A stunning Saturday night performance by Bonnie Raitt and winning sets by such co-headliners as Nathaniel Rateliff and the Night Sweats, the Pretenders, and Steve Earle were among the focal points of a memorable weekend at the 2023 Black Deer Festival in Kent. But the real winner was this annual three-day celebration of all things Americana itself, which projected good vibes and musical inclusivity across Eridge Park and far beyond.
A largely sun-blessed occasion provided its usual family-friendly environment and the chance to discover any number of British and visiting talents across a wide array of stages big and small. For instance, just across the way from the Young Folk section, with its tree climbing and zip wire, the Caffè Nero Stage was a recurring destination for many, with slots for a healthy contingent of UK talent including singer-songwriters Laura Oakes and Daisy Chute, duo Two Ways Home, and the Swamp Stomp String Band.
The SupaJam Stage celebrates the colleges of that name that nurture vulnerable young people who have fallen off the radar of formal education. Indeed, many of those students help to create the stage and its entertainment, which was hosted this year by Kris Wilkinson of My Girl The River and featured her and fellow ARC trio members Kate Ellis and Anna Howie, as well as other notable home-based Americana artists such as Hannah White, Roseanne Reid, Phil Hooley, and the County Affair, and visitors including Jarrod Dickenson and Annie Dressner.
A series of popular Songwriter Sessions on The Ridge Stage included a weighty five-way on Saturday with Amythyst Kiah, Angeline Morrison, Kyshona, Simeon Hammond Dallas, and Tami Neilson, all of whom made further friends with their own sets. Canadian Neilson’s joyous hour of soulful rock’n’roll and torchy vocalizing at Haley’s Bar was a particular high point.
The Ridge also hosted a subtly atmospheric Friday night appearance by Midlake, and the likes of Allison Russell, Elles Bailey, Dylan LeBlanc, Lauren Housley and the Northern Cowboys, and Damian Lewis, newly signed to Decca, marking Friday’s release day for his Mission Creep album.
Amid the familiar feeling that followers of this whole vibrant scene were inevitably missing one artist on their wish list in order to catch another, the Main Stage played host to strong sets by such as the Wandering Hearts, Brandy Clark, Calexico, and stirring Welsh soul-rock outfit Cardinal Black.
Raitt’s Saturday night showing embodied the feelgood serenity of the weekend and delighted her admiring devotees, from an opening “Made Up Mind” to her valedictory cover of Talking Heads’ “Burning Down The House,” via staples such as “Nick of Time” and “Something To Talk About.” Bonnie’s trademark “Angel From Montgomery,” written by her late and dear friend John Prine, and the double Grammy-winning “Just Like That,” inspired by him, were intensely emotional moments, both from her side of the stage and from ours.
Buy or stream Nathaniel Rateliff and the Night Sweats’ What If I EP.