Deer Shed Festival returns to Baldersby Park from 25–28 July 2025, bringing with it a carefully curated mix of powerful music, thoughtful culture, and family friendly adventure.
Headlining are Wunderhorse, Kae Tempest, and The Big Moon, with special guests Idlewild plus a fantastic mix of eclectic acts including Ibibio Sound Machine, Moonchild Sanelly, BODEGA, Joan As Police Woman, and Nadia Reid. But it’s Benefits, a personal favourite of ours, who might just steal the show.
The Teesside noise-punk collective are loud, uncompromising, and utterly brilliant. They turn political frustration into galvanising sound, and every show feels urgent. We’ve followed them closely for years, not just for the music, but because they’re among the loveliest and most grounded people in music. This band turns political rage into communal catharsis, every show feels like home and now with added dancefloor energy, it moves and you move with it. Their presence on the Deer Shed line-up shows how bold and relevant this year’s curation really is.
Equally magnetic is Kae Tempest, whose Saturday set promises poetic fire. Their ability to turn inner life into communal experience makes them a rare festival act, intimate and transcendent at once. It’s pure spoken word that grips your gut, leaves silence between syllables, then fills it with something bigger than you walked in with. Their performance won’t just be heard, it’ll be felt, long after.
I’m bringing my 10-year-old daughter along for the journey this year and that’s the beauty of Deer Shed, you can introduce your child to the power of spoken word and punk protest in between bubble shows, slime labs, and circus skills. From soft play and wild workshops to roller discos, skateboarding and forest crafts, the festival’s kids programme is genuinely exceptional. She’ll be making slime in the morning, tackling a laser maze by lunch, then watching Benefits hit the stage while I pass her the ear defenders (she’ll need em)
Deer Shed 2025 is where protest meets play, where poetry moves feet and paint streaked fingers point to the sky. It’s not just a weekend, it’s a world you step into.
Get tickets here
