Cropredy 2026

[Angela]

It was interesting to hear so many alarms go off in our surroundings, but little notice taken. It probably didn't affect many of us but there was a lady a couple of rows down happily puffing away and then ground it out with her heel.

[Gouty (Gary)]

Didn't receive it. Nor did my wife 🤔

(And, at our age,we can't be trusted with the toaster, let alone a disposable barbecue, so you'd think we'd be part of the core demographic 🙄)

I blame it on AI, or Brexit, or something...

[Wandering Steve]

Regarding stolen caravan

I don’t do Facebook but saw a caravan being driven erratically down school lane at 12.15 , it nearly hit me and from memory was being towed by a dark four by four.
May be worth checking school cctv.

[Tasha]

So how did the emergency service message sound across the field?

I don't have them on my phone. Turned them off about three years ago

[davidmjs]

I've only experienced this year's event (as every other since 2010) remotely via here and FaceCrack.  The moaning this year was absolutely off the scale.  I do wonder if this is the curse of Johnny cum Lateley's from the last couple of decades who have very little love for FC and family and for whom Cropredy has just been yet another festy on the calendar?  I've only just stopped laughing about the FB post moaning about RT and asking why he was booked again this year.

Anyway, assuming we're all still functional in 12 months time, I'm definitely going to be there next year, which will be one more for old time's sake.  I've even just booked the most wonderful looking little Airbnb about 10 minutes drive away.  Let it be so...

[PhilipK]

Interesting-I've an Irish phone and number so it must have come straight from the transmitters rather than to a list of numbers

It's based on the call tower that your handset is connected to.

That allows for geographically localised warnings - e.g. floods, toxic fires which require windows to be closed, escaped dangerous criminals nearby, terrorist threat, wildfires, etc, etc. - as the message needs to be received by handsets within physical proximity, rather than base on which network it is registered on (including non-UK roaming ones).

Given the number of alerts that most phones give their users every day (even, occasionally, somebody telephoning them!), and the possibility that the information contained within the emergency broadcast might just save your life, I find it very hard to understand the mentality of those that refuse to receive them.

[davidmjs]

Not sure if they've already been posted, but the two FC sets are:

Thur https://www.setlist.fm/setlist/fairport-convention/2026/cropredy-festival-field-cropredy-england-2b718896.html

Sat https://www.setlist.fm/setlist/fairport-convention/2026/cropredy-festival-field-cropredy-england-1371f9d9.html

[Adam]

Well, that was a hot hot hot one! Managed one wander around the village on Thursday, but apart from that I was under my brolly on the field with several litres of water to keep me company. Highlights for me were:
Barbara - young band, very charismatic lead singer, and great songs that were a cross between Sparks and Divine Comedy
Rob Jones & The Restless Dream - cinematic America à la Springsteen
Richard Thompson - I’ve felt his last few albums were a little flat, but the songs from his forthcoming album sounded excellent

There was no one that I didn’t like, although Soft Machine aren’t really my bag.

£4 veggie burger at the cricket club with cheese and onions was great value, as was the Smac stall at £5.

The rumours around the field that Dave Gilmour was going to appear didn’t materialise, but Vikki Clayton back on stage.

[Dan O.]

Well, that was a hot hot hot one! Managed one wander around the village on Thursday, but apart from that I was under my brolly on the field with several litres of water to keep me company. Highlights for me were:
Barbara - young band, very charismatic lead singer, and great songs that were a cross between Sparks and Divine Comedy
Rob Jones & The Restless Dream - cinematic America à la Springsteen
Richard Thompson - I’ve felt his last few albums were a little flat, but the songs from his forthcoming album sounded excellent

There was no one that I didn’t like, although Soft Machine aren’t really my bag.

£4 veggie burger at the cricket club with cheese and onions was great value, as was the Smac stall at £5.

The rumours around the field that Dave Gilmour was going to appear didn’t materialise, but Vikki Clayton back on stage.

There's a couple of photos circulating on FB of Mr Gilmour watching his daughter's set from the side of the stage, so he was there, but the Radio Oxford presenter told us that he was chauffered pretty much straight in and out again...

[Poor Will (Bill)]

Not sure if they've already been posted, but the two FC sets are:

Thur https://www.setlist.fm/setlist/fairport-convention/2026/cropredy-festival-field-cropredy-england-2b718896.html

Sat https://www.setlist.fm/setlist/fairport-convention/2026/cropredy-festival-field-cropredy-england-1371f9d9.html

Unusual for “Who Knows Where The Time Goes” to go missing.
There were a couple of songs towards the end I would have sacrificed for it😂

[Nick Reg]

Not sure if they've already been posted, but the two FC sets are:

Thur https://www.setlist.fm/setlist/fairport-convention/2026/cropredy-festival-field-cropredy-england-2b718896.html

Sat https://www.setlist.fm/setlist/fairport-convention/2026/cropredy-festival-field-cropredy-england-1371f9d9.html

Unusual for “Who Knows Where The Time Goes” to go missing.
There were a couple of songs towards the end I would have sacrificed for it😂

I believe it was scheduled but obviously had to be left out. They are likely to get fined anyway.

