SUMMER | FEATURE
Deer
diary
Black Deer Festival more than doubled
its audience numbers this year,
with over 10,000 people enjoying a
weekend of fun and music at its second
edition in Kent’s picturesque Eridge
Park - Americana style
28
B
lack Deer returned bigger
and better (19-21 June), with
charismatic founders Gill
Tee and Deb Shilling having ‘lived
the festival’ since its award winning
debut, searching out new content
and developing the site to build on its
success.
The line-up across seven stages
varied from Band of Horses, The
Shires, Hayseed Dixie and Kris
Kristofferson to the Roadhouse
heavy blues stage and Supajam Stage
showcasing up and coming artists.
Access enjoyed its first visit, feeling
compelled to check it out after ample
social media hype and rave reviews.
Tee told Access: “Feedback tells us
our audience realised how much care
and attention to detail we’ve put in
to the site, curating the content and
creating a Black Deer community.
It’s what we love and that makes it
authentic. We wanted our attendees
and artists to feel like they’ve walked
into a big festival hug.
“They had given the site a make-
over, moving expanded camping
areas, extending the high-end
camping offer and kids activity zone
– even adding interactive attractions
that included axe throwing!”.
Possibly their boldest move was to
take the festival fully cashless, with
operations director Chris Russell-Fish
managing the process. He explains:
“We have liaised extensively with
PlayPass’s project manager Ben Wild-