Cropredy 2026 Observations

[Andy]

Some thoughts on Croppers 2026

[Edit: I these are my thoughts, preferences and reactions. At the end of this piece I ask for your experiences. I do not think we will all like the same bands to the same extent, but reserve my praise for the acts I genuinely like. Don't diss me for my opinions, give yours and let's have a civilised discussion.]

The 6,500 punter limit really works for us. The camping areas have more room; paths stay open across the festival field and there's plenty of room. It doesn't work for the stalls, though, many were deserted for the whole weekend, several stall owners said to me they wouldn't be back without some substantial changes in the fees.

It has to be said that 38C temps will be high-impact on hot food stalls, but the ice cream folks did fantastic business.

The bar was, at times, completely bereft of customers and the staff milled around looking very confused. The innovation of bottled Old Hooky 0% was welcome but I only had one, sad to say. The innovation of every barperson having a card machine on a lanyard worked very well.

Of the new bands, Barbara were great. Can they come back next year please?

Banter were also great, as were Spooky Men's Chorale, Turin Brakes, Danny Bradley and the Celtic Social Club.

Marshall, Gilmour and the Webbs started well with "The Hammond Song" from the Roches, an old favourite. Their rendition of Wright/Torrey's "Great Gig In The Sky" was... adequate. There was a 5 minute silence when apparently one of their number had to leave the stage. Not sure why. Their talent outweighed their inexperience. Mostly.

I have to say I was largely unimpressed by several acts this year. Soft Machine, in particular, evoked memories of turgid prog jazz in the 1970s. Others loved them, so there's that. Hayseed Dixie are a busted flush IMHO, I'm sorry to say. I know some people love them, so there's that, too.

Matt Bragg had one good joke, which was regarding the Brasenose, but the other 19 minutes and 45 seconds of his 20 were greeted by indifference and provoked an increasingly red face on his part. I did feel sorry for him as he was relentlessly heckled and departed with a whimper and muted applause from a small section of the crowd.  

Chaps, if you want to put on a modern comedian that's both good and cheap, book David Eagle. He's brilliant and won't be cheap for long.

The other acts were ok, but not memorable for me. Surprisingly this included Richard Thompson. The strobes accompanying his act were just unnecessary. That said, a lot of people liked a lot of these acts, but we can't all like them all.

Fairport had made a real effort, the setlist was not just the usual fare and their guests were not just the usual suspects (it was really good to see Vikki Clayton). Saturday evening ended in a hurry as timing issues necessitated them rushing through Matty and possibly dropping "Who Knows...?" Meet On The Ledge was perhaps less cosy than usual. All the members of the band had a chance to step forward during the set and talk about their songs / tunes.

Guy Fletcher did a good job standing in on drums when DM played keyboards. In light of the demise of TRADarrr, he might have been regarded as a future full-time member once, but it seems to be getting late in the Fairport era to introduce new members.

All their articles in the programme alluded to old age and Peggy even said that this can't go on forever, which may not be news to anyone but it's the first time a Fairport member has said this to my very limited knowledge.

Anthony John Clarke did his usual superlative job as compère. Long may he reign. Maybe he can get a slot one year?

The dates for 2027 were mentioned in passing and Simon sounded a little plaintive when asking if we'd be back next year. To which the answer is of course, "Yes".

Astonishingly, a caravan was stolen from the Cropredy camping fields for the first time ever. A "Shaun the sheep" scarecrow was also nicked from the village.  The Brasenose was apparently, largely deserted except when Steve Knightley chose to be the only major act to retain his place in their discredited Fringe.

Complaints of high prices in the Red Lion weren't encouraging either, with a mandatory purchase of a plastic mug increasing the cost. It should be noted that the bar on the Field did not charge for plastic pint glasses.

The heat took its toll, several people were whisked off to hospital with heatstroke or worse; all were treated with kindness and efficiency by the medical team, acknowledged and thanked publicly by several in the Facebook Fairporters page. Since they saved my life in 2014, you'll find no argument from me.