[Sue & Chris]

Well, that was a hot hot hot one! Managed one wander around the village on Thursday, but apart from that I was under my brolly on the field with several litres of water to keep me company. Highlights for me were:
Barbara - young band, very charismatic lead singer, and great songs that were a cross between Sparks and Divine Comedy
Rob Jones & The Restless Dream - cinematic America à la Springsteen
Richard Thompson - I’ve felt his last few albums were a little flat, but the songs from his forthcoming album sounded excellent

There was no one that I didn’t like, although Soft Machine aren’t really my bag.

£4 veggie burger at the cricket club with cheese and onions was great value, as was the Smac stall at £5.

The rumours around the field that Dave Gilmour was going to appear didn’t materialise, but Vikki Clayton back on stage.

+1 for Barbara, the highlight of the weekend.

Also really enjoyed The Celtic Social Club, Spooky Men, Le Vent Du Nord and Turin Brakes. But there was something to like in most of the acts.

The only act that didn't do it for me was The Haar. Not my thing at all. It was almost comical the way they said 'Here's Whisky in the Jar', sing along' and then proceeded to play something I would never have recognised if they hadn't told me the title.

Felt a bit sorry for Matt Bragg, who was on a hiding to nothing coming on as a comic in the midst of a music festival, at possibly the hottest time of the entire weekend. People just weren't in the mood, and he didn't then help himself by getting shirty with the audience. He did have a cracking gag about the Brasenose Fringe, though!

As for Fairport, they were okay, I guess. Somehow DM has become their MVP. But it all just washed over me. Can't remember ever seeing them play a festival set with not a single set of uptempo tunes in it.

[Will S]

Back home and getting myself sorted out now.

Yes, it was HOT! Especially Thursday.  In fact I had a bit of a funny turn at the cricket club after sitting out in the sun for a couple of hours (there was no tent this year). Made it indoors to get out of the sun but then kind of collapsed. Thankfully Trev found me there and eventually managed to get the paramedics out. They checked me and him out (he was also feeling a bit bad) and they took us to their 'field hospital' at the top of the field, did some more tests, filled us up with water and electrolytes and sat us in front of their portable AC for a while until we felt ready to head back out and face the heat, just in time for Fairport's first set, which I didn't take much in of, to be honest. I enjoyed Banter, but Soft Machine did nothing for me, so I went back to my tent and missed half their set and all of Matt Bragg.

Turin Brakes were competent and enjoyable, but I only know one of their songs, and didn't feel I had to go out and buy more.  Le Vent du Nord, on the other hand were immense.  I was feeling well enough by then to go down the front (and it was cooling off a little by then).  They were definitely one of my highlights of the weekend.  I enjoyed them last time, but in the headline slot they were great!

On Friday I was feeling a bit better, though still a little under the weather. I missed most of the Primary school set as I was in the CD tent, where they had a great range of £5 CDs of which I bought far too many!  But not quite as many as one chap I saw who had armfuls!  The kids sounded pretty good though and I'm sure there were many proud parents, and well done to Oxfordshire CC or whoever funds those music lessons!  Danny & the Champs were a good festival band, but didn't again drive me to explore further.  I did enjoy the opportunity to hear more of Danny Bradley after his support slot with FC a year or so ago, and thought he did really well.  

From then on the rest of Friday was very good. Celtic Social Club were new to me but very good, Marshall Gilmour Webbs were different, but I enjoyed listening to them too. Not sure I'd buy an album, but I would go and see them again.  I didn't notice Dave Gilmour, but apparently he was there watching on.  Breabach were also very enjoyable, The Spookies did their Spooky thing very well, and RT was on top form, both solo, with Zara and then with SN, DP and DM (though Simon didn't seem very happy - not sure if he was just having to concentrate and so not smiling). It was fun to see the Cornflakes guitar make a comeback.

On to Saturday, and the weather was down to a more reasonable heat level.  Gerry Colvin got things off to a great start with his Big Band - 17 musicians on stage, I think!  Rob Jones was enjoyable, and it is always fun to see people who really want to be there on that stage as a long time fan.  Worth looking out for.  The Haar were different, but I enjoyed them - a number of standard Irish songs, but no played the way that you'd expect - not sure (as a non-musician) if they were played in different modes or something?  Barbara I could take or leave - some people loved them, I know. Hayseed Dixie are, as I commented on to someone, a bit of a one trick pony, and though they do their trick well, 90 mins of it is about an hour too much!  

A friend had seen Jenn Butterworth and Will Pound a week ago at Dartmoor Folk Festival and told me not to miss them, and I'm glad I didn't.  Very talented and obviously enjoying playing together, even in what is rather a graveyard slot before FC come on.

And getting to Fairport, I didn't feel they were just going through the motions - I admit that I also noticed that it seems a while now since we have had one of the big tune sets (Dirty Linen, Hen's March, etc), but that wasn't just this year.  It was great to see some old friends getting up there and playing with them - Steve Ashley, Ralph McTell, Vikki Clayton, Anna Ryder, etc.  Those may have contributed to them going slightly over, I guess? The Franklin pairing of I'm Already There and Mercy Bay at the end was wonderful.

