18 minute epic)! My tiny mind was blown and I’ve been an awe-filled devotee ever since. I’m hoping for similar weather to last year to create a really authentic Australian heat in their performance.

In early 2011, at my first Celtic Connections festival, I stumbled upon the unfathomable magic of The Staves. I followed them obsessively from that first encounter and they were responsible for introducing me to one of the biggest influences on my musical taste in the last decade; Communion. They also provided the soundtrack to one of my favourite roadtrip memories; driving across Tennessee from Knoxville to Lynchburg and on to Memphis, in early winter when “Dead & Born & Grown” had just been released. That album, to me, is quintessential English Americana and it makes perfect sense to see them high up on the bill at Black Deer. Always good fun, down to earth people but completely surreal performers.

If I’m going to talk about incredible performers and “English Americana” then I have to mention Yola. “Walk Through Fire” is going to be on every “Best Of” list this year. The songs on this album are deeply personal and that comes across in Yola’s delivery each time; she means every word, but they’re also extremely listenable. Yola treads a fine line between being absolutely unbelievable and completely relatable, and the live setting is where she connects those identities in front of the audience. Her voice is more powerful and her personality more raw when she’s on stage and I adore being in the crowd when she goes to work. Paul Cauthen is another force of nature when it comes to live performance. He doesn’t need to play up his smooth Texas accent to make you weak at the knees, it’s all there in the boom and bass of his voice. He draws on soul, gospel and traditional country with little sparks of southern rock, funk and R&B thrown in; it’s a heady blend, man! Irresistible.

There’s some big names on the bill, some actual legends, and I’m obviously not going to miss those artists but one of the best things about festivals, for me, is the “discovery” moments. Martin Harley was one of mine at Belladrum last year so of course I’m thrilled to have another chance to see him play. Lucy Kitt impressed me with an early afternoon set at Ramblin’ Roots Revue in April and again at Red Rooster Festival earlier this month. I’ve lost track of how many times someone has asked me “Do you know William Crighton?” over the years. I don’t know him. That is to say, I’ve never seen him live. I don’t even know how it happened but I’ve been following The Hungry Mothers online for a while now and I’m excited to see what they bring to the stage.

Really, there’s too many highlights to mention right now, and it’s all futile speculation pending some kind of timetable, but needless to say I’m very excited for this year’s instalment of Black Deer and I’m looking forward to a smooth journey in and out of that faraway park in the deep south of England. There’s nowhere else I’d rather spend my first days of summer.