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Cropredy Festival is an annual festival of folk and rock music held on the edge of the village of Cropredy in Oxfordshire, in the United Kingdom. It has taken place in August since the 1970s.
Cropredy Festival attracts approximately 20,000 people each year. The festival features a single stage at the lower end of the sloping arena field. There are also ancillary events, such as morris dancing in the streets and live music at the village's two pubs.
History
The festival grew from one-day reunion events staged by the folk-rock band Fairport Convention. Members of Fairport still organise it and the band gives the closing concert, a marathon performance which lasts up to four hours.
The original one-day festival was extended to two days and, from 2000, to three days. It now takes place on the second full weekend in August and for 2005 has been retitled Fairport's Cropredy Convention.
On the Monday and Tuesday before the festival each year, fans get a foretaste of what's to come at the festival when Fairport Convention stage "warm-up" gigs at The Mill, an arts centre venue in the nearby town of Banbury. The warm-ups are concerts in their own right and also provide Fairport Convention with the chance to rehearse their set for the following Saturday as well as giving an opportunity to renew acquaintances with friends they might not have seen since the previous year.
The majority of attendees camp for the duration of Cropredy Festival. There are seven separate camping fields adjacent to the main field, one of which is reserved for family parties. Cropredy festival is aimed at all ages with an emphasis on families and has developed a reputation as a particularly friendly and safe festival.
As well as a wide range of live music, the event features three dozen stalls selling clothing, books, CDs and food. Cropredy boast a very large bar which specialises in real ale which is provided by Wadworth, a brewery based in Devizes, Wiltshire. The bar is used by festival-goers and performers alike (there is no back-stage bar) making Cropredy one of the few major festivals where the public can mingle with the musicians playing there.
Well-known acts appearing in recent years include Robert Plant (of Led Zeppelin fame), Lonnie Donegan, Procol Harum, Steeleye Span, Eliza Carthy, and Oysterband (see below for others).
Appearances
2004
- Thursday 12 August
- Blue Meanies
- Mostly Autumn
- Jackie Leven and Michael Cosgrove
- Oysterband
- Friday 13 August
- Earl Okin
- Andy Guttridge Band
- Family Mahone
- Anna Ryder/Steve Tilston Band with Maart Allcock and Clive Bunker
- Jerry Donahue Band
- Show of Hands
- Jethro Tull
- Saturday 14 August
- Richard Digance
- Tiny Tin Lady
- The Mighty Firebirds
- Jez Lowe and The Bad Pennies
- Ashley Hutchings Morris On
- Nick Harper
- Fairport Convention
2003
- Thursday 7 August
- Colvin Quarmby
- Meet on the Ledge
- Trevor Burton Band
- Lindisfarne
- Friday 8 August
- Mark Gillespie
- Keith Donnelly
- Equation
- David Hughes
- Bucket Boys
- Blue Tapestry
- Procol Harum
- Saturday 9 August
- Richard Digance
- Al Hodge and The Mechanics
- The Hush
- Old Blind Dogs
- Albert Lee
- Dennis Locorriere
- Fairport Convention
2002
The 25th anniversary event.
- Thursday 8 August
- Freeway Jam
- The Joyce Gang
- The Dubliners
- e2K
- Friday 9 August
- Saturday 10 August
External links
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