LIVE (Photos): Deer Shed Festival 2025 (Day 3, 27.07.2025)

Having fallen in love with Deer Shed when I attended for the first time back in 2022, and then going on to ensure I didn’t miss it every year since, I was very glad I got to have another dreamy time there last weekend. Highlighting a real family focus, whilst hosting a range of exciting new artists, it oozes the warmest of vibes and – being smaller in size than most other festivals – creates a space that feels comfortingly intimate; an inclusive safe haven for artists and fans of all genres and ages. Whilst providing a child-friendly environment, this does not take away from the quality and array of performances on offer for everyone to enjoy. Although I’d say I’m in the minority of attendees who does not have children (or isn’t a child themselves!), I in no way feel this to be hindrance – there’s still plenty of adult fun to be had, just in perhaps a slightly less intense, and more safe, environment than most other festivals. Which is no bad thing.

Amongst those performing, a fantastic amount of female, non binary, queer and just all-round fearlessly powerful performers are represented, and I was lucky enough to catch lots of these over the weekend – a good balance of artists I already knew and loved, and those who I had not had the chance to see before. See below for a few words and photos about the fantastic time on Sunday, our final day at the festival!

Sunday sees us starting the day perhaps earlier than you would at your average festival, but then Deer Shed is no average festival. Coffee in hand, we head to The Lodge to ease in the day with the glistening sounds of Leeds-based artist Neve Cariad. Telling us that is her first festival appearance, Cariad and her band treat us to their beautifully lilting folk-strewn melodies, reflecting on pastoral themes with a shimmering, heartfelt grace. In fact, I become so immersed in the lush layers of sound and rousing vocals, I almost don’t notice being attacked by one of the many wasps who’ve taken up camp with us for the weekend.

After a delicious and nutritious vegan brownie for breakfast, we return to The Lodge to catch long-time personal favourite, Brooklyn-based artist Sheherazaad. Offering spellbinding reflections steeped in lyrical storytelling from India, Iran and Pakistan, she dedicates the set to people who have experienced placelessness, and shares her joy at being somewhere like Deer Shed – “it’s in places like this, of music, that people can find place…” Delivering a range of new songs with her accomplished instrument-swapping band, she showcases her ability to blend a stirring folk-inspired musicality with experimental techniques, exuding her playful spirit as each rippling soundscape flows from the stage with a majestic splendour. Whilst she has the audience captivated by her rich, swirling cacophonies, Sheherazaad sums up the weekend perfectly a the set draws to a close – “Sometimes you’re in a place that’s so beautiful, you’re left speechless and there’s nothing left to say.”

Managing to catch some of the quirky, danceable energy of genre-defying collective Mandrake Handshake on the Main Stage, we head to the In The Dock stage for the stark and powerful politically-charged anthems of immense duo Benefits. And, with the set featuring a very special guest appearance from Kingsley Hall’s daughter (“don’t worry this is my daughter, not just some random child!“), as she takes centre stage – showing off her sparkling fairy wings for us all to admire – it’s pretty lovely to see a softer side to the band. A kind of epitome of what Deer Shed is all about; families and people of all ages coming together to enjoy music that loses none of its visceral, raging energy in the safe, inclusive space that has been created.

As the sun starts to reappear, Welsh faves The Bug Club take to the Main Stage. Treating us to a set filled with songs new and old – and even perfecting tracks from their latest album, Very Human Features (which they caveat by admitting they’re tricky to play live) – their fiercely frenzied energy cascades from the stage, with each fuzzy blast of garage-rock bringing with it an infectious sense of joy. Having last seen them at the In The Dock stage a few years back, it’s great to see them win over an even bigger crowd with their eccentric allure, self-deferential wit and gloriously uplifting offerings.

