Deer Shed Festival 2016

Now in its 7th year Deer Shed Festival offers three days of contemporary music and art takes place at a 90 acre site at Baldersby Park near Topcliffe, in North Yorkshire From Friday 22nd to Sunday 24th July 2016, the first weekend of the school summer holidays.

Line-up

Friday night headliner Everything Everything, Richard Hawley on on Saturday, and Sunday night headliner Beth Orton are joined on the bill by Field Music, C Duncan, Steve Mason, Rae Morris, Lonelady, Lanterns on the Lake, Anna Calvi, Boxed In, Emma Pollock, Fews, Mahalia, Saint Sister, Marc Riley, Andy Kershaw's African, Caribbean & Latin dance Sunday night, Dancing Years, The Buffalo Skinners, Money, This Is The Kit, Sam Lee & Friends, Dan Mangan, Gwenno, Misty Miller, Meilyr Jones, White, Marconi Union, Tuff Love, Cattle & Cane, Holly Macve, Mt. Wolf, Fronteers, Amber Arcades, Serious Sam Barrett, Holy Moly & the Crackers, Patch and The Giant, Actor, and Morrissey & Marshall.

Also on the line-up are Ed Harcourt, Declan McKenna, Eagulls, Dancing Years, Cristobal and the Sea, Mogen, Jess Morgan, and Steven James Adams.

Plus this year Leeds' record-releasing, gig-promoting, DIY Operation Hide & Seek Records are taking over the Deer Shed Festival's after hours slot on the Obelisk Stage with the help of Galaxians, Thomas Truax, and Post War Glamour Girls.

For the line-up details as available see the Deer Shed Festival line-up page.

Tickets

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Last year tickets sold out a month before the festival was set to start. The early bird offer has ended, tickets are priced as follows:

An adult (16+) weekend ticket is priced at £125, a teen (aged 11 - 15 years) weekend ticket is priced at £45, child (aged 6 - 10 years) weekend ticket is priced at £45, child (aged 3 - 5 years) weekend ticket is priced at £10, toddler (aged 0-2 years) is free. Free camping is included.

Weekend campervan & caravan pass is priced at £50, add £15 for awning or tent. Car parking £10.

All the kids activities and workshops free of charge.

Theme

This year's theme is making a movie. A weekend celebration of cinema and filmmaking will see a film made titled 'Monsters VS. Machines' and festival goers will be able to get involved in making it, whether it's taking a starring role, being an extra or finishing off the set – the Deer Shed website has details on how to join the crew.

As well as this ambitious production Deer Shed will also be laying on loads more activities for the film buffs in their audience - exploring everything from story-telling to running acting workshops, learning to do accents, composing film scores and everything in-between.

On site facilities

Deer Shed Festival offers a main stage with second acoustic stage in the Deer Shed itself, plus plenty of clean toilets and baby changing facilities. There will be a main bar as well as a cocktail bar, a large food tent with seating and high chairs. As well as the music the event offers vintage art and craft stalls, over 40 workshops, kids tent and outside play area, and will have a welfare and first aid tent.

Literary Tent

This year’s Literary Tent will offer a line-up of diverse authors and speakers reading their work and answering questions from the audience. New this year is the Bedtime Stories tent, hosting the comfiest, cosiest festival storytelling experience ever.

The spoken word and literary line-up includes a panel discussion involving Andy Burnham, Marie Nixon, Nick Ahad, Adrian McNally, and Kate Fox which is chaired by Dave Simpson. Plus Hollie McNish, The Undertones bassist Michael 'Mickey' Bradley, The Fall's Brix Smith Start, Michael Burdett, Nick Wilsher, Kjartan Poskitt, Stephen Pass, Katie Harnett, Lorna Mallet, Pip Theatre, Miss Trout, and Mud Pie Arts.

Workshops

Deer Shed Festival have announced over 80 workshops including model making with Aardman, dance workshops with Matthew Bourne’s New Adventures & Re:Bourne, acting workshops with West Yorkshire Playhouse, accent workshops with improv troop Racing Minds, mime workshops with The Kagools, and costume, make-up, stop animation, screen printing and avatar creation courtesy of Leeds City College.

There will be something for every person of every age and every interest from stage combat and martial arts, musical workshops which include everything from Folk Singing with Serious Sam Barrett to Air Guitar. Billy & Andy’s Music School are playing film scores using homemade instruments and promise ‘no musical talent required’. Nottingham based casting company The Television Workshop and their voice projection join with Presence Theatre by calling (PG Rated) Shakespearian insults at one another.