[David V B]

First time back for eight years and loved every minute. It was like coming home.

Really enjoyed the greater room to roam, but the scaling back didn’t seem to have changed much. Everything was as before (though perhaps some of the stalls were a tad more expensive). Good choice of food and the bar range was excellent. The heat was the main drawback but not much we could do. Given the last time we left the field in 2018 we were drenched to the skin, can hardly complain! And everyone was really helpful, staff and campers alike.

Only gripe, stock levels in CD stall seemed low. Whenever I wanted something, they had sold out. Good to pick up the Grolloo albums though.

As for the music, liked most of what I heard and particularly enjoyed Vent du Nord Rob Jones (hopefully he is going to have a great career) and the Celtic Social Club. Had really wanted to hear Barbara but they left me a little cold - clearly very talented but a bit contrived for me. Bit too much of a pastiche, but happy to give them another shot as it could just be me.

Thoroughly enjoyed Spooky Men for the first time. Did wonder to start with if they were going to be a joke that wore thin, but ended up loving them.

Richard T was on fine form and great choice of material. As for Fairport, case of something for everyone. Was surprised no RT but Sloth was still very good. Matty seemed to arrive very quickly which is always a good sign. Disappointed no mention of Ashley though as I would have liked to hear how he was doing.

Highlights: Marshall Gilmour Webbs - Great Gig in the Sky; Spooky Men - Crossing the Bar; Gerry Colvin - Watching Feathers Fall. And of course Rosie - it is never a bad FC set when they play that.

A great weekend, over all too quickly. Can’t wait till next year!

[Delfini (Diane)]

Not sure if they've already been posted, but the two FC sets are:

Thur https://www.setlist.fm/setlist/fairport-convention/2026/cropredy-festival-field-cropredy-england-2b718896.html

Sat https://www.setlist.fm/setlist/fairport-convention/2026/cropredy-festival-field-cropredy-england-1371f9d9.html

Unusual for “Who Knows Where The Time Goes” to go missing.
There were a couple of songs towards the end I would have sacrificed for it😂

I believe it was scheduled but obviously had to be left out. They are likely to get fined anyway.

I don’t think that it was played in the warm-ups.
John Gaudie was a casualty of time

[Nick Reg]

. Disappointed no mention of Ashley though as I would have liked to hear how he was doing.

Dont think it was the right time. Should deffo be done but elsewhere. There is a lovely heartwarming side to it though.

[Will S]

. Disappointed no mention of Ashley though as I would have liked to hear how he was doing.

Dont think it was the right time. Should deffo be done but elsewhere. There is a lovely heartwarming side to it though.

I had a chat to the guy at the Talking Elephant stand about him.  Apparently Blair moved up to Chesterfield to care for him after his stroke, but is now back in Bristol, and plans to work on the recordings from Ashley's big birthday bash, which may be out early next year (they've been held up by Blair's general busyness, as well as having to care for his dad).

[PhilipK]

Just realised that this was the first Cropredy (in 8 attendances) where we've seen every act. Normally some of the time is spent on Field 8/CotC, in the village, in the Red Lion or in the Brasenose. Perhaps the heat meant that we were just happy to stay in one place.

Highlights for me were RT, Le Vent Du Nord, Hayseed Dixie. And also how many of the artists that I knew nothing about previously were very enjoyable. The excellent ice cream at sensible prices. Minerva Stout. Leons. The glamping experience.

Lowlights for me were The Haar (their experimental versions of well-known tunes just didn't work for me. I could have put up with one or two, but not a whole set), Soft Machine (very competent, but just not my music).

Minor things: Matt Bragg was out of his depth playing an arena, even though some of his jokes were actually quite funny. Putting Will Pound & Jenn Butterworth in that slot (they were brilliant but could have been swapped with Hayseed Dixie or put on even earlier in the day - I'm sure many will disagree!) Spooky Men weren't quite as good as last time. Fairport didn't seem to be fully engaged and, despite a 2.5 hour slot, missing Who Knows Where The Time Goes and rushing Meet On The Ledge robbed a section of the audience of the highlight of their weekend.

Ironic observation: Richard Thomson, who wrote Meet On The Ledge, was unable to play it during his set. Fairport Convention, who didn't write the song, had to play it, despite appearing not to really want to. Heresy?

Worst Moment Of The Weekend, By Far: Hearing that somebody had their caravan brazenly stolen from Field 7A. Cropredy has always been very friendly and safe. I left valuables in our tent rather than locking them in the car. We left our bags (with seats, etc) next to the barrier while we stood up front for FC, and when retrieving them I even commented to somebody who was doing the same thing that there weren't many festivals where you could just leave your bags unattended and expect to still find them there when you returned. It will be sad if the culture changes to having to be very security conscious.

[Nick Reg]

Never forget that the thieves are not normal Cropredy fans. I was quite happy to leave my bag by my chair of they want my bottle and a copy of Mojo they are welcome. The value of a van makes it worthwhile buying a wristband to avoid security. As this was a sellout it must have been preplanned. Beware of strangers showing interest. I have a new van so invested in a decent security device, sad but necessary