With Bodega kicking off their set on the main stage with a tribute to recently deceased rocker Ozzy Osbourne, the New York band continue to wow us with their sparkling post-punk offerings, each delivered with an immersive, vivacious charisma. Then, we head back to the In The Dock stage to catch Liverpool-based King Hannah. As a sweeping, bewitching majesty flows with a dark energy throughout the set, I remain as enchanted as the first time I came across the band back in 2019; Hannah Merrick’s resonant vocals continuing to cast me under their spell with their stirring, ethereal grace and raw emotion.

After enjoying a whole load of nostalgic joy as Idlewild deliver a completely perfect set of favourite songs from over the years, with all the youthful energy and distinctive rich clarity of Roddy Woomble’s vocals that I remember from seeing them nearly two decades ago, it’s time for headliners – and final band of the festival – The Big Moon. Trickling onto the stage with an abundance of joyous energy, the band explain what a special performance this is for them – not only is it their first festival headline slot, but Jules is pregnant (“we’ve chosen a bad time to start doing late night shows!”), it’s drummer Fern’s birthday AND The Lionesses have just won the euros. This being the second time the band have played Deer Shed, they discuss their love of the festival and how they’re feeling “refreshed and scented” after indulging in some wild swimming, despite being tired after having to arrive for soundcheck at 8am. Exuding all the heartfelt sparkling emotion and sunny energy we’ve come to expect, The Big Moon’s ability to offer a comforting warmth and enlivening sense of optimism through their beautifully lilting musicality and endearing camraderie remains unmatched. Uniting the all-ages crowd with the blissful allure of each offering, they provide a perfectly uplifting close to the festival, and – as they play their penultimate song, a surprising, fun-filled rendition of Fatboy Slim’s ‘Praise You’ – younger members of the crowd even start a chant of “two more songs!” (“the next generation are so demanding!“), before the band play us out with the anthemic, evocative energy of ‘Your Light’.

Huge thanks, as always, to all involved with organising such a wonderful weekend – we can’t wait to be back for all the life-affirming vibes of Deer Shed Festival next year!

Words: Mari Lane / @mari_getinherears
Photos: Paul Dawes / @paullikesrobots

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LIVE (Photos): Deer Shed Festival 2025 (Day 2, 26.07.2025)

Having fallen in love with Deer Shed when I attended for the first time back in 2022, and then going on to ensure I didn’t miss it every year since, I was very glad I got to have another dreamy time there last weekend. Highlighting a real family focus, whilst hosting a range of exciting new artists, it oozes the warmest of vibes and – being smaller in size than most other festivals – creates a space that feels comfortingly intimate; an inclusive safe haven for artists and fans of all genres and ages. Whilst providing a child-friendly environment, this does not take away from the quality and array of performances on offer for everyone to enjoy. Although I’d say I’m in the minority of attendees who does not have children (or isn’t a child themselves!), I in no way feel this to be hindrance – there’s still plenty of adult fun to be had, just in perhaps a slightly less intense, and more safe, environment than most other festivals. Which is no bad thing.

Amongst those performing, a fantastic amount of female, non binary and queer performers are represented, and. I was lucky enough to catch lots of these over the weekend – a good balance of artists I already knew and loved, and those who I had not had the chance to see before. See below for a few words and photos about the fantastic time we had on Saturday at the festival!

Still feeling all the feels from a glorious Friday night at the festival, I was excited to kick off our second day with Glasgow punk duo Cowboy Hunters. Having been pretty much obsessed with recent single ‘Mating Calls‘, their raw energy and immersive riotous power came as no surprise, but the fiercely engaging charisma and stark dry wit they exuded throughout their immense, instrument-swapping set exceeded all expectations. Strictly not adhering to the festival’s suggested reduced swearing policy, they go from raging about transphobes and needing money for drugs to ending the set by getting the whole crowd to join in doing The Macarena with them. The most surreal and perfect way to kick off a Saturday morning!