Plus Den Building, Animal Tracking, and Bushcraft as well as felt making and willow weaving with Abundant Earth and elsewhere there will be poncho making, vinyl painting, black smith workshops, and spindles.

Leeds College of Arts Student’s Union will also be on hand with lino cut, hand-lettering, paper illustrations, and crafty storyboarding.

There’s more than ever for the under 5s with the soft play area and the ever-popular sandpit, as well as musical shakers, sensory and messy play, dance and drama workshops, and a 100% good vibes at the Boom Chikka Boom baby rave. There will also be creative workshops such as playdough, pipe cleaner models, and colouring. Not only that, family and under 5’s specific yoga is one of 7 types of yoga on offer over the weekend which comes as part of the expanded health and wellbeing area. There will also be meditation, Thai chi, Pilates and several dance and exercise classes for you to enjoy.

Other workshops on offer over the weekend will include: minions, super hero mask making, cardboard cameras, pebble painting, zoetropes, thaumatropes, walk of fame, clay handprints, Oscars, owl finger puppets, Minecraft heads, pipe cleaner pets, CD paint design, friendship bracelets, sock slugs, pompoms, clay modelling, colouring sheets, festival headbands, playdough, collage, willow hearts, set design, photo booth dress up, drumming, ukulele, Hyde Park Brass Band, Bollywood, capoeira, lindy hop, insanity, skillz n thrillz, interpretative dance, hula hoop workshops, yin yoga, club yoga, hit yoga, teen yoga, club yoga, prenatal yoga.

Arts programme

The Arts programme will be broader this year including cinema, PG-rated comedy, commissioned theatre, artists at work, illustrators, graffiti artists, spoken word, circus, cabaret, storytelling, and more. Most of these will be holding workshops so you can have a go yourself and will be creating work that evolves over the weekend.

Edinburgh Fringe shows transplanting to Deer Shed include Superbolt Theatre's 'Dinosaur Park – The Jurassic Parody', The Kagools, Javier Jarquin – Card Ninja, and Ray Guns Look Real Enough. Returning to the Deer Shed Festival are Racing Minds with the 'Adventures of the Improvised Sherlock Holmes', Bloxed Beats, KO Productions Dance, Hyde Park Brass Band, Rockahula, a Morning Rave with Spike and Sponge, Urban Kaos, DJ Cranked to the Max, Across the Tracks, Rory Hoy, Hide & Seek, Handmade Theatre presents 'Flying the Nest', Wrongsemble, Same Difference Theatre, and roaming poets Henry Raby and Chris Singleton.

The Busk Stop

There's a chance for festival goers coming to the festival to book a slot at the Busk Stop.

Entertainment

Entertainment will be starting on Friday evening, running through to lunchtime on Sunday. Expect more cabaret, comedy, theatre, artists at work, workshops and a full programme for kids, with undercover space, cartoons and family films to watch, storytelling, workshops, a cocktail bar and high quality food and beer to tickle all types of taste-buds.

Kids

This is very much a family friendly festival, with kids events an integral part of the day's programme with many of the artists performing and running workshops that the whole family can enjoy.

More info

The festival site will open around lunchtime on Friday. In addition to cabaret performances in the Big Top, Friday evening will also have headline music acts on the main stage. The Friday ticket is optional though most festival goers make a full weekend of it.

Saturday is the main music and arts day, three music stages, and loads going on.

Sunday is a Long Goodbye. Coffee, newspapers, organised kids sports, live ambient electronica cafe in the Big Top, a crafts market, a birds of prey display, nature trails and lots more to be confirmed. The festival site will close late on Sunday afternoon.

Travel

The Deer Shed Festival in set in Baldersby Park near Topcliffe in North Yorkshire. We extremely handy to get to by car situated just 2 miles from the Dishforth junction of the A1(M) - 30 minutes from York and Teeside, 45 minutes from Leeds.

The nearest train station to the festival site is Thirsk, seven miles away. Thirsk is on the main East coast line which runs from Kings Cross in London to York and onwards to Edinburgh. There will be a limited shuttle bus from Thirsk station to the festival site throughout the day and night for a small fee, all profits going to charity.

Grand Central Trains offer a direct service from London to Thirsk in around 2 hours.

Camping

Camp fires are not permitted. Small camping gas canisters only permitted (up to 2.7 kg in gas weight). No cylinders.

The camp site is not accessible by car, camping equipment must be carried 300m from the car park. Limited porters will be available to help carry if required. There is a family camping area which is away from the main arena to minimise noise at night.

More information will be here when available.

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