Deer Shed is a festival that's never lost its founding instincts

In the corner of a sunny field near Thirsk, tens of toddlers are frantically tearing hay bales apart. Their shrieks of delight drift on the breeze, mingling with the sawing and hammering of older kids crafting dens nearby, and with the satisfying thwack of 20-plus swingball sets in action in the field next door. A stone’s throw away, Brighton four-piece The New Eves launch into “Highway Man”, their terrific, elemental post-punk temporarily overpowering the hubbub. Welcome to Deer Shed, the fully independent North Yorkshire festival that pours as much love into its music programming as it does creating unforgettable family experiences. In an increasingly competitive festival market, that’s a rare proposition. More often than not, one aspect comes at the expense of the other, and in Glastonbury’s case, families are corralled into the Kidzfield, away from the main party. But if the prospect of shelling out approaching £400 per person to spend a weekend stuck in that kind of exile sticks in your throat, this competitively-priced three-dayer feels like a breath of fresh air. As they put it in their manifesto, “We don't have kids’ areas as such – they're not zoo animals.” Offering an opp...