Gill Tee (Black Deer Festival Co-Founder)

Mar 13, 2024 | Interviews

Words by Glenn Sargeant

Photo Credit: Ania Shrimpton

As festival season approaches for Summer 2024, we wanted to talk to co-founder of the UK Americana festival known as Black Deer Festival Gill Tee about the 2024 edition and more:

When did you have the idea to launch Black Deer Festival and how did it come about?

A chance conversation at a party, where I was talking with Colin Lloyd, a successful retired marketeer about my festival production background, and he talked of his experience in working with massive brands that involved him spending a lot of time in America, we discussed our mutual love of the whole Americana and country music genre, and we both agreed was not well serviced at the time in the outdoor festival space. Our conversation extended to investigating the possibilities of starting a festival in that genre to see if it could be viable.

My instincts were telling me that if we embarked on this journey, then we had to go into the festival marketplace with a bang and produce a festival to a high standard from year one to get us noticed in the very overcrowded festival landscape with an underserved genre. Within 6 weeks we were on our way to Nashville to persuade some senior agents and music managers, that this was a good idea, and to trust us to have the right experience to produce a festival that they could comfortably place their artists.

One of the calling cards we had, was my experience as Festival Director for the Hop Farm Festival in Kent for 5 years, that featured iconic artists including Neil Young, Bob Dylan, and Prince’s only ever UK Festival. A lot of the people in Nashville were very aware of the festival, as they had many of their artists play the festival. So with Colin Lloyd as the first investor, and Deb Shilling, who was my business partner at the time, we set about producing and bringing to life the first Black Deer Festival of Americana & Country.

Where is the festival located and what is it about that location that works so well for the weekend?

Eridge Estate is on the borders of Kent and East Sussex, 10 minutes’ drive from Tunbridge Wells. The Estate was a client, and I was acting as a consultant to encourage promoters to use the estate as a potential event space. Eridge is a magical place, and I loved the wildness of the landscape. I knew that when we started the discussion on where the home for the festival would be, there was only one place that I believed would give the festival its point of difference, and because of the relationship of trust I had already developed with the owners, and the local authorities, it just felt it was its natural home. Eridge is one of the oldest Deer Parks in England, and although not an easy site to produce a festival on, I believe that the breath-taking scenery and 360 views of the beautiful landscape, gave the festival the right feel that was needed to establish the quality brand we were seeking.

In doing some research, I read that one of the areas onsite is called Haley’s Bar and wondered if you could tell me about the background behind the location, its story and the name?

I grew up listening to country, blues, roots music as my older brother Chris used to play it all the time. He would have his friends around and they would write songs and jam together and there was always music in our house. When I was 12 years old, and my beautiful brother was 19, he died under horrendously tragic circumstances, and our whole world as a family turned upside down, and for a long while it was too painful for my Mum and Dad to listen to the music that my brother so loved, and the music in our house stopped. Chris could pick up any instrument and be able, within a very short time, play it. I loved the music and I had always loved watching him and his mates all play together. He would have been a very credible artist I believe if he had lived. When Black Deer became a reality, we decided to dedicate one of the areas to honour my brother. Haley’s bar at Black Deer is dedicated to my brother Chris Haley, and inside the venue we create, is an iconic picture of him and his mates playing together. There is a spirit that exists in Haley’s that is special. Artists who play, who know the story, often dedicate one of their songs to Chris.

Looking at the line-up for the 2024 edition starting with the headliners: You have Blues-rock guitarist Joe Bonamassa headlining on Friday 14th June 2024 in a UK Festival Exclusive and Sheryl Crow on Saturday 15th June 2024. How did you go about securing them for the festival and do you start with an initial list of artists that are on your wish list?

We have been so proud of the artist line ups that we have had in the past that helped give Black Deer the credibility it has. Bev Burton was our booker from year one, and programmed some great artists for our audience to enjoy. This year Joy concerts in Brighton are the new promoters of the festival. They have extensive experience in bookings for concerts, tours and festivals, so it was through their relationships with established agents that allowed us to secure those artists this year.

You will also have the Western AF Takeover stage. What is the idea behind this stage and who will be performing on it?