Fewer people were visibly inebriated this year. Perhaps the heat tempered their thirst?

It is irritating that the exit by Jonah's tree is no longer used on Saturday night.

Food: the crepes were lovely. The Mexican cantina did a tasty Chilli  burrito which had a very nasty effect on my guts. The hot chocolate from the Coffee stand (very necessary on Saturday evening) was delicious.

The 2026 T-shirt design was very good. I bought one but it's in a (cool) wash at the moment, so I can't picture it.

I love Cropredy Festival. I think friends speak the truth and my view (backed by some other conversations) is that this year was somewhat stale and a bit sad. I think the heat was overwhelming at times and the fatigue felt by the audience was reflected in their responses to the acts.

So, on to 2027, the "Fairport at 60" celebration:

The Pearce Brothers are apparently booked for next year, which may well please the ladies in the audience.

The ticket limit is apparently going to be 11,000 because "that's what the economics demands". It will never return to 20,000 because several camping fields, including 4 & 5, aren't available any more under new ownership. I interpret the higher number as they're going to try and book some bigger acts to help the celebratory atmosphere. It must be born in mind though, that Cropredy '26 didn't sell out until June / July and plenty of tickets remained unsold on the resale sites. So the acts will have to be bigger and better to sell 11,000 tickets.

Will 2027 be "60 and out"? It's the 49th Cropredy by my count, so maybe shoot for 50? There is little doubt in my mind that the Fairport audience, like Fairport themselves, is getting old - and that includes me.  I wouldn't be amazed if either '27 or '28 were the finale, at least of Fairport leading the charge at Cropredy Festival. As Neil Young said "It's better to burn out, than to fade away". Once they depart, it will challenging  for the festival to just roll on. That said, surprisingly, many people don't stay for Fairport on Saturday night anyhow - but that makes the support acts even more important and when they're not successful, neither is the festival.

Who would I like to see next year? Manic Street Preachers, Frank Turner, Plant & well, anyone, really.

Disclaimer: I know nothing certain of future plans and have no connection with Fairport Convention Limited.

What was your experience?

[Will S]

Thanks for your thoughts, Andy. I didn't get quite the same feeling as you of it being a 'tired' festival. I think the heat probably had more to do with that than anything. A number of people commented to me on how little alcohol they had bought and consumed this year because of it.  I agree that next year (or the year after) may be the end - some of the punters are probably getting to the age where an excuse to stop coming might be welcomed?  Not to mention the band, of course.

I've made a lot of my comments in my post on the other thread, so won't repeat them, but will echo my thanks to the paramedics for how they dealt with me on Thursday.

Sorry the chilli burrito didn't do you any good. I had their chilli bowl, and enjoyed it with no nasty side-effects.

It was good to see that the t-shirt was back to a proper two-sided design this year after last year's abomination!

[Andy]

It was good to see that the t-shirt was back to a proper two-sided design this year after last year's abomination!

True!

[Yorkshire Chris]

Thanks Andy, a good summary of the weekend. Apologies that I didn't hang around to chat when I briefly introduced myself but I was quite 'over-refreshed' at this point and didn't want to make a bad impression  

[Adam]

As posted elsewhere, I pretty much agree with Andy on all points. The field felt very roomy, but better for it. The blistering heat on Thursday prevented much or any wandering, and I’m always amazed that the non-food concessions can ever turn a profit. Food queues were varied (massive queue for the Greek food stall on Saturday). Barbara were excellent, and I’ll go and see them in November.

Cropredy really does hold a special place in my heart as it has been a constant of my entire adult life (first attended on the day I got my A level results, now 55), but New Forest Festival is running it close. Looking forward to next year without overthinking what may happen to the festival after that.

[garrypbrooks]

Thanks for the comprehensive review, Andy.
Although I retired from outdoor festivals pre COVID, I still enjoy reading the reviews.

