LIVE FIRE PROGRAMME REVEALED 

SERVING THE FOOD & CULTURE OF AMERICA’S DEEP SOUTH

THE SONGWRITER SESSIONS

EXPERIENCE THE STORIES BEHIND THE SONGS FROM

YOUR FAVOURITE ARTISTS

YOUNG FOLK AREA ALSO RETURNS

FEATURING INCREDIBLE ACTIVITIES FOR YOUNG EXPLORERS

SUPAJAM

SPECIALIST MUSIC COLLEGE PARTNERS WITH BLACK DEER TO HOST PERFORMANCES, WORKSHOPS & MORE

TIER 3 DAY & WEEKEND TICKETS ON SALE NOW
https://blackdeerfestival.com/tickets/
“One of the most culturally eclectic and rewarding festival experiences in the UK” The Independent

With less than a month to go, Black Deer today announces several exciting stages and areas of the festival that showcase the cultural heritage and communal spirit of America. From Live Fire, transporting attendees to the smokehouses of America’s deep south, to The Songwriter Sessions that offers a Nashville-style songwriters’ pull with tunes and tales in an intimate environment. The fourth edition of the festival takes place at Eridge Park, Kent on June 16-18, 2023, with tickets available at: https://blackdeerfestival.com/tickets/.

The Live Fire area showcases the flavours, foods, and cooking styles of America’s deep south, hosting the best outdoor cooking talent the UK has ever seen. From offering authentic BBQs and the finest Bourbons, culinary masterclasses at the Live Fire Arena, as well as the acclaimed Gospel Brunch and Chilli-Eating & Hot Dog-Eating Competitions that have become firm favourites in Eridge Park, Live Fire brings together everything Black Deer love about outdoor cooking and the lifestyle that surrounds it.

This year’s programme includes pioneers of the American barbecue scene in the UK, Jon Finch & Ben Merrington, Laura Sylvester of Sussex-based supper club Boca Loco, plus many other local and international culinary experts including Matt Burgess, Nick Weston, Melissa Thompson and Karan Gokani.

The Songwriting Sessions has become an integral and cherished part of Black Deer, a unique opportunity for festival-goers to experience the stories behind the songs of some of their favourite artists. “Black Deer Festival has storytelling at our heart,” says festival co-founder Deb Shilling. “The Songwriter Sessions offer our community the opportunity to listen to a carefully-curated group of artists play songs that mean so much to them. You might never see the same artists on the same stage together again.”

Musicians taking part in The Songwriting Sessions this year include Alison Russell, Amythyst Kiah, Brandy Clark, Jamie Wyatt, Melissa Carper, Drake White and many more.

Black Deer prides itself on community that is accessible to all, so it is proud to announce its Young Folk area also returns in 2023. Discover a festival within a festival in the deer park that offers a whole range of activities for the young and curious – from tree climbing with trained instructors, Ukulele & Harmonica Workshops, Silent Disco, Tye Dye Workshops andthe Woodland Tribe – with this year’s theme of ‘farming’ seeing parents and children building a tractor, a horse and a barn that will be used for a barn dance and hoedown.

Finally, Black Deer will once again partner with SupaJam, the award-winning unique educational provider for students aged 16-19+ with Special Educational Needs and Educational Health Care Plans. Supajam’s mission is to help vulnerable young people who have previously fallen out of formal education engage, achieve and progress in a unique and inclusive learning environment.