Western AF are a brilliant online platform that showcases some of the most exciting upcoming artists within the genres Black Deer celebrates. They’re U.S based but they wanted to dip into the UK market, so they reached out to us and have given them a takeover of Haley’s bar on one of the evenings. They’ll be bringing 3 U.S upcoming acts with them. It’s an early stage of the partnership, but we hope to build that in the future.

Also, the legendary Bob Harris will be curating and hosting The Under The Apple Tree stage over the weekend. When did you first meet him and suggest that he curate the stage?

Bob is an absolute legend and there is no way that when you dip your toe into the waters of starting an ‘americana’ festival, you do not invite Bob Harris to support you. I was introduced to him in 2017 when we started out, and he agreed to bring ‘Under the Apple Tree to our first Black Deer Festival. This year again we have him back to curate on Haley’s stage.

Do you have any music recommendations for this year’s festival for ticketholders?

Dylan Gossett, Muireann Bradley, Zandi Holup, Dale Watson, Eli Paperboy Reed, Bess Atwell, the list goes on! There is a Black Deer playlist on Spotify that I would recommend anyone to have a listen too. Black Deer is about discovery, and you can get a real taste of what’s in store by taking time to listen to some of the incredible artists that you may not know but will love.

If I am at Black Deer and I fancy having a bite to eat and drink what is on offer for me tuck into?

If you want the best Low and Slow cooking, look no further than our ‘Live Fire ’ area that celebrates authentic smokehouse cooking. Jon Finch and Ben Merrington, Founders of Grillstock are originators of bringing the American BBQ scene to the UK, are at the helm.

Amazing Chefs demonstrating how to cook incredible food, Chilli eating competitions on stage, Gospel Brunch on Sunday, and a carefully curated food offering for all tastes, really set the festival apart from others. You could spend the whole day in the Live Fire area and make that your place to hang out. Jon and Ben have been with us from the beginning, and we could not ask for better people to be hosting this important part of the festival.

What are your three festival tips?

– Get there early if you are camping. Always good to pick your spot and relax.

– Pack for all weathers – especially the evenings when it can get cold.

– Try to sample all parts of the festival as there is a lot of music on offer and fun to be had

Does the weekend have offerings for families and children?

When we started the festival, it was important to us to make everyone, of all generations, really feel like they fit in. We really pride ourselves on the Young Folk area. We hold music workshops, tree climbing (for 6 years +), zip wire (ages 4-8 years), Woodland Tribe who will arm the kids with tools and the skills to build their own playground from the ground up, something that will take shape over the whole weekend, craft workshops, Silent disco, and a whole raft of activities to keep the kids of all ages amused. We have also introduced some fairground rides to give families a chance to have fun away from the music.

Caffe Nero will be with us again offering a great space to sit down, have coffee, and listen to some great live music.

Custom cars and motorbikes are also a great talking point at Black Deer.

What music/artists are you currently listening to? Any recommendations?

I have quite a wide-reaching personal taste in music, but within our scene, I love listening to some of the old bands, Gram Parsons, The Byrds, Neil Young, Johnny Cash. I am always blown away by the amazing music that is being produced now. Listening a lot lately to Ida Mae, Greta Van Fleet, Marcus King Band, The Way Down Wanderers, Ryan Bingham and lots more!

What would you say are two of the biggest challenges you face organising a festival and what would help with those challenges in your opinion?

The escalating costs of supply of infrastructure, increasing artist costs put a huge strain on what already is very small margins. This is out of our control, and if we want to continue to host a festival, we must look at ways cutting costs, but ensure we do not compromise our customers safety and enjoyment. The help with that would be to be able to put our ticket prices up, but the problem we have is how we can do that in the current climate.

The second big challenge is getting customers to buy a ticket for the festival. There is a lot of competition and people are really waiting longer to book a ticket, and this puts a strain on the cashflow of a festival. Offering customers something different is the key, and we hope that Black Deer’s point of difference as a festival, will help make the decision easier on what they spend their money on. The way to help with this is people taking up the payment plans to stretch out the costs, which we do already offer. Putting a festival on is certainly not for the fainthearted!