Fairport's Cropredy Convention
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Fairport's Cropredy Convention (formerly Cropredy Festival) is an annual festival of folk and rock music, headed by British folk-rock band
Fairport Convention Fairport Convention are an English British folk rock, folk rock band, formed in 1967 by guitarists Richard Thompson (musician), Richard Thompson and Simon Nicol, bassist Ashley Hutchings and drummer Shaun Frater (with Frater replaced by Marti ...
and held on the edge of the village of Cropredy in Oxfordshire, England. The festival has taken place in August annually since 1976. Fairport's Cropredy Convention attracts up to 20,000 people each year. In 2025 the management reduced the ticket sales down to 6000 to help the festival survive. The festival features a single stage at the lower end of the sloping arena field. There are also ancillary events, such as Morris dancing in the streets and live music at the village's two pubs.


History

The festival began as a private performance to about 750 people by the British folk rock band
Fairport Convention Fairport Convention are an English British folk rock, folk rock band, formed in 1967 by guitarists Richard Thompson (musician), Richard Thompson and Simon Nicol, bassist Ashley Hutchings and drummer Shaun Frater (with Frater replaced by Marti ...
in a village back garden in July 1976. The next year the performance was repeated and opened up to the public. In 1978 it was properly organised and moved to a larger site behind the Cropredy village school. It became a significant event in the band's history as they played their farewell performance there on 4 August 1979 to around 4,500 people, who were cheered by a promise to continue with annual reunions. From this point the festival became the main mechanism for preserving the identity of the band and for their many fans to show their appreciation.F. Redwood and M. Woodward, ''The Woodworm Era: The Story of Today’s Fairport Convention'' (Thatcham, Berks, UK: Jeneva Publishing, 1995), p. 76. At the first reunion in 1980 the festival was expanded from a one to a two-day event with increasing numbers of guest acts. In 1981, lacking a suitable site at Cropredy, it was shifted to the grounds of Broughton Castle, a performance released as '' Moat on the Ledge – Live at Broughton Castle'' (1982). The festival returned to Cropredy the next year (and has remained there ever since although the actual site has expanded over the years). Despite the fact that Fairport Convention was not active as a band from 1980 to 1985, the festival continued to grow. After the band reformed in 1985, the festival became Fairport's major platform for showcasing new material as well as revisiting the old. Between 1981 and 1999, the festival was a two-day event. From 2000, it was expanded to three days—Thursday, Friday and Saturday. The festival takes place on the second full weekend in August. Originally known as just "the Cropredy reunion", the event was branded Cropredy Festival until 2005 when it was retitled Fairport's Cropredy Convention. In 2007, all available tickets were sold in advance for the first time (this would not happen again until 2014). In 2008, a live on-stage video screen was introduced. The year was also notable because, for the first time, not a single theft from the campsites was reported to festival control over the whole three days, underlining the unique and friendly atmosphere for which the festival is famous. In 2010, highlights of the festival were televised on Sky Arts for the first time, with a documentary presented by radio DJ and television presenter Bob Harris. This continued through to 2012. In 2013 and 2014 the Whispering Bob Broadcasting Company uploaded highlights of the festival on their YouTube channel. From 2015 onwards, highlights from Fairport Convention's Saturday night set have been uploaded on their official YouTube channel. In 2020 the festival did not take place due to the
COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...
and so a broadcast of Richard Thompson and Fairport Convention's full sets from the 2019 festival was streamed on the official YouTube channel. To celebrate forty years of the festival, a documentary called ''Summer by The Cherwell'' was released in 2020.


