TalkAwhile - The Folk Corporation Forum

Ok, starting the Cropredy 2025 Wishlist thread.

Here's my list - some realistic, some out of the question, but here goes. I'll probably think of some more later :

The Stranglers or Hugh Cornwell solo
EX-TC (featuring Terry Chambers of XTC and friends)
Trad Arrr.
Blair Dunlop
Mike Campbell & The Dirty Knobs (Tom Petty's guitarist and his band)
Steve Earle
Chris Smither
Yes
The Beach Boys (we've had Brian Wilson, now a slot for Mike Love & Bruce Johnston's touring band)
Bellowhead
Magpie Arc
The Sandy Denny Project
Carla Fuchs
Bob Mould
Bill Bailey
Robert Plant & Saving Grace
Ian McNabb or Icicle Works duo (with IW member Chris Layhe)
Richard Thompson (can't get enough RT - now he's 75, enjoy him while you can)
David Gilmour
Nick Mason's Saucerful Of Secrets
The Grateful Dudes (Grateful Dead tribute)
Brave Rival
Lil Jim
Ozric Tentacles

There's a couple near the end I don't recognise but only the Beach Boys and Gilmour are totally unrealistic I'd have thought.  Plenty in there that I'd enjoy for sure.  But, the sad truth is that (like virtually every bill that anyone will put together here) there's about 50% of the audience who wouldn't touch it with a bargepole....

The Stranglers were at Lakefest last weekend, which is smaller than Crops. I must ask stepdaughter how they were received and will post accordingly

Mine would be similar to what I have wished for over the past few years:
Rufus Wainwright
Tidelines
Rick Astley and The Blossoms doing The Smiths
Karine Polwart
Half Man Half Biscuit
Something reggae related, like Edward II
Yusuf Cat Stevens


Agree with Dan O re:
Robert Plant & Saving Grace
Richard Thompson
& quite a lot of his other choices…nice list, Dan.

Realistic Choices
Larkin Poe
Gong
PJ Harvey
Squeeze
3 Daft Monkeys
TRADarrr
Smith and Brewer
Thea Gilmore
Ward Thomas
Billy Bragg
Levellers (properly this time)

It will never happen but I can dream
Stevie Wonder
Paul McCartney
Fleetwood Mac

The Decemberists, please.

Also:

The Longest Johns
Granny's Attic
Eliza Carthy
Jethro Tull
Tedeschi Trucks Band
Katherine Priddy

Mark Knopfler still heads my 'well, I can dream, can't I?' list!
Closely followed by Jackson Browne, David Gilmour and Nick Mason's Saucerful of Secrets
And a recreated 'Rise Up Like The Sun' Albion Band

More realistically:
Trad Arrr.
Blair Dunlop
Magpie Arc
The Sandy Denny Project
Tidelines
Capercaillie
Peatbog Faeries
Julie Fowlis
Lindisfarne
Blackbeard's Tea Party
Dave Bainbridge & Sally Minnear
Eliza Carthy
Kaprekar's Constant
Sam Kelly
Gigspanner (Big Band or just the trio)
Jack Rutter
Jez Lowe
Kate Rusby
Kim Lowings & The Greenwood
Eliza