Next weekend, Europe’s leading Americana and Country music spectacular, Black Deer Festival (17-19 June) makes its much-anticipated return to Eridge Park. We had the pleasure of packing off to Kent for 2019’s award-winning outing, delighting in the company of The Staves, Kris Kristofferson, The Trials of Cato and Jerron ‘Blind Boy’ Paxton for three days. Now after a two-year hiatus, the festival’s founders (who have directed tours for Bob Dylan, The Eagles and Neil Young) are ready to double-down on their previous success, presenting one of the most exciting line ups of the summer. Praised as ‘a celebration of a way of life that is both timely and timeless’, David Weir dusts off his tassels and shares his highlights, chosen from a bill that boasts The Waterboys, Van Morrison, Lady Nade, The Felice Brothers and a whole host of up-and-coming transatlantic talent.
Great Americana Songbook
The Band’s star-studded bon-voyage The Last Waltz is essential viewing for roots music fans and the Great Americana Songbook promises to be just the same. Headlined by AMA-UK award-winner Robert Vincent, it’s not the first time the gifted singer-songwriter has worked his magic on these Canadian-American epics; in 2018 he joined Seafoam Green for their tribute to The Band at the Liverpool Philharmonic. And as luck would have it, Clash Music has just announced the wonderful Seafoam Green as their contest winners. Do we see another collab in the works? And who might the other special guests taking the stage at Hayley’s Bar be? What we would give to see Van Morrison return in his sequined purple jumpsuit with a few of those iconic high kicks.
Bess Atwell
Signed by Lucy Rose to her label Real Kind Records, Bess Atwell writes equally exquisite, introspective songs, with last year’s Already, Always receiving heavy rotation at FRUK. Singles Co-op and Time Comes In Roses gorgeously display her fine-wrought imagery and softly-spun vocals. Elsewhere on the album, her cover of Robin Pecknold’s Olivia, In A Separate Bed almost comes over as more desolate than the original. Atwell proved an ideal opener on Midlake’s most recent tour, joining the Texan six-piece for a spine-tingling rendition of Acts of Man. As well as her main set at Eridge Park, we’re excited to see what Atwell has in store when she appears alongside John Smith, Native Harrow and William Prince for Sunday’s intimate Songwriter Sessions.
Wilco
An obvious pick, perhaps, but Wilco’s only UK date of 2022 is surely worth celebrating. Appearing off the back of their tour commemorating the 20th anniversary of the revered Yankee Hotel Foxtrot, Black Deer is sure to hear a healthy smattering of fan favourites, as well as prime cuts from last month’s Cruel Country. In addition to Tweedy’s mellow, consistently brilliant solo output and Nels Cline’s countless genre-spanning collabs, delivering another studio album of this calibre, the Chicago rockers have proven they’ve got plenty left in the tank. After almost thirty years together, Jeff & co still ride passenger side to no one.
Hiss Golden Messenger
A firm favourite at FRUK, anything MC Taylor touches is worthy of our attention. His recent output with spiritual jazz collective Revelators Sound System and Hiss Golden Messenger has found him in exceptionally fine form, pushing protest music to new climes, whether that be in the form of stratospheric space bops or delicate country crooners. Appearing solo or joined by all-star accompanists Phil Cook & Scott Hirsch, Taylor’s music feels naturally geared towards heady summer evenings and is most certainly one of our ones to watch come Sunday evening.
Courtney Marie Andrews
There’s an emotional heft and melancholy to Courtney Marie Andrews’ voice that echoes Country’s greats. The Arizonian singer-songwriter first broke onto the scene as a member of Jimmy Eat World, then as part of Damien Jurado’s touring ensemble, but it was her 2010 debut that won hearts across her home state. Since then, she’s released seven critically acclaimed albums with Mike Davies describing 2020’s Old Flowers as “unquestionably one of her best, one which, in its journey from wreckage to rebirth, it reaches deep into what Yeats termed the rag and bone shop of the heart, and finds treasure within.” The following year Andrews’ mined these depths further with her poetry collection Old Monarch and this October is set to release the highly anticipated Loose Future.
Yasmin Williams
Guitar Hero has a lot to answer for, with a generation of guitarists perfecting their chops through their obsession with the video game series. For Virginia-based artist Yasmin Williams it was no different. However, she moved beyond mere mastery of Through the Fire and Flames to develop her own highly unique percussive playing style, combining two-handed lap tapping, kalimba and a ridiculous display of fretboard dexterity. This complex, beautifully rendered sound is best heard on last year’s stellar sophomore album Urban Driftwood. The future looks hers for the taking, so as the weekend winds down, festivalgoers would be wise to check out her inimitable fingerstyle talents.
Find out more here: https://blackdeerfestival.com/