Outline of the festival

The event is organised largely by Gareth Williams, the Festival Director, and also Simon Nicol and Dave Pegg, both members of Fairport. Fairport themselves open the festival on the Thursday evening with an acoustic set, and close the festival on the Saturday night. The majority of attendees camp for the duration of the festival. There are eight separate camping fields adjacent to the arena, one of which is reserved for family parties. Fairport's Cropredy Convention is aimed at all ages with an emphasis on families and has developed a reputation as a particularly friendly and safe festival. As well as a wide range of live music, the event features three dozen stalls selling clothing, books, CDs and food. It also boasts a very large bar which specialises in
cask ale Real ale is the name coined by the Campaign for Real Ale (CAMRA) for ale that is "brewed from traditional ingredients, matured by secondary fermentation in the container from which it is dispensed, and served without the use of extraneous ca ...
which was formerly provided by
Wadworth Wadworth is a village and civil parish in the City of Doncaster in South Yorkshire, England. The parish had a population of 1,137 at the 2011 United Kingdom census, 2011 Census, a decrease from 1,229 at the 2001 United Kingdom census, 2001 Cen ...
, a brewery based in
Devizes Devizes () is a market town and civil parish in Wiltshire, England. It developed around Devizes Castle, an 11th-century Norman architecture, Norman castle, and received a charter in 1141. The castle was besieged during the Anarchy, a 12th-cent ...
, Wiltshire until 2020. Hook Norton Brewery took over the bar for the 2021 festival, serving their real ales, real cider, wines and spirit. The bar is used by festival-goers and performers alike (there is no back-stage bar), making Cropredy one of the few major festivals where the public can mingle with the musicians playing there. In recent years, the running times for live music have been 4 p.m. until 11 p.m. on the Thursday and noon until midnight on the Friday and Saturday. Also recently, there has been a wider spread of genres of music, expanding out from the original folk roots of the festival.
Status Quo is a Latin phrase meaning the existing state of affairs, particularly with regard to social, economic, legal, environmental, political, religious, scientific or military issues. In the sociological sense, the ''status quo'' refers to the curren ...
, the Buzzcocks,
Dreadzone Dreadzone are a British electronic music group formed in 1993 in London by ex-Big Audio Dynamite drummer Greg Roberts and musician Tim Bran. They have released nine studio albums, two live albums, and two compilations. They gained a reputatio ...
and
Supergrass Supergrass are an English rock band formed in 1993. For the majority of the band's tenure, the line-up consisted of brothers Gaz (lead vocals, guitar) and Rob Coombes (keyboards), Mick Quinn (bass, backing vocals) and Danny Goffey (drums, ...
have played at Cropredy in recent years. Among many well-known acts appearing in recent years are
Robert Plant Robert Anthony Plant (born 20 August 1948) is an English singer and songwriter. He was the lead singer and lyricist of the rock band Led Zeppelin from its founding in 1968 until their breakup in 1980. Since then, he has had a successful solo ca ...
,
Alice Cooper Vincent Damon Furnier (born February 4, 1948), known by his stage name Alice Cooper, is an American rock singer and songwriter whose career spans sixty years. With a raspy voice and a stage show that features numerous props and stage illusion ...
,
Lonnie Donegan Anthony James "Lonnie" Donegan (29 April 1931 – 3 November 2002) was a British skiffle singer, songwriter and musician, referred to as the " King of Skiffle", who influenced 1960s British pop and rock musicians. Born in Scotland and brought ...
,
Procol Harum Procol Harum () were an English rock music, rock band formed in Southend-on-Sea, Essex, in 1967. Their best-known recording is the 1967 hit single "A Whiter Shade of Pale", one of the few singles to have sold more than List of best-selling si ...
,
Steeleye Span Steeleye Span are a British folk rock band formed in 1969 in England by Fairport Convention bass player Ashley Hutchings and established London folk club duo Tim Hart and Maddy Prior. The band were part of the 1970s British folk revival, ...
, Eliza Carthy, Yusuf Islam and
Oysterband Oysterband (originally The Oyster Band) is a British folk rock and folk punk band formed in Canterbury around 1976. History Early history The band formed in parallel to Fiddler's Dram, and under the name "Oyster Ceilidh Band" played purely as ...
(see below for others).


