“ Everyone involved in Black Deer supports each other , we talk to each other and provide emotional support . To be able to go ahead and produce Black Deer will be a healing process for a lot of people .”
Wealth of experience Another key team member is Emma Reynolds-Taylor , who has been Black Deer ’ s technical production manager since the outset . She worked with Tee on Hop Farm , and went on to oversee projects including the Pyramid Stage and Other Stage at Glastonbury .
“ To be able to join a team with so much experience and be able to help build something from the ground up has been an amazing experience ,” she says .
“ This year , the priority has been to retain the suppliers that we have had since the beginning and ensure that everyone who committed time in 2020 before we cancelled kept their role and involvement .”
While there has been a desire to also retain as many of the artists as possible in the event ’ s line-up , Covidrelated travel restrictions have meant
“ To be able to go ahead and produce Black Deer will be a healing process for a lot of people .”
Trust Events Stages MD Spike Brookes
that only a small number of oversees acts are still available .
Says Shilling , “ We ’ re an Americana and country music festival , and we ’ ve got one or two US-based acts left on our bill , but many are not able to travel this year so we have a vastly different line-up to the one that we started with .”
The eclectic line-up includes Frank Turner , Saving Grace ft Robert Plant & Suzi Dian , Jake Bugg , Imelda May and Foy Vance as well as the steadfast headliner Van Morrison .
Other key players
• Georgie Ward – festival manager
• Alice Berry – financial manager
• Julie Gaskell – customer service manager
• Michelle Rushbrooke – marketing manager
• Trefor Smith – brand manager
• Alan O ’ Hare – social media content manager
• Lara Goodfellow – PR and paid social ad manager
Bev Burton is responsible for booking the acts and overseeing the event programme . She is another team member who has worked on the event since day one .
She says , “ The first big milestone was recreating the line-up . When we postponed the first time everyone was amazing and rolled forward straight away , but the second time has been more challenging because most North American artists won ’ t be able to join us .”
Cautious return Despite the focus being on domestic acts , Burton says there was no shortage of choice with numerous acts willing and able to play , but she has found that some artists are not yet ready to step back onto a festival stage .
“ Covid is a very personal issue , so if your drummer or bass player can ’ t go out because of personal reasons , the whole band is not available ,” she says .
“ Some artists are very cautious about coming out that early . We totally understand if people don ’ t want to go ahead but thankfully there was no shortage of acts who wanted to come and join us .
“ We had a lot to choose from and the line-up is amazing ; it has evolved into a best of British .”
Among the more unusual acts for Black Deer this year are The Cuban Brothers and The London African Gospel Choir , who will perform a rendition of Paul Simon ’ s Graceland .
“ This year ’ s festival is all about a fun party atmosphere – it ’ s the first festival opening , and we are gearing up to ensure that our line-up encompasses things that really give people a lift ,” says Tee .
Reynolds says there is an overwhelmingly upbeat mood among the Black Deer team , buoyed by Tee ’ s relentless positivity : “ Everyone is just so happy to be talking about a show again . It ’ s a great step towards us getting back to normal .
“ Someone had to take the plunge and plough ahead – I admire Gill ’ s positivity and bravery so much . Her overwhelming positivity , hard work and bravery is what will make this festival happen .”
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