BLACKDEER 2018

Artist galleries from the inaugural Black Deer Festival at Eridge Park, showcasing the best in established and up-and-coming Americana music.

When was the last time you went to an inaugural festival that got so much right, right form the outset? From the venue, the rich diversity and sheer quality of the acts, through to one of the best festival atmospheres I’ve ever experienced. It was a wonderful vindication of the vision of organisers Gill Tee and Debs Shilling and a huge achievement for the fantastic team they put together who made it all happen. Early bird tickets for next year are available from the Blackdeer website but only for a limited time.

Even the weather couldn’t have been better – unless you’re a photographer carrying some seriously heavy kit in 25+ degree heat trying to cover 70+ acts on 6 stages over 3 days !!! Just as well the festival food and drink providers were also first rate :).

Long standing family commitments meant I didn’t achieve my aim of capturing moments of the memories made by all the artists who played so apologies to the handful not featured in the galleries below – it is no reflection on them or their music.

I’ve been hugely encouraged by the overwhelmingly positive feedback I’ve had from the images shared on social media so far – and I trust you’ll enjoy these individual artist galleries. If you do, why not connect/follow on social media to follow more of my photographic journey?

Cheers, Chris

All images (c) Chris Pope and cannot be used/edited without prior permission.

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