Hay-strewn walkways, colourful tents, grinning faces… it must be Deer Shed Festival. Back in Baldersby Park, Topcliffe, for 2023, the most wholesome weekend event in the calendar saw line-ups abundant with music, science, comedy and more. And Record Weekly had the pleasure of soaking up every sound and sight*.

We arrived on Friday evening at what seemed like a larger site; the layout had received a welcome injection of logic and more campers appeared to have pitched up to enjoy the festivities. From Henna tattoos to letter writing, hair braiding to ceramics painting, it was all on offer, for virtually all ages. And you could buy everything spanning vintage threads to vinyl records, too. Guitars fashioned from old cigar boxes? But of course.

As a brass band rang in the distance, this child-friendly, uber-polite festival got going in all its wholesome glory. And although we broke a habit and abstained from the bulbous bags of candy floss, we sure had our fill of vegan wraps, gyozas, noodles, fudge and oat-milk flat whites over the duration.

The first artist we caught on the Main Stage was Steam Down, who delivered feel-good grooves aplenty via honey-like vocal harmonies, saxophones, keys and a rumbling bass. The instrumental opener set the tempo for the jazz and funk that ensued, so it’s no wonder they garnered a crowd young and old. Steam Down instantly were a great example of why this festival excels for all genres.

We didn’t catch the full day’s curation of music, but it was Dream Wife in the tent-style In The Dock stage that truly brought the firepower. Like sardines, we became pleasingly packed into the area, which began to buzz and thrum as this magnetic vibe dispersed from the front. As their theatrical rock MO was clear from the off, singer Rakel shared it was “an honour and privilege” to play at Deer Shed, and we were getting a “PG version of [their] set” even though they’d have gladly (and laughingly) “[given] the kids the swear words”. We got used to the term ‘bad witches’ pretty quickly…

Now, that was a proper show; you know, angsty? It was riotously heady, and someone even announced they’d lost a tooth as mega-tunes like ‘Let’s Make Out’, ‘Hasta La Vista’ and ‘Social Lubrication’ were served up. Their energy was only paralleled by one other act in my time attending Deer Shed, and that was back in 2022 when the iconic Self Esteem seized that crown. Performance 101.

Saturday was muddy underfoot but that stopped no welly-donned reveller from hitting up Sister Wives at just gone 11am. Their folky, post-glam-rock niche was studded by synths and the all-female band brought vocal clarity atop their matching attire. There was a sort of spooky eeriness to some of their harmonies, too, which created fairground vibes from the dark and mystifying undertones.

The sun truly came out for Rozi Plain on the Main Stage just afterwards, and everyone was in great spirits. Between stage-hopping, we took the opportunity to have a decent browse at the festival garms stalls. Then while kayakers took to the waterways and kids badgered parents for face glitter, we listened to Public Service Broadcasting in conversation. Those fireside-chat-esque segments were also among some of the coolest standouts of Deer Shed, as fans could be connected in an informal yet captivating way, with cherished acts they’d turned out to see.

In their rainbow hues, the giant festival flags blew wind-bitten sunbeams onto seated punters having a burst of Panic Shack’s Main Stage punk. A sea of flowers and sequins flooded the grass, and a gap then emerged for The Punjabi Roots Drummers to add some entertainment between the scheduled acts. The ideal pick-me-up during a warm, post-lunch slump for so many.

We were particularly eager to get a good spot for Skinny Pelembe. More than 63,000 Spotify listeners weren’t wrong about the artist’s gravelly yet silken vocals, and every song possessed punch. Through surfy-style riffs, tinkling keys and thumping drums, it felt like being part of a movement, and Skinny Pelembe was the afternoon act it seemed everyone had been waiting for.

I (Imogen) can safely say I’ve had ‘Don’t Be Another’ on repeat since, and ‘Hardly the Same Snake’ is undoubtedly making a case for being on RW’s most astonishing albums of 2023 at this point.

By contrast, it was “hats off” to This Is The Kit on the Main Stage just after, who threw a cap in the air with joy and rolled out a mellow, folk-pop display for the masses.

While it was our third time seeing Elanor Moss in a year, I would personally posit that it was the best set of hers so far. The Lodge allowed for a slow, gentle, dreamy, seated affair to unfold, where folk favourites were embellished with subtle horn and goosebump-inducing violin accompaniments. I had chills the whole time and it wasn’t from the breeze.

Elanor’s dog jokes while tuning provided some laughter between the candid numbers, and ‘Catholic’ was still my champion. Though, the fact that ‘Soundings’ was influenced by a poem of her father’s with the same name remains totally inspirational.

Again, the juxtaposition between low-key vibes and pure raver tunes was so Deer Shed — and you even had Gaz Coombes in the middle! But those who flooded to see Nine8 Collective rip up the rule book with their electronica, hip-hop and drum ‘n’ bass would attest to that complementary positioning of acts. All the way from London, the MCs threw a party alright, through skewed, chopped and sampled end-of-the-night beats.

I have to confess that we were feeling a bit on the smug side, sauntering in on the Sunday having showered and not camped — well, after battling the gusty rain in my not-so-chic plastic poncho, obviously. And, although there were sporadic showers and some less hardened people (says she who had slept in an actual bed) had clearly packed up early, the atmosphere hadn’t been dampened too much by the weather.

August Charles had certainly understood the mood-boosting assignment, and the Leeds-hailing artist was all about the mellow yet funky stuff. With a full band, the very groovy ‘Tell It How I See It’ was a stunner, and the call and response on ‘Lately’ got everyone clapping. We were even encouraged to sing in some Zambian tongue. The freestyle keys throughout were a treat as well.

We’re very pro Divorce here at RW — the band kind, that is. We last saw the four-piece at Belgrave Music Hall in Leeds and their blend of indie-rock with co-mic male and female vocals was something to behold, yet again. Shrieking and shredding came equally, to the benefit of their overarching grunginess. They trialled a new track a long way from release for us, too, and the praising squawks at the end of ‘Birds’ really reignited some of the sleepy audience. And as it went, their set doubled as an opportunity to get out of the rain, so what was a happy coincidence to many acted as an extra bonus for the outfit. After all, they deserved to play to a roomful!

Assuming the piano on her lonesome, Rae Morris was a name I hadn’t heard for a while yet she — dressed in a fantastically floaty yellow costume — was one to relish at Deer Shed. She’d had a few breakthrough singles years ago — including one “quite gallopy” in nature, by her own admission — and these all got plays, while her James Blake cover was a welcome addition on top.

New music was at its finest on the Sunday, where more emerging artists were on the billing. Right up there with August Charles as a personal fave was Pet Snake, who drowned The Lodge and all its wanting festival-goers with upbeat guitars. The four-piece setup was fronted by Evelyn — AKA Pet Snake — herself, who had husband and fellow Clean Cut Kid bandmate, Mike, there to support on lead-guitar duties. The festival at its core was wholesome, but this indie exhibit was the very definition of that as well. Bring on another Pet Snake gig soon, please and thanks.

Our last musical hurrah was the bossy, theatrical English Teacher on the Main Stage. The post-punk quad from Leeds knew how to get hips shaking through jaunty riffs and brazen shouting-meets-singing, all to an out-of-the-box format. And it got results. The highlight? The fun, unreleased track called ‘Broken Biscuits’ — one we’ll be keeping our ears out for.

So that was that — Deer Shed done and dusted for 2023. What a whopper it was. Roll on 2024, hey?

*With thanks to Hanglands for the press access