[Lubiloo (Lorna)]

The heat really affected enjoyment on the Thursday and Friday.…We waited til later Friday and  turned up during Celtic Social Club. Williamscot Rd car park was the emptiest we had ever seen it on those days, so I assume others did the same. The field seemed to have more space than last year, even with the same ticket nos, I assume for the same reason.

Highlights for me, from what we heard of the whole weekend, were:
Marshall Gilmour Webbs…lovely to behold, beautiful to hear. They captivated the field, as far as could be seen from where we were. (I am sure David Gilmour would not want to steal the limelight).
Spooky Men’s Chorale
Barbara ( just fun and light for that slot, but possibly over-hyped in the programme? IMO).
Fairport…

We were both perplexed by whatever The Haar tried to do to some staples, which could have been great field singalongs.
Hayseed Dixie were okay, but once you know their M.O.  it’s never the same watching/hearing them as the first time.

I actually found Matt Bragg quite amusing and felt he shouldered any ‘muck-ups’ quite cleverly, from the bits I heard.

Williamscot Road gate  was closed off, which we hadn't realised til leaving on Friday, meaning a v. long walk to the car park that night.  I have never before seen an exodus during RT’s set, like this year…I felt way guilty, as I have always loved his music and was down at the front in years past, but we decided to leave early. We just weren’t ‘feeling it’ probably due to the weather.

The Fairport finale, I personally enjoyed…I thought Simon sounded great. It was nice having the variety of guests again.

[David V B]

One other positive I forgot to mention - thought the between set playlists were great this year. Lots of variety and wonderful to hear Say It Ain’t So Joe again.

[hendo (Dave)]

Some thoughts on Croppers 2026

[Edit: I these are my thoughts, preferences and reactions. At the end of this piece I ask for your experiences. I do not think we will all like the same bands to the same extent, but reserve my praise for the acts I genuinely like. Don't diss me for my opinions, give yours and let's have a civilised discussion.]

The 6,500 punter limit really works for us. The camping areas have more room; paths stay open across the festival field and there's plenty of room. It doesn't work for the stalls, though, many were deserted for the whole weekend, several stall owners said to me they wouldn't be back without some substantial changes in the fees.
Thanks Andy,


It has to be said that 38C temps will be high-impact on hot food stalls, but the ice cream folks did fantastic business.

The bar was, at times, completely bereft of customers and the staff milled around looking very confused. The innovation of bottled Old Hooky 0% was welcome but I only had one, sad to say. The innovation of every barperson having a card machine on a lanyard worked very well.

Of the new bands, Barbara were great. Can they come back next year please?

Banter were also great, as were Spooky Men's Chorale, Turin Brakes, Danny Bradley and the Celtic Social Club.

Marshall, Gilmour and the Webbs started well with "The Hammond Song" from the Roches, an old favourite. Their rendition of Wright/Torrey's "Great Gig In The Sky" was... adequate. There was a 5 minute silence when apparently one of their number had to leave the stage. Not sure why. Their talent outweighed their inexperience. Mostly.

I have to say I was largely unimpressed by several acts this year. Soft Machine, in particular, evoked memories of turgid prog jazz in the 1970s. Others loved them, so there's that. Hayseed Dixie are a busted flush IMHO, I'm sorry to say. I know some people love them, so there's that, too.

Matt Bragg had one good joke, which was regarding the Brasenose, but the other 19 minutes and 45 seconds of his 20 were greeted by indifference and provoked an increasingly red face on his part. I did feel sorry for him as he was relentlessly heckled and departed with a whimper and muted applause from a small section of the crowd.  

Chaps, if you want to put on a modern comedian that's both good and cheap, book David Eagle. He's brilliant and won't be cheap for long.

The other acts were ok, but not memorable for me. Surprisingly this included Richard Thompson. The strobes accompanying his act were just unnecessary. That said, a lot of people liked a lot of these acts, but we can't all like them all.