And then for a complete change of mood, we head to The Lodge Stage to be soothed by the sweet folk-bathed sounds of Sarah Smout. Despite having been unwell yesterday, through the power of Lucozade and support from an encouraging partner, she thankfully made it to Deer Shed this morning to deliver a glistening, heartfelt set; treating us to ruminations on Iceland, motherhood and nature, a captivating blissful grace flows from the stage throughout.

Thankfully, we make it to the Main Stage to catch the end of fellow South Londoners Honeyglaze. With shades of the reflective lyrical observations of English Teacher or Dry Cleaning, their swirling scuzzy hooks and the rich sugar-sweet vocals of front person Anouska are greeted by glimmers of sunshine beaming through the clouds.

Having been pretty much listening to Scottish queer artist Jacob Alon‘s exquisite album In Limerance on repeat in recent months, they were one of the performances I was most looking forward to seeing this weekend (especially as I’d missed their sets both when they supported Kae Tempest at KOKO recently, and at The Wilderwild stage here at Deer Shed last year). And they did not disappoint. Far from it. Delivering each of their strikingly stirring offerings with a shimmering heartfelt splendour and sensitivity, and playing against a much-welcomed backdrop of the Trans Pride and Palestine flags, Cob’s poignant creations are interspersed with moments of endearing charm and humour. Whilst dedicating ‘Confession’ to “all the queers… You are all so loved“, they go on to explain ‘Liquid Gold 25’ as being written after a “couple of dodgy hookups on Grindr… Perfect for these family vibes!“, before taking us to “a seductive world of dreams” with ‘Of Amber’. As I sway and sing along to each beautifully moving song in this sunny field surrounded by families of all ages, I can feel the raw emotion of each and every word. I’m left feeling spellbound and inspired; filled with hope that the young people in the crowd are able to absorb the sense of queer joy and subtle resistance that is radiating from the stage.

After catching the engaging energy and quirky charisma of another lovely Scot, and definite new fave, Hamish Hawk, I prepare to dance and sing along to London-Nigerian collective Ibibio Sound Machine. Delivering their colourful Afro-punk with an infectious joyous energy, they enliven and invigorate the crowd. Glistening with a regal, playful charm and emanating an effervescent sense of pride, vocalist Eno Williams swirls around the stage, immersing us all in the band’s traditional tribal-inspired cacophonies with a unique, punk-infused spirit. A performance filled with pure jubilation.

Another performance I’d been extremely excited about catching over the weekend, especially after speaking her for our recent interview feature, was innovative South African artist Moonchild Sanelly. And, despite her warning me about her ability to “KILL… We’re going to run out of body bags…” when we spoke, I still don’t think I was prepared for quite how intensely life-changing her set was going to be. Whatever I write here won’t do it justice, but the sheer euphoric energy and relentlessly cheeky charm blasting out from the stage throughout is unmatched. Particular highlights range from the validating and inspiring introduction to ‘Sweet & Savage’ – Moon proudly declaring her bisexuality and consistent inability to choose as she shoots the adoring all-ages crowds with bubbles – and the swirling chaotic energy of ‘Scrambled Eggs’ (“the reason I have all this energy is because I eat eggs“), to the screams of excitement as she vogues across the stage with Ashwin to ‘Big Booty‘ and the looks of pure ecstasy on her “boobeams“‘ faces as she joins them in the crowd for an epic dance-off. It’s hard to pick particular stand-out moments, as the set as a whole is an experience like no other; Moonchild Sanelly is a performer like no other. Put lightly, it’s forty five minutes of gloriously uplifting chaos and empowering delight.

