That slightly underplays it, to be fair, the prize is worth about £2k  Everyone that buys a ticket (or has already bought a ticket) is entered.

Sorry if noted elsewhere, but I note from the mailing list,  that a raffle has been initiated to try to boost ticket sales, presumably.

Don’t worry, it’s not a box of hankies, a knitted loo roll cover and some After Eights…it's some festival tickets for some other events via Costa Music Festivals.

I'm not really disagreeing with you, but I can't help but think you weren't paying attention in 2002  

https://fclist.org/cropredy-cropredy-line-ups/cropredy-2002

Simon Nicol
Dave Pegg
Ric Sanders
Chris Leslie
Gerry Conway
Dave Swarbrick
Richard Thompson
Ashley Hutchings
Iain Matthews
Jerry Donahue
Maartin Allcock
Anna Ryder
Andrew Cronshaw
Neil Wayne
Ian Blake
Fraser Spiers
Tom Farnell
Roger Hill
Marc Ellington
Eddi Reader
Vikki Clayton
Ralph McTell
Chris Parkinson
Tommy Connolly Dancers
Terry Paine
Geoffrey Hughes
Blair Dunlop
Bob Fox
Kristina Donahue
John Jones

The Widow of Westmoreland's Daughter
Happy Man
The Crowd
My Love is In America
Neil's Morris
Journeyman's Grace
Walk Awhile
Doctor of Physick
Now Be Thankful
Flowers of the Forest
You Ain't Going Nowhere
Poor Will and the Jolly Hangman
Sloth
Hens March / Four Poster Bed
Polly on the Shore
Stranger to Himself
Rising for the Moon
John the Gun
Brilliancy Medley / Cherokee Shuffle
Rosie
The Plainsman
Red and Gold
England
Milltown Maid
Claudy Banks
Slip Jigs and Reels
Naked Highwayman
Red Tide
Jewel in the Crown
Everything But the Skirl / Let There Be Drums
The Light of Day
Bowman's Retreat
Matty Groves / Dirty Linen
Meet on the Ledge

Given the cost of living crisis, I honestly think that the lineup is a huge part of it.

Cropredy is *not* a cheap 3 days, and if we're going to risk spending what's going to be the thick end of £700 for two of us (after food, drink, travel costs and sundries) potentially being rained on in a muddy field before trudging back to a tent, we need to be confident we're going to enjoy a fair chunk of the acts.

Cropredy is simply too expensive for us to go in the primary hope of discovering something new.

I know that in years gone by, grumbles about the lineup have always been met with the usual responses of "We don't care about the music, we're going because it's Cropredy", but as has been said, the number of people with that attitude will have been diminishing every year through unavoidable natural causes, and so there needs to be a counterbalance.

Since the weather is just pot luck, the lineup is the only leverage the organisers have with those of the ticket-buying public who aren't nostalgically wedded to the twin concepts of FC and Cropredy - which, let's be honest, is most of them.

We haven't been for 17 years, and we've only been 4 times in total starting in 2002. Even back then, it was noticeable that the FC setlists were mostly comprised of the stuff we'd seen on the Wintours and the years of the mega-sets full of back-catalogue surprises were over.

Despite the headline of "it's the lineup, dummy!" I don't really know if there's an answer, and to be frank, I would imagine that pretty much everything depends on how well this year turns out.

Unlikely, given that Abbotsbury in July is being heralded as their proper final appearance before their indefinite break.

Not a surprise he had been ill for several years, but a sad loss.

In the 90's Alias Ron Kavana were just about the most exciting act on the folk club scene. Almost joined the Pogues on more than one occasion apparently.

For those who were planning on going to Northern Kin and Cropredy...

Statement in full: Kinship. It is with a very heavy heart that we have to make this announcement but with 6 weeks to go until Northern Kin, we have had to make the difficult decision to postpone the date of this year's Northern Kin Festival by 8 weeks until 9th to 11th August 2024.
Those of you who attended Northern Kin last year, know how the weather had a severe impact on our previous home and that was one of the main reasons we decided to invest in a long-term home at Thornley Hall Farm. Thornley Hall is the perfect site for Northern Kin Festival and we know that with the drainage infrastructure in place, this site will withstand all sorts of weather issues for years to come. Unfortunately, due to the worst 18 months of rainfall for nearly 200 years and over 50% above average rain, across this time, the planned extensive drainage infrastructure works and other site works, have been continually held up, with an ongoing wait for a dry spell. The result of this is that the heavy machinery needed to deliver our preparatory works are unable to safely access the site to complete the works in a manner which would be deemed safe by any standard.
The team have been exhausting all options in order to run Northern Kin Festival this year but we now find ourselves with insufficient time for the groundworks team to complete these works to a satisfactory manner by mid June, that would allow ourselves to confidently run the event on this new site in a completely safe manner and to ensure the best experience for everyone possible at our new planned long-term home.
We know many of you have been with us since day one, you have been with us through good times and difficult times and as a small independent festival we kindly ask you to hold on to your tickets for a few weeks, to continue on this journey with us for Northern Kin Festival on 9th to 11th August 2024. We are in conversation with all the artists concerning the date change and will bring line up confirmation very soon.
If you are unable to make this new date, your tickets can be carried over to use at next year's 2025 Northern Kin which helps support the long-term future of the festival, or refunds can be requested in the next 30 days. All ticket holders will shortly receive an email with all options available to them.
Changing the planned date is something we never wanted to do, but the incredibly wet conditions, that have not let up for many months, have finally beaten us, and to protect the future of Northern Kin Festival, we unfortunately have to make this decision. Festivals up and down the country are facing similar issues, and with weather, the after-effects of covid and the economic climate, all battles we are facing, we have to ensure that we put on a festival of the highest quality, and these ground works will ensure that will happen, not only this August, but for many years to come.
Rest assured, over the coming 8 weeks we will be bringing you regular updates of the works as we get Thornley Hall Farm ready to be our long term home and we can’t wait to see you in 3 months time!
Thank you for standing by us
Alex – Festival Director

There were floor tickets for £75 - But I confess did pay considerably more for seated and  "nearish" the stage.. having said that i can honestly say hand on heart it was VFM! Also he's got a fair few musicians to pay there!!

Photos I saw seemed to suggest he'd lost a ton of weight - I'm hoping that is all planned.  Must be fit as **** to be doing these high energy shows at (checks) 74+

Bruce is in that list of artists I really wish I got/enjoyed.  He seems likeable and interesting and pretty sound (although loses lots of Brownie points for the ticket pricing this time around).  Seeger sessions is the only material I've really enjoyed though, sadly.

They didn't play 'Gaudete' on the last two gigs I saw them do. That sounds like a great set. Their version of 'Shipbuilding' is really good. It's included on The Green Man Collection. The only one I'm not keen on is 'Bonny Black Hare', but I'm not that fussed with Fairport's version either.