Fairport had made a real effort, the setlist was not just the usual fare and their guests were not just the usual suspects (it was really good to see Vikki Clayton). Saturday evening ended in a hurry as timing issues necessitated them rushing through Matty and possibly dropping "Who Knows...?" Meet On The Ledge was perhaps less cosy than usual. All the members of the band had a chance to step forward during the set and talk about their songs / tunes.

Guy Fletcher did a good job standing in on drums when DM played keyboards. In light of the demise of TRADarrr, he might have been regarded as a future full-time member once, but it seems to be getting late in the Fairport era to introduce new members.

All their articles in the programme alluded to old age and Peggy even said that this can't go on forever, which may not be news to anyone but it's the first time a Fairport member has said this to my very limited knowledge.

Anthony John Clarke did his usual superlative job as compère. Long may he reign. Maybe he can get a slot one year?

The dates for 2027 were mentioned in passing and Simon sounded a little plaintive when asking if we'd be back next year. To which the answer is of course, "Yes".

Astonishingly, a caravan was stolen from the Cropredy camping fields for the first time ever. A "Shaun the sheep" scarecrow was also nicked from the village.  The Brasenose was apparently, largely deserted except when Steve Knightley chose to be the only major act to retain his place in their discredited Fringe.

Complaints of high prices in the Red Lion weren't encouraging either, with a mandatory purchase of a plastic mug increasing the cost. It should be noted that the bar on the Field did not charge for plastic pint glasses.

The heat took its toll, several people were whisked off to hospital with heatstroke or worse; all were treated with kindness and efficiency by the medical team, acknowledged and thanked publicly by several in the Facebook Fairporters page. Since they saved my life in 2014, you'll find no argument from me.

Fewer people were visibly inebriated this year. Perhaps the heat tempered their thirst?

It is irritating that the exit by Jonah's tree is no longer used on Saturday night.

Food: the crepes were lovely. The Mexican cantina did a tasty Chilli  burrito which had a very nasty effect on my guts. The hot chocolate from the Coffee stand (very necessary on Saturday evening) was delicious.

The 2026 T-shirt design was very good. I bought one but it's in a (cool) wash at the moment, so I can't picture it.

I love Cropredy Festival. I think friends speak the truth and my view (backed by some other conversations) is that this year was somewhat stale and a bit sad. I think the heat was overwhelming at times and the fatigue felt by the audience was reflected in their responses to the acts.

So, on to 2027, the "Fairport at 60" celebration:

The Pearce Brothers are apparently booked for next year, which may well please the ladies in the audience.

The ticket limit is apparently going to be 11,000 because "that's what the economics demands". It will never return to 20,000 because several camping fields, including 4 & 5, aren't available any more under new ownership. I interpret the higher number as they're going to try and book some bigger acts to help the celebratory atmosphere. It must be born in mind though, that Cropredy '26 didn't sell out until June / July and plenty of tickets remained unsold on the resale sites. So the acts will have to be bigger and better to sell 11,000 tickets.

Will 2027 be "60 and out"? It's the 49th Cropredy by my count, so maybe shoot for 50? There is little doubt in my mind that the Fairport audience, like Fairport themselves, is getting old - and that includes me.  I wouldn't be amazed if either '27 or '28 were the finale, at least of Fairport leading the charge at Cropredy Festival. As Neil Young said "It's better to burn out, than to fade away". Once they depart, it will challenging  for the festival to just roll on. That said, surprisingly, many people don't stay for Fairport on Saturday night anyhow - but that makes the support acts even more important and when they're not successful, neither is the festival.

Who would I like to see next year? Manic Street Preachers, Frank Turner, Plant & well, anyone, really.

Disclaimer: I know nothing certain of future plans and have no connection with Fairport Convention Limited.

What was your experience?