Having seen Kae Tempest many times over the years, and most recently embracing so much Trans joy at their KOKO show in November last year, it was wonderful to now see him welcomed so whole heartedly by the all ages crowd for their headline slot here at Deer Shed. There’s not many words I haven’t already said about just how vital and moving it is to see him live, but tonight’s set offered a glimpse into a lot of new material with a fresh immersive poignancy and fierce sense of urgency. Accompanied by just one other musician on keys, despite the expansive setting, there’s a comforting intimacy to the set as each of Kae’s deeply stirring poetic ballads are delivered with a sweeping raw emotion and majestic sense of pride. As the propulsive beats and overwhelmingly resonant words flow from the stage throughout, Tempest’s offerings seem more powerful than ever before; necessary for us to unite in queer energy and maintain a subtle sense of hope that – through coming together in communities as life-affirming as those at Deer Shed – we can find the happiness and strength to overcome those intent on holding us back. And, as a kind of epitome of the joy and empowering energy that has shone throughout, Kae leaves us with a fiercely heartfelt rendition of George Michael’s ‘Freedom’. A perfect way to celebrate today’s Trans pride.

Huge thanks again to all involved with organising such a wonderful weekend – stay tuned for photos of, and words about, of Day 3 at Deer Shed this year!

Words: Mari Lane / @mari_getinherears
Photos: Paul Dawes / @paullikesrobots

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LIVE (Photos): Deer Shed Festival, 2025 (Day 1, 25.07.2025)

Having fallen in love with Deer Shed when I attended for the first time back in 2022, and then going on to ensure I didn’t miss it every year since, I was very glad I got to have another dreamy time there last weekend. Highlighting a real family focus, whilst hosting a range of exciting new artists, it oozes the warmest of vibes and – being smaller in size than most other festivals – creates a space that feels comfortingly intimate; an inclusive safe haven for artists and fans of all genres and ages. Whilst providing a child-friendly environment, this does not take away from the quality and array of performances on offer for everyone to enjoy. Although I’d say I’m in the minority of attendees who does not have children (or isn’t a child themselves!), I in no way feel this to be hindrance – there’s still plenty of adult fun to be had, just in perhaps a slightly less intense, and more safe, environment than most other festivals. Which is no bad thing.

Amongst those performing, a fantastic amount of female, non binary and queer performers are represented, and. I was lucky enough to catch lots of these over the weekend – a good balance of artists I already knew and loved, and those who I had not had the chance to see before.

After an eight hour journey from London, we finally arrive at the haven of Deer Shed late in the afternoon. Although I was sad to be missing The Pill‘s set on the Main Stage, I could hear the playful charisma of the duo’s ‘Woman Driver’ flowing across the field to where we were unpacking the car and being welcomed by a super helpful and friendly person called Eden at the Tangerine Fields camp site. Once settled, with a pint of Brasscastle’s finest in hand, we headed to the main stage to catch Nottingham’s Divorce. As they mention, they last played the festival back in 2022, first thing on a Sunday morning at the In The Dock stage, so it’s a nice step up to be out on the main stage on a Friday night. Treating us to a range of songs, including old favourites as well as newer offerings from their recently released album, Drive To Goldenhammer, their scuzzy offerings seamlessly fuse together a dreamy romanticism and lush folk-inspired harmonies alongside a subtle, gritty energy. A perfectly uplifting way to get the festival started.

Next, in the shelter of the In The Dock stage, it’s time for The None. Having been desperate to catch this experimental supergroup for some time now, I’m excited to finally witness their abrasive punk cacophonies live for the first time. And they don’t disappoint – as front person Kaila White immerses the all-ages crowd with a captivatingly fierce, raw energy, the band deliver their immense, raging anthems with a swirling, tenacious spirit. In contrast to the metal-infused musical intensity, White’s between-song chat offers an endearing charm as she appeals to the younger members of the audience – “I hope you appreciate you have cool guardians that take you to festivals…” – and encourages an “under 5s mosh“. A suggestion which isn’t quite taken up by the crowd, but welcomed with cheers all the same. As always, at Deer Shed, it is pretty heartwarming to see kids who would not otherwise have the opportunity to engage with live music, especially of the heavier genres, be able to rage and sing along too.

