Black Deer Festival, a celebrated annual event dedicated to Americana music, has announced the postponement of its 2025 edition due to significant financial and operational pressures.
Organisers cited unpredictable ticket sales and rising production costs as key factors behind the decision, which comes after two difficult years for the independent festival.
While the flagship three-day festival is on hold, the Black Deer community will continue to thrive through its growing Live & Radio platforms, with plans for expanded events across the UK ahead of a full festival return in 2026.
In a statement, organisers said: “It is with a heavy heart that Black Deer Festival announces today that after seven wonderful years, its 2025 edition is postponed so we can prepare for our return as a Festival in 2026. Black Deer Live & Radio will continue to expand upon its successful launch earlier this year, bringing Black Deer and Americana to the length and breadth of the UK.”
“Black Deer Festival 2023 & 2024 have both proved significantly difficult both financially and operationally, with unpredictable ticket sales and ever rising production costs, given the general economic conditions. The strain on our independently funded festival has taken a toll and despite all our best efforts, the landscape continues to prove challenging and has forced us to postpone our festival next year.”
“What’s next? We have 44 Black Deer Live shows already scheduled with tickets remaining, and many more shows still to be announced, coming to both small, local grassroots venues and larger capacity venues around the UK. There are new ideas in the pipeline as we develop the Black Deer Americana 1-day festival concept, the Black Deer Radio Roadshow, with other surprises yet to be revealed. With the genre ever-growing in popularity, we have a clear vision to bring the Black Deer Americana Family to as many people as possible, audiences both here in the UK and across Europe, which informs wider audiences, as we rebuild, bigger and better for Black Deer Festival 2026’s return; rest assured, our passion for Americana music and the community it brings together remains as strong as ever. Thank you to the many thousands of people who now join us regularly on Black Deer Radio, where Americana music and news is available all day, everyday.”
“Until next time, stay tuned to Black Deer Radio for your favourite Americana tunes and make sure you’re following @BlackDeerLive for local shows near you! With love, The Black Deer Family”
Chris Russell-Fish, Managing Director of Black Deer Group said, “Regretfully, due to the widely reported pressures on the festival industry, we have taken the difficult decision to postpone Black Deer Festival 2025. This is not a decision we’ve made lightly. We have explored all avenues to try to make it work next summer, but right now it just isn’t feasible. We are immensely thankful for our audience, who come back year-on-year to discover and enjoy the brilliance that is Americana, which is why in June 2024, we launched Black Deer Live & Black Deer Radio to support our huge, growing community. Whilst our three-day annual festival has brought Americana to many, we wanted to be able to bring Black Deer to even wider audiences around the UK – all year round. Through our new channels and our collective determination to do many more Black Deer Live Events in 2025, we are tremendously excited and looking forward to welcoming our current community and new fans to the genre, as we roll-out our other activities Watch this space.”
Gill Tee, Co-Founder of Black Deer Festival added, “This is certainly not the end of the Black Deer story. We are so proud to have built one of the most wonderful festival communities over the past years – a community with a passion and love for Americana that matched ours. A huge, heartfelt thanks to each and every one of you who has turned out each year ready to embrace all we created. I loved watching the joy on all your faces at the festival and to see you soak up the most wonderful festival atmosphere. To the incredible artists, crews, suppliers, and everyone at the magical Eridge Estate – home of Black Deer, together with all our supporters who’ve stood by us over the years, your dedication means everything. It’s a tough time for independent festivals, and we couldn’t have come this far without you. We are so very proud of all we have achieved to this point, it’s been a real journey and it’s not over yet.”
Image credits:
Louise Roberts
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