Thanks Andy

[David H]

I have been going to Cropredy, on and off, for forty years.  It's always been an incredibly friendly festival - well organised and set in idyllic countryside.  I think Andy has caught the slightly different mood this year - a sense of an ending, or the beginning of an ending.  I have been a Fairport fan since the first album, and followed them through all the line-up changes and dramatic events through the years.  This is a remarkable band, with a quite remarkable track record, and an almost uniquely loyal following.  But we - the fans - and the band itself, are all getting old.  The programme notes echoed that this year - and though I thought it was a bit of a downer, it was only facing up to reality.  Andy captures the lack of energy in the field, almost a sense of going through the motions.  I would exclude RT from this - and it was heartening that his two best songs were the new ones. A 6500 max festival is limited in the acts it can attract - and this year it showed.  Le Vent du Nord were amazing, but too many seemed to be going through the motions or just repeating a tired format (Hayseed Dixie for one).

Dave Pegg will be eighty in October.  The others are not far behind.  They have given us some of the best music of our lives - and they are still magnificent musicians.  But I for one hope that that next year will be both a glorious celebration and final farewell.

[mickf]

I enjoyed Hayseed Dixie and Richard Thompson (although his set wasn't as glorious as I would have expected) I thoroughly enjoyed Banter, Spookies,  Danny Bradley, Celtic Social Club, Beabrach, Turin Brakes, Le Vent Du Nord and Rob Jones and the Restless Dream.

Gilmour Marshall Webbs were obviously very talented, but I was underwhelmed by their material and their stage presence. I wasn't impressed with Barbara, even though they were obviously well received. I just found them annoying, sorry.

If this festival (and by extension Fairport themselves) is slowly coming to an end, I hope it goes out with a bang.

[StephenB]

So,my summing up
(tl;dr lovely jubbly but hard work with the heat. Roll on next year.

So I was dreading being badly incapacitated with a gammy knee but an injection I had 2 weeks before finally kicked in (excuse the pun) and made the whole thing doable.

Big shout out first to Trad Arrr, who gave their official final bow on Wednesday at the Mill in Banbury. A stonking set from a bunch of first class musicians and all round good eggs, who carried the torch for folk rock and will be sorely missed.

The oppressive heat changed my usual strategy this year and I didn't even see the village - I conserved energy by staying between F8 and the field. Weird kind of annoyances abounding like phone not charging because it was too hot added to the whole thing being just harder work than normal (but well worth it). So, to the bands:

After a lovely acoustic start from the chaps, Banter were very enjoyable folk rocky stuff. Soft machine were a no-brainer for a tent break, but I was glad to hear some of it over the hedges as  I walked back, as it confirmed my suspicion that it wasn't for me. I'll stick to Caravan for my Canterbury fixes.
(random canterbury scene trivia - Robert Wyatt's next band Matching Mole was a play on the French Machine Molle, or Soft Machine...)

Missed Matt Bragg and Turin Brakes - I'm sure the latter would have passed an hour pleasantly but wasn't to be. But Thursday was topped off by the magnificent Vent du Nord, even better than my memory of the last time. Brilliant stuff.

So, the relatively Siberian Friday was opened with the lovey experience of the local schoolkids. To see the looks of awe and glee on their faces was heartwarming and a lovely start to the day. Danny and the Champions sounded Ok from under the shade of the trees. Danny Bradly is one to watch, with flashes of brilliance and occasional hints of Roy Harper Lite. I feel like he hasn't truly found his niche yet and is still exploring, but defo one to watch.
Celtic Social Club were enjoyable though it seemed to me they had to keep remembering to put some Celtic bits in to honour their name.
MGW I missed for a tent break, but I was lucky to catch the second half of Breabach  and a welcome bagpipe fix. The highlight of my day (if not the festival) was the Spookies - a truly class act who've simply got better and better. ... pity they couldn't have switched billing with RT (***heresy alert**) for while I appreciate his guitaring and songwriting genius I simply can't stand his voice, and it gets worse with time (IMHO of course...). As for Zara Philips, not sure if she's worthy of a billing - she just seemed to be an OK backing singer to me.

So, the positively Arctic Saturday with no car boot or Digance started OK with Gerry Colvin (feathers instead of hankies - a kind of surreal and (presumably intended) touch; and the day got better with Rob Jones etc - energy, intelligence and nice feelgood stuff.