The pre-Cropredy "warm-ups"

On the Monday and Tuesday before the festival each year, fans get a foretaste of what is to come at the festival when Fairport Convention stage "warm-up" concerts at a local club venue. Until 2007 these concerts were held at the Mill Arts Centre in
Banbury Banbury is an historic market town and civil parish on the River Cherwell in Oxfordshire, South East England. The parish had a population of 54,335 at the 2021 Census. Banbury is a significant commercial and retail centre for the surrounding ...
. From 2007 until 2010 the concerts were held at Woodford Halse Social Club ( Woodford Halse is a village in Northamptonshire approximately nine miles northeast of Cropredy) but returned to The Mill in 2011. In 2017 the warm-ups moved from The Mill to Banbury Trades And Labour Club, following in the footsteps of P J Wright (fellow band-member with Dave Pegg in the Dylan Project) who had moved his annual TRADarrr pre-Cropredy Wednesday gig to the same venue in 2016.


Appearances

''These performers are generally listed with the headline act last.''


2023

On 12 December 2022 it was announced that the festival would be happening on 10, 11 and 12 August 2023 with headliners
10cc 10cc are an English rock music, rock band formed in Stockport, southeast of Manchester, in 1972. The group initially consisted of four musicians, Graham Gouldman, Eric Stewart, Kevin Godley and Lol Creme, who had written and recorded togethe ...
on the Friday and other sets by Toyah &
Robert Fripp Robert Fripp (born 16 May 1946) is an English musician, composer, record producer, and author, best known as the guitarist, founder and longest-lasting member of the progressive rock band King Crimson. He has worked extensively as a session mu ...
, Kiki Dee & Carmelo Luggeri, Gilbert O’Sullivan and the UK farewell performance from
Strawbs The Strawbs are an English rock band founded in 1964 as the Strawberry Hill Boys. The band started out as a bluegrass group, but eventually moved on to other styles such as folk rock and progressive rock. They are best known for their hi ...
.


2022

;Thursday 11 August 2022 *The Trevor Horn Band *Clannad *Edward II *Thumping Tommys *Fairport Convention Acoustic ;Friday 12 August 2022 *Steve Hackett - Genesis Revisited *Turin Brakes *Sharon Shannon *Slambovian Circus of Dreams *Martyn Joseph *Home Service *Emily Barker *Maddie Morris ;Saturday 13 August 2022 *Fairport Convention & Friends (inc Full House) *Richard Thompson *The Matthews Baartmans Experience *Rosalie Cunningham * The Bar-Steward Sons of Val Doonican *Holy Moly & The Crackers *Seth Lakeman


2021

In 2021 the festival did not take place due to the
COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...
.


2020

In 2020 the festival did not take place due to the
COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...
.


2019

;Thursday 8 August 2019 *Fairport Acoustic *Lil'Jim *Tors * Gogol Bordello * The Waterboys ;Friday 9 August 2019 * The 4 of Us * Wildwood Kin *Will Pound & Eddy Jay * Wilson & Wakeman * Caravan * Seth Lakeman * Richard Thompson & Friends *
Frank Turner Francis Edward Turner (born 28 December 1981) is an English Punk rock, punk and Folk music, folk singer-songwriter from Meonstoke, Hampshire. He began his career as the vocalist of post-hardcore band Million Dead, then embarked upon a primaril ...
& the Sleeping Souls ;Saturday 10 August 2019 * Richard Digance * Daphne's Flight * Tide Lines * Zal Cleminson's /sin'dogs/ * Martin Barre Band plays 50 years of Jethro Tull * Martin Simpson *
Fairport Convention Fairport Convention are an English British folk rock, folk rock band, formed in 1967 by guitarists Richard Thompson (musician), Richard Thompson and Simon Nicol, bassist Ashley Hutchings and drummer Shaun Frater (with Frater replaced by Marti ...
& Friends