After an extremely delicious vegan burger from one of the many ethical and locally sourced food stalls, I head back to the In The Dock stage; swapping my usual position of spectator to ‘artist’… If you can call DJing that. Although lurking in the shadows without being noticed is generally more my vibe, having had such a fantastic time DJing a little Silent Disco set at the festival last year, I was excited to do it again. Despite my nerves (and being on at the same time as the glorious Wunderhorse), playing tunes to a huge tent that ended up being full of people provided a much-needed hit of dopamine. And watching the people of all ages, families and friends alike, enjoying the music – making up dances, and getting excited by certain songs (particularly Chappell Roan and Le Tigre!) – was a pretty euphoric experience. I’m mega grateful to have had the opportunity to do it; huge thanks and love to Deer Shed for letting me unleash my danceable queer tunes onto the crowd once again!

Stay tuned for photos of, and words about, of Days 2 & 3 at Deer Shed this year!

Words: Mari Lane / @mari_getinherears
Photos: Paul Dawes / @paullikesrobots

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Guest Blog: Bubble & Squeak – In Praise Of The Lionesses

Following the triumphant (second) win for the Lionesses of the Women’s European Championship last weekend, we wanted to pay tribute to the team, as well as the loyal community of fans and supporters who have since been revelling in a much needed sense of joy and pride.

Poppy Hankin (Girl Ray) and Jof Owen (The Boy Least Likely To) – aka Bubble & Squeak – are two such loyal supporters and have been so dedicated, in fact, that they wrote a song in celebration of the Lionesses team. Whilst revelling in the team’s victories with a uplifting jangly energy, ‘Let’s Do It Again’ also playfully comments on the disparaging, misogynistic attitudes towards women’s football that seem to continue amongst certain groups of people.

We caught up with Poppy to find out more about her and Jof’s love of the Lionesses, the joy to be found in the community of supporters, and the inspirations behind the song. Read her guest blog below, watch the cheery video for ‘Let’s Do It Again‘, and then have a listen to her playlist of motivational football-accompanying anthems!

We’ve just got back from the victory parade at Buckingham Palace, and it feels like it’s finally sinking in. We actually did it. Again. The Lionesses won the Women’s European Championship for the second time, and we’d like to think, in some very small way, it was thanks to the silly football song we recorded for it.

I think one of the things I love about women’s football is the silliness around it. Of course, we take the football seriously, but we don’t take ourselves too seriously. We like to have fun with the fandom. We saw so much of that out in Switzerland. There’s such a DIY spirit to it all, with badges and banners and outfits. Even screening events like She’s A Baller in London have that DIY riot grrrl punk spirit. You don’t really see that in the men’s game as much. I think it’s because the men’s game has always been officially endorsed in a way that the women’s game hasn’t. There have always been pubs and places showing it and proper outlets covering it. But there haven’t really been those official avenues for women’s football. Anything they wanted to happen, they kind of had to make it happen. I guess it has a DIY spirit because they literally had to do it themselves.

We designed our own T shirts and got them printed up before the tournament. Mine had a picture of the Teletubbies on but their faces had been replaced with Chloe Kelly, Lauren James, Ella Toone and Alessia Russo’s faces and on the TVs in their tummies it had an image of the moment when Kelly scored the goal in the last Euros final with “Kellytubbies… again again” written above it. Jof made a Hannah Hampton T shirt using the Hannah Montana logo and our girlfriends had ones that said “Lauren Hemp” with a weed leaf and “Tooney” in the Hooters owl font. We’re very creative.

Being a bit silly about anything that men take very seriously always feels subversive. That’s one of the reasons we wanted to record a football song I think. But also because we just love the Lionesses so much. We were at the last Euros final at Wembley in 2022 when they won, so we wanted to up our fan game even more this time around.

The idea for ‘Let’s Do It Again‘ came to us when we were in the pub watching Arsenal in the Women’s Champions League Final in May and we realised they didn’t have a cup song. Neither of us play football, but both our girlfriends do, so it feels like it’s almost our duty as WAGs to support footballers in whatever way we can.