The Haar - a one-trick pony that could have been so much better given their obvious talent. They could have used more original or diverse material for their brooding treatment that might have suited better than a cliched list of songs obviously not meant to be treated that way. I had to choose between Barbara and Hayseed Dixie and I'm glad I chose Barbara. For the reviews they seem to be very marmite, but I love marmite. Where better to be irrepressibly quirky and English than at an irrepressibly quirky English festival. Stackridge meets Divine Comedy - what's not to like?

Pound and Butterworth brushed over me as I happily put faces to a few more avatars at the toast. Yes, he can play a mouth organ and she can play a guitar. Grand.

So the chaps themselves - on fine form IMO. No real complaints about the setlist apart from that bloody Bankruptured - they have hundreds of tunes to choose from, time to switch from that one. Nice to See Ralph. Vicki Clayton, I'm sorry, was tweer than some of Rick's worst songs (is tweer a word?) - and I hate it when people sing "and" at the start of every line for no particular reason. MOTL once again made it all worth while, and I can't wait till next year.

Big shout for F8/Cream of the Crop, my base for about 5 years now and now meeting some good regular friends there. Nice to have background music around the site, and I was delighted to catch Leatherat for the first time. The buzz on F8 was brilliant on Saturday - they're really getting their act together.

So, a lovely weekend, hard work but well worth it. As for next year? Well, first I'll be happy just to get there (as I'm sure will many other of that certain demographic). Maybe it will be the last one, and if so, as Mick says, I hope with a bang not a whimper. Personally, if the chaps want to bow out, I'd be happy to see the mantle passed on to a younger crowd if they could still keep alive the spirit of all that's good about Cropredy. I'd call it the Ledge - where people meet in a beautiful place in a spirit of love to celebrate and contemplate the past, present and future (as I believe was RT's original concept of the song).

Sorry for the long stream of consciousness, my mouse got carried away. How many sleeps now?

[davidmjs]

Genuine question - do you find Sandy 'twee'?

[Nick Reg]

Genuine question - do you find Sandy 'twee'?

I thought it was lovely to see Vikki again, not before time. Clearly time has moved on but her contributions when she first appeared were stunning, particularly Tam Lin.

[Adam]

Genuine question - do you find Sandy 'twee'?

White Dress did sound a bit syrupy, I personally would have preferred a barnstorming John the Gun or something similar, but horses for courses and all that!

[StephenB]

If the question was directed at me, absolutely not (apart from maybe one or two things in her very early repertoire). The adjective was directed at Vicki Clayton's performance of the song. David said syrupy -yes, that fits the bill for me

[davidmjs]

Genuine question - do you find Sandy 'twee'?

White Dress did sound a bit syrupy, I personally would have preferred a barnstorming John the Gun or something similar, but horses for courses and all that!

Well, the original arrangement was always a bit syrupy....certainly not my favourite Sandy song.  Fwiw, I think Vicki sings Sandy very well and I've really enjoyed her over the decades.  I've only just listened to the performance now.  It sounds like Vicki singing Sandy Denny to me... Twee sounds a bit pejorative to me.  I've got a friend who insists on calling Vashti, Vashtwee and it drives me to distraction (despite being funny)!

[Shane (Skirky)]

Genuine question - do you find Sandy 'twee'?

In truth I much prefer Ralph McTell’s delivery of ‘White Dress’.

[Nick Reg]

Genuine question - do you find Sandy 'twee'?

In truth I much prefer Ralph McTell’s delivery of ‘White Dress’.

Ralph could song my shopping list and sound good.

[StephenB]

So, to clarify, I've heard Vicki singing Sandy stuff before and thought it fine. This performance I thought was twee. Not sure if that can be classed as pejorative-it just wasn't complimentary (nor intended to be). Surely we're allowed to have different opinions... actually, what really surprised me is that I got away with saying I can't stand RT's voice