Kent’s Black Deer Festival cancels for 2025

Organisers of the UK’s Black Deer Festival have cancelled next year’s edition due to the challenging landscape – but have vowed to return in 2026.

The team behind the Americana-themed independent event, which has been held in Elridge Park, Kent, since 2018, blame both financial and operational issues, highlighting “unpredictable” ticket sales and rising production costs over the past couple of years.

“Regretfully, due to the widely reported pressures on the festival industry, we have taken the difficult decision to postpone Black Deer Festival 2025,” says Black Deer Group MD Chris Russell-Fish. “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.”

The 2024 event was headlined by Joe Bonamassa, Sheryl Crow and Rufus Wainwright, and also featured the likes of Seasick Steve, The Shires, Damian Lewis, Ward Thomas and Rosanne Cash & John Leventhal.

The Black Deer brand also expanded this year with the launch of the Black Deer Live gig series, which showcased Americana music at UK grassroots venues, as well as radio station Black Deer Radio.

“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,” adds Russell-Fish. “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.”

“This is certainly not the end of the Black Deer story”

More than 40 Black Deer Live shows are already scheduled for the coming months, with more dates still to be announced, and other new ideas also in the pipeline including the Black Deer Radio Roadshow.

“This is certainly not the end of the Black Deer story,” adds co-founder Gill Tee. “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.

“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.”

Meanwhile, Norwich’s Sundown Festival has also announced it will not be returning in 2025. The festival has run for 12 years, welcoming acts such as Shawn Mendes, Zara Larsson, Dizzee Rascal and Jason Derulo, and also held a spin-off event in Malta over three days this June. Promoters are yet to give a reason for the cancellation.

“It’s been an unforgettable journey,” reads a statement on the festival’s website. “After careful consideration however, we regret to announce that Sundown will not be returning to Norwich or Malta in 2025.”

The Association of Independent Festivals revealed this week that 72 UK festivals have announced a postponement, cancellation or complete closure in 2024 – double the amount that fell in 2023.

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