Excitement for Harrogate music fans as North Yorkshire event is named UK's ‘Festival of the Year' at London awards

A unique event in North Yorkshire with hundreds of Harrogate fans has won the award for the best music festival in the UK.

Launched in 2010 by husband-and-wife tea, Kate Webster and Oliver Jones, Deer Shed Festival triumphed in the The Live Awards in London.

Attended by an audience of 600 of its peers in the UK live music industry, the awards night at the Troxy in London this week saw Deer Shed lift the award for Festival of the Year.

In doing so, the independent, high quality, three-day music and arts event, held each year on the beautiful grassland of Baldersby Park near Thirsk, beat the likes of Kendal Calling and Bloodstock Open Air festival.

Award success for North Yorkshire music and arts event - Deer Shed Festival founders Kate Webster and Oliver Jones and Festival Manager Harriet McBain at the Live Awards in London. (Picture contributed)placeholder image
Award success for North Yorkshire music and arts event - Deer Shed Festival founders Kate Webster and Oliver Jones and Festival Manager Harriet McBain at the Live Awards in London. (Picture contributed)

The ecstatic Deer Shed team Tweeted afterwards, saying: "We’re absolutely thrilled to have been awarded Festival of the Year!

"Honoured to have been recognised and more excited than ever for #Deershed2024

"Big thank you to The Live Awards and everyone involved last night."

Packed with spoken word events, top comedians and children's events, as well as top quality food and drink, the family-friendly Deer Shed Festival has been hailed as the ‘Latitude of the north’.

Last year's festival welcomed the likes of The Comet Is Coming, Public Service Broadcasting, Gaz Coombes of Supergrass, The Big Moon and Nina Persson.

The line-up for next year's festival, which will run from July 26-29, will include Bombay Bicycle Club, The Coral, BC Camplight, The Go! Team, Picture Parlour and Stornoway.

LIVE is a relatively new industry umbrella group of many live music industry associations which was borne out of the Covid pandemic in order to fight the corner of the live music industry, primarily with the UK government.

A spokesperson for Deer Shed Festival said: "We were delighted to have collected this award at The Troxy in London as part of the LIVE Awards.

"It is without doubt the greatest accolade we have ever received from the live music industry, we are mega-chuffed.

"Thank you to all of our audience who have attended Deer Shed since we started in 2010.”

For information on Deer Shed, visit: https://deershedfestival.com

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