Fairport Convention’s Cropredy Festival is a flagship event on the UK festival scene; certainly one of the longest running and spoken about in such hushed and reverential terms that you just know you will experience something very special indeed... and so it proved in 2013.

Somewhat inexplicably, this was this reviewer’s very first visit, and we were delighted to discover that the occasion merited all the praise heaped upon it over its 30 plus years of existence. (Read what Simon Nicol had to say about it all to FFA in a recent interview HERE)

This is a festival of the old school; call it traditional, minimalist, true-to-its-roots, call it what you will ….but never ‘stripped down’ or ‘cut back’. It’s always been like this. You get one stage, one field, stalls, and, oh, a bar – and that’s about it. There is no pretence at other distractions – no multiple stages, no funfair, no multi-media spoken word sessions or workshops, indeed nothing to distract from the music … and its all the better for it. We found it all rather refreshing.

Video curtesy of WhisperingBobTV

Don’t forget there is the Cropredy Fringe holding events in beautiful Cropredy Village throughout the weekend too. We quickly discovered that this is not a distraction or alternative to the festival proper; rather an extension of the ethos to encompass the village. It simply becomes part of the festival boundary. The pubs have splendid bands playing, the scouts will knock you up a breakfast, the ladies of the village will bake you cakes etcetera …. And the whole scene is simply wonderful with people chilling on the greens and in the churchyard listening to the bands. Excellent stuff.

In a knowing nod to audience expectations and behaviour, the band labels the festival as a ‘Convention’…. and so it is. This is a pilgrimage for many in the audience, some sport t-shirts celebrating visits to the festival back in the 80’s, indeed only two hours after gates opened we were amazed to see a queue for this year’s merchandizing stretching right across the field. This is an audience, twenty thousand of them, who return to the source each year to bond, to share a mutual affinity with kindred spirits, and celebrate, with the band, that special little escape from reality that they have managed to build for a few short days each year in this Oxfordshire field. The band thrive on this feeling and are frequently seen wandering the arena, well the bar, sharing the vibe – in fact Nicol was getting quite emotional during the headline Saturday set when thanking the crowd for their passionate support through the years. (FFA reviewed a Fairport performance on the 2013 Winter Tour and was simply blown away by the rapport between band and audience. They genuinely are top blokes. Read it HERE)

Given Fairport have been treading the boards since the late 1960’s, the age profile of the crowd was pleasingly varied; whilst perhaps the majority were ‘of a certain age’, there were all ages enjoying the shindig … many being generations of the same family. It’s that ‘community’ thing again. There is indeed hope for the future of Old England’s stories and songs if the reaction of the ‘young’ at this festival is anything to go by.

Although suffering the Plague Of The Green Chair (there are literally thousands of them bottlenecking the huge arena field), and latterly an explosion of flags to block everyone’s view, the festival does at least provide a large marked arc of ground in front of the stage reserved for standing and dancing only. It’s a fair compromise and has the added benefit of creating a great vibe front of stage, particularly as the packed crowd sing and dance to the more exuberant performers.

Let’s get our one gripe out of the way before we move on; particularly given a predominantly well-educated and mature audience, we were appalled at the volume of litter in the arena. For goodness sake not only should it be appreciated that Cropredy is one of those increasingly rare events where you are lucky enough to take your own alcohol into the arena, but there were copious amounts of bins provided…. Yet later in the evening the arena was in a disgraceful state particularly with the big festival no-no of glass bottles strewn everywhere. What is wrong with some of you people – show some respect and appreciation. [Lecture Ends]

The whole event was bathed in some lovely weather and we were on hand for Fairport’s brief acoustic set to kick start festivities on Thursday afternoon. Festival Bell to commence proceedings (of course), and a particularly jolly Walk Awhile and then we were off and running. We caught the excellent and infectious folk-reggae / reggae-folk of Edward II before the arrival of headliner Alice Cooper. Blimey – lets be 100% clear on this one – the guy can still cut the Rock & Roll mustard - Big time.… no hiding behind backing vocalists or throttling back on the rigours of the theatricals. This was the real deal – a full Alice Show. The man was splendid. In fine voice, and astute enough to surround himself with first class musicians, this was an international performer still right at the top of his game. The show had all the props – straightjacket, guillotine, Frankenstein, (RSPCA look away now) and of course the Snake, and musically could not really be faulted. A particularly fine Poison hit the spot for this reviewer.  Mid-way through the set we were treated to covers of late greats such as Morrison, Lennon, and Hendrix. The latter’s Foxy Lady bringing the very best out of a superb band. School’s Out to encore nicely rounding off a great performance. Mr Cooper is reported as apparently rather enjoying himself ….."Who knew that the best rock'n'roll audience of the tour would be at the Cropredy folk festival?" Cooper asked on Facebook after the show.

