If the organisers of this year's Black Deer Festival looked to the skies on Thursday night and said a little prayer for the weather to be half as good as it was last year, then they were granted their wish.

Arriving at the Americana and country music festival, the sweeping Eridge Park bathed in sunshine was a vision.

After its first year success, the capacity has been increased to 10,000 but it didn't feel like that. The only place it felt cramped was at the Main Stage, which, surprisingly, did not have that much space for crowds to gather. Especially as many festivalgoers, by the Saturday afternoon, were flat-out, basking in the sun, as though they were at the beach.

You may well have heard of the Black Deer festival and thought 'but what is Americana?' Will I like it?'

The answer is yes. Admittedly, many were probably there to see Saturday's headline act Band of Horses, but you could pick up a range of music styles and sounds at any of the five stages. Some, you might stumble on almost accidentally. We listened to local band The Breretons' banging set and 6ft5 bearded William Crighton (he's on today too) at Haley's Bar while picking up a drink in our £1 reusable and take home too cups.

We also caught the Wandering Hearts' set on the main stage. If you're yet to discover them, one of them is even a local lass - Francesca "Chess" Whiffin - and they brought a breath of fresh air with their upbeat sound and beautiful voices.

Wild Rose star Jessie Buckley was on early in the afternoon on the main stage, and we watched, somewhat apprehensively for her, as it was the first time she was singing live, after playing a country singer in the recent film.

The Irish star, who donned all white for the occasion, has a great voice, and was very relaxed chatting to the crowd - with some great anecdotes - though we were left a little underwhelmed by the song choices. She played some from the film and some personal favourites - the best reception came from Guilty.

We also caught a little of Justin Townes Earle taking no nonsense from someone in the crowd who dared to shout out a request. "If anything your chances of hearing that song are lessened by you requesting it" he told them, slightly harshly.

The festival may be a celebration of Americana, but it wasn't all barbecued ribs and cowboy hats - though there were many in evidence, and many to be bought. Festival dress code was adhered to by many, including little ones. You could also pick up vegan and vegetarian food.

Our highlight of the day was Fantastic Negrito at The Ridge stage - who'll be on the Glastonbury stage next weekend - which, incidentally, with its red turrets in the centre of the arena, looked like it should be the main stage. Check out his back story here if you get a minute. The set was so uplifting, it wasn't possible to watch without dancing. And we came away with a new mantra for Monday morning: "turn that bull **** into good ****."

The three-day festival is a celebration of Americana and country, combining music, food and Americana culture and runs until tonight, with The Shires headlining.

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