Anyway, it was too late for us to write a song for Arsenal that night, but the Women’s European Championships were just around the corner, and we were already going out to Switzerland for some of the England games, so we figured it wasn’t too late to write one for them. We started writing the lyrics for it in the pub that night, and a week later we’d recorded it, and it was set to come out on the first day of the Euros.

We watched the first England game against France in a pub in Leytonstone. When we lost it was a bit crushing, after we’d been so excited in the weeks building up to it, but we were okay. Our friend Maeve ended up having an argument with some boys in the pub who were jeering at us when England lost. She was trying to say to them that women’s football wasn’t like that, and they were mansplaining football to us, saying how it’s all about tribalism and rivalry and you need to have that in football because that’s what makes it enjoyable.

But I think that maybe that’s just men’s football. It doesn’t feel that way in the women’s game, at least for us. I think it’s because the fans know the challenges that all the women players have had to face to get where they are, so they support women’s football as a whole, regardless of the team they’re in or where they come from. It’s about feminist solidarity. We still want our favourite teams to win, but that doesn’t mean we don’t respect and admire, and can’t be happy, for the other teams when they win instead. 

Following the Lionesses just feels a lot more wholesome, but not in a boring way. It feels very safe and joyous. It’s nice to be at a football match where we don’t feel out of place. The stadiums in Switzerland were full of people kind of like us and people who were just there to enjoy themselves. The other day, I heard a woman on a football podcast saying she’s a fan of the men’s football and the women’s football, but she missed the roar of men walking down the street and coming out of the pubs and that feeling of “danger” when she went to watch women’s football. She was saying she thought that was something they needed in the women’s game, but I don’t agree. That environment feels very intimidating for a lot of people.

It’s like an Oasis fan being at a Taylor Swift concert and moaning because the atmosphere is different and it isn’t like an Oasis concert, but that’s not a problem with the Taylor Swift concert. That’s just a problem with the Oasis fan. We like that it feels different, and we wouldn’t want it to feel like an Oasis concert. We’re at a Taylor Swift concert for a reason and we love the atmosphere. Women’s football almost feels like a completely different side of the sport sometimes. It’s like a different genre of football almost. Watching the Lionesses feels like being invited to the coolest party.

When we arrived in Zurich for the next England match against Netherlands, we really felt that solidarity. The fans were still really passionate about the teams they supported, but they could share the same space and be friendly and have fun sitting next to each other, regardless of their team.

It turns out the cheapest places to eat in Switzerland are the football stadiums too. Wine was about £8 a glass, beer was £6, and chips were only £4. Thank God. We could finally afford to eat! Also, they sell their hot dogs and their rolls separately. Fans would just hold the roll in one fist and the sausage in the other and take it in turns to take a bit out of each of them. Europeans are so wild and inspiring sometimes.

We’d been really worried in the lead up to the game against Netherlands that England might lose, and we’d just have to hang around in Switzerland for the next two weeks without them in the competition, so it was a huge relief when we won 4-0 that night. Also, watching the Netherlands fans singing ‘Links Rechts’ and dancing from left to right in the stadium was life changing. We really need to up our game with English football songs all round. Bubble & Squeak can’t do everything!

The locals were so nice to us in Zurich, giving us tips on where to buy cheap cheese and crisps and telling us the best swimming spots. On the first night we’d found a cool bar called Roter Delfin showing the Sweden vs Poland game and the woman who ran it told us that Oliwia Woś, who was playing in the match that we were watching, used to work at that bar.

After the England match, we went on to the Lionesses HQ fan park, which quite intense! I think maybe we’re passionate in a different way to some of the other England fans. We’re a bit quieter and a lot more awkward. We had a bag of our ‘My Bobby Moore is Leah Williamson’ stickers to give out, but we only managed to give out a few because we were too nervous to speak to the other fans. Hopefully next time Bubble & Squeak can play at the fan park though. It would be the dream gig for us.

