Got a couple of hometown gigs this week (Southend in case you were wondering   )

Sparks tomorrow night at the Cliffs Pavilion. Never seen them before so really excited for this.

An Alice In Chains tribute band at the Railway Pub on Friday. My wife's choice, but I'm not averse to their stuff.

Lovely to see you again Mick after so long, and to meet the lovely Megan, see you next year? Xx

Wafer thin mint?

If I'd tried most of the food I'd end up like Mr Creosote!😁

I had a great time. First one in 8 years for various reasons and my daughter’s first one ever. Music was great, not everything to my taste but we watched everyone. The stalls seemed a bit quiet but we managed to try most of the food. The best thing was seeing old friends and just ‘being’ for three days. It also reminded me that this festival is one of the few places you can talk to anyone and have a good time. It was hot but manageable, just. Enjoyed the toast, Adam did a great job. Cropredy will always be special for lots of people. For me, it’s the first festival
I ever went to in 1988 as a 16 year old local. And I’ve loved it ever since. Having my not so little one standing next to me when Meet On The Ledge was a played at the end of the weekend was more than a bit special

 Well, this year was my first ever three day attendance and i enjoyed it hugely. Great to have some space on the field, loved the Fairport set, Marshall Gilmour Webbs, Spooky Men, Rob Jones and the restless dream, le vent du nord. Already looking forward to next year  

We saw the Beard-less ZZ Top last night, and I'm very glad we did. After the first number, Billy Gibbons paused to acknowledge Frank Beard's passing, thank everyone for sticking with them, and compliment his new drummer Michael Monahan and current bass player Elwood Francis. They played a lot of early material, four songs from Eliminator, and not much of the more recent stuff. I am particularly pleased that they emphasized my favorite 1979 ZZ Top album, Deguello, with three songs: "I'm Bad, I'm Nationwide," "Cheap Sunglasses," and "I Thank You."

I've seen ZZ Top five times in my life (1986, 2013, 2015, 2019, and last night), but this was the first time without the original trio intact. The photo below was taken on 30 April 2015 in Cedar Park, Texas, after the show. R.I.P. Dusty Hill and Frank Beard, and long live ZZ Top.

Just my opinion, of course, but to my way of thinking, Cropredy started going wrong when it started chasing (and booking) the 'bigger bands'.  So, I kind of hope they don't.  But I reserve the right to change my mind as well...

I did put my non-tea based observations on the festival in the other thread  

If the biggest topic for discussion of Cropredy 2026 is the price of tea, it shows that the various artists featured made less than a huge impact. (Having said that, Barbara made an impact on just about everyone I have spoken to about this year's festival. Fairport made an effort on Saturday night and did well.)

I really hope we can get some bigger bands next year. (The Pearce Brothers not withstanding.)