2018

;Thursday 9 August 2018 *Fairport Acoustic *Smith & Brewer * Police Dog Hogan *
Oysterband Oysterband (originally The Oyster Band) is a British folk rock and folk punk band formed in Canterbury around 1976. History Early history The band formed in parallel to Fiddler's Dram, and under the name "Oyster Ceilidh Band" played purely as ...
*
Brian Wilson Brian Douglas Wilson (June 20, 1942 – June 11, 2025) was an American musician, songwriter, singer and record producer who co-founded the Beach Boys. Often Brian Wilson is a genius, called a genius for his novel approaches to pop compositio ...
Presents
Pet Sounds ''Pet Sounds'' is the eleventh studio album by the American Rock music, rock band the Beach Boys, released on May 16, 1966, by Capitol Records. It was produced, arranged, and primarily composed by Brian Wilson with guest lyricist Tony Asher. R ...
;Friday 10 August 2018 *Mera Royle & friends (Scran) ( BBC R2 YFA Winner) *Midnight Skyracer * The Travelling Band * Cregan & Co * Le Vent Du Nord *
Fish A fish (: fish or fishes) is an aquatic animal, aquatic, Anamniotes, anamniotic, gill-bearing vertebrate animal with swimming fish fin, fins and craniate, a hard skull, but lacking limb (anatomy), limbs with digit (anatomy), digits. Fish can ...
* Kate Rusby *
Levellers The Levellers were a political movement active during the English Civil War who were committed to popular sovereignty, extended suffrage, equality before the law and religious tolerance. The hallmark of Leveller thought was its populism, as sh ...
;Saturday 11 August 2018 * Richard Digance *Eric Sedge * The Bar-Steward Sons of Val Doonican * Will Varley *Sam Kelly & The Lost Boys * Afro Celt Sound System *
Al Stewart Alastair Ian Stewart (born 5 September 1945) is a British singer-songwriter and folk-rock musician who rose to prominence as part of the British folk revival in the 1960s and 1970s. He developed a unique style of combining folk-rock songs wi ...
*
Fairport Convention Fairport Convention are an English British folk rock, folk rock band, formed in 1967 by guitarists Richard Thompson (musician), Richard Thompson and Simon Nicol, bassist Ashley Hutchings and drummer Shaun Frater (with Frater replaced by Marti ...
& Friends


2017

;Thursday 10 August 2017 *Fairport Acoustic Convention *Feast of Fiddles * Show of Hands *
The Trevor Horn Band The Trevor Horn Band are an English group based around record producer and bass player Trevor Horn. Horn and others got together as the Producers in 2006, when they included producers Horn (bass and vocals), Chris Braide (keyboards and vocals ...
*
The Divine Comedy The ''Divine Comedy'' (, ) is an Italian narrative poem by Dante Alighieri, begun and completed around 1321, shortly before the author's death. It is widely considered the pre-eminent work in Italian literature and one of the greatest wor ...
;Friday 11 August 2017 *Josie Duncan and Pablo Lafuente *The Gerry Colvin Band *Quill *Gigspanner Big Band *CC Smugglers *Pierce Brothers *
Petula Clark Sally "Petula" Clark (born 15 November 1932) is a British singer, actress, and songwriter. She started her professional career as a child actor, child performer and has had the longest career of any British entertainer, spanning more than 85 y ...
* Richard Thompson ;Saturday 12 August 2017 * Morris On * Judy Dyble and the Band of Perfect Strangers *
Plainsong Plainsong or plainchant (calque from the French ; ) is a body of chants used in the liturgies of the Western Church. When referring to the term plainsong, it is those sacred pieces that are composed in Latin text. Plainsong was the exclusive for ...
* Cats in Space *
Marillion Marillion are a British neo-prog band, formed in Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire, in 1979. They emerged from the post-punk music scene in Britain and existed as a bridge between the styles of punk rock and classic progressive rock, becoming the mo ...
* Dougie MacLean *
Fairport Convention Fairport Convention are an English British folk rock, folk rock band, formed in 1967 by guitarists Richard Thompson (musician), Richard Thompson and Simon Nicol, bassist Ashley Hutchings and drummer Shaun Frater (with Frater replaced by Marti ...
& Friends


1976 to 2016

Appearances prior to 2017 are documented at Fairport's Cropredy Convention appearances


See also

*
List of folk festivals A folk festival celebrates traditional folk crafts and folk music. This list includes folk festivals worldwide, except those with only a partial focus on folk music or arts. Folk festivals may also feature folk dance or ethnic foods. Handicra ...
* List of historic rock festivals


References


External links


Fairport Convention's website

Guide to Cropredy Festival

''Cropredy Festival''
at eFestivals * {{Authority control 1976 establishments in England English folk music Folk festivals in the United Kingdom Music festivals established in 1976 Music festivals in Oxfordshire Rock festivals in the United Kingdom