After Zurich we went on to St. Gallen, ready for the Wales game on Sunday, and we went on 5 Live in the morning to sing our song and talk about being in Switzerland with some other fans. We even met the official Wales team poet, Sarah McCreadie. Then after the Wales game we took a few days off from football and went camping by a lake and went swimming and tried fishing and did wholesome things like pick wild strawberries and film TikToks in the mountains. In the evenings we’d cook our dinner on a camping stove and drink wine and watch the football on our laptop with all the Swiss people at the campsite crowded around watching it too.

St Gallen had been lovely if a little less exciting than Zurich. It didn’t seem to have caught Euros fever quite yet, but we did see Ceri Holland just wandering around the town during the day and three of the France team shopping in H&M. We watched the games in the suitably named Waaghaus. A makeshift event space with a giant TV screen, deckchairs, women’s football screen prints for sale and seemingly everyone in St Gallen who cared about watching the football. It was so lovely to be at there to celebrate with all the Switzerland fans when they went through to the quarter finals that night. It’s never the same if the host nation goes out in the group stages. Or so my girlfriend tells me. I was never really into football when I was younger, but she’s always played and watched it, so I’m learning these useful catchphrases and facts from her. It wasn’t until the Euros in 2022 that I started watching football and going to matches. I still can’t believe I’m a football fan travelling across Europe to follow the England team sometimes, but it has been nice to be able to celebrate something positive about where I come from for once.

I don’t think either of us would have ever imagined we’d write a football song for an England team. We usually support Wales because we’re both a quarter Welsh and I think we both naturally identify with underdogs more easily, but something about the Lionesses feels different. They’re such pop stars, and they’re all so funny and cool. This tournament has had so many iconic moments: Lucy Bronze taping her own leg up; Hannah Hampton saving a penalty with a tampon up her nose; Chloe Kelly’s celebrations; Alessio Russo sticking her finger in Ella Toone’s ear outside 10 Downing Street. It’s been beautiful.

We went down to Buckingham Palace on Tuesday to watch the victory parade, and it was amazing to see how much it’s grown again since we last won the Euros. There were only 7,000 people at Trafalgar Square at the victory parade in 2022, but there were 65,000 lined-up along the Mall this time. That’s so many people! In our song we’ve got a line where it says, “It’s such a shame that Lauren James and Aggie Beaver-Jones aren’t household names”, but I think we might need to re-write that for the World Cup, because I feel like everyone knows them now. The Lionesses winning feels so much bigger than just football. I think just for women to feel valued in sport generally is so important, for really young girls starting out but also for teenagers because it’s one of those things that when girls are 15 or 16, they get turned off sport because it’s just not a great time when you’re an adolescent with all these things going on in your life. I remember at school how a lot of girls stopped playing sports around that age. During adolescence, it’s just something that girls stop doing. They’ve got a heightened awareness of being judged by other people suddenly, mixed with an unhealthy lack of confidence and not feeling safe outside. It’s no surprise that girls who used to be really sporty stop playing altogether. I think the Lionesses have changed all that. Hopefully girls won’t feel shamed out of playing football now.

I know the Lionesses have changed both our lives forever and that’s a funny thing to think. I can’t believe we’re football fans with our own football anthem now, and we’ve driven all around Europe following a football team. Who knows what sport we’ll write a song about next. Basketball, hockey, curling…? There are so many places we could go with this. I have noticed there’s a women’s rugby tournament coming up.

Get the guitar, Squeak.

HUGE thanks to Poppy for writing about her love of the Lionesses for us, and to her and Jof for creating such an uplifting anthem in the form of ‘Let’s Do It Again’! I for one am looking forward to its rugby-inspired counterpart gracing our ears in the near future!

Watch the lyric video of ‘Let’s Do It Again’ here. And have a listen to Poppy’s motivational football-accompanying playlist here.

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