Day two saw us in the village taking in an excellent blues fuelled rock set from The Hidden in the extensive Brasenose pub beer garden. A great chilled sunny afternoon scene and an extension of the festival vibe indeed. Earlier we watched a spellbinding performance from Kathryn Roberts & Sean Lakeman on-site. Wonderful haunting songs encompassing everything from the Miners’ strike to New Zealand folklore. You could hear a pin drop. Absolutely exquisite Roberts vocals complemented by Lakeman’s thoughtful and accomplished acoustic guitar. They should pair off!

Video curtesy of WhisperingBobTV

The Levellers. I run out of superlatives for this band. Arguably THE festival headliner. Take or leave them there can be little argument that they take any festival audience by the scruff of the neck and get them dancing. As a throw away illustration of their extensive back catalogue and strength of material, the band threw in some lesser played numbers like Recruiting Sergeant, and Our Forgotten Towns in a truly memorable set with this reviewer yet again getting some grit in his eye singing to The Boatman.

In what could easily have been The Poisoned Chalice set – the Levellers were followed on stage by 10cc. How do you headline over a band that would grace the headline spot at any event? Actually I thought it was a stroke of programming genius. Point and Counterpoint. Worlds apart in style but brothers in sheer quality, 10cc were simply brilliant. As with most top ‘commercial’ bands its only when they fire up and it’s literally classic hit after hit after hit that one fully appreciates the talent on show. In a knowledgeable and knowing audience few will have dismissed 10cc as mere bubble-gum, and so it proved with a rapturous appreciation of an extended Art For Art’s Sake (musically brilliant) and a stunning acapella rendition of Donna (I think that grit got in my eye again.)

Saturday witnessed a great set from Richard Digance, hotfoot from the Edinburgh Festival. Particularly for the first set of the day, he got the crowd laughing and singing after 5 minutes. What a great talent.

In an increasingly hazy afternoon the Peatbog Faeries produced one of the sets of the festival. Anyone yet to experience the Celtic House beats overlaid with traditional Scottish folk rhythms is in for a treat … dance music on every level. The partnering of the increasingly popular Naughty Step back-to-back with mainstay Folk Police provided a double whammy encore that had the place absolutely kicking. Incidentally, does bassist Innes Hutton possess the world’s gaudiest bass guitar? Those colours are visible from space, man.

As is tradition, Fairport finish the bash with a three hour set. Wonderful stuff from accomplished musicians – where did those hours go? It flew by. This band have been defining the electric folk / folk-rock agenda for the last forty plus years, and it was an absolute privilege to witness them on their own turf. Highlights for this reviewer being a wonderful My Love is in America and an absolutely stunning Wood and the Wire. Every year the band invites guests of every musical hue to join them on stage; this year featured the likes of Nik Kershaw performing a simply brilliant The Riddle with the band, plus extended spots from Martin Barre renewing Tull acquaintances with Peggy, who incidentally was attacked by Ticks earlier in the weekend and played with a heavily bandaged foot. What a trooper! The usually excellent Tom Robinson disappointed with a rather lack-lustre 2-4-6-8 Motorway spot. Given the guy’s extensive musical canon, this was a poor choice of song and it all fell rather flat. The lovely vocals of Kelly While did justice to Who Knows Where The Time Goes, before the whole crowd rose to their feet as one to link arms and accompany Meet On The Ledge.

We loved this festival, and as Cropredy virgins, we’ve a lot of catching up to do, but we’re certain it will all come round again in 2014; the T Shirt collection demands it.

Article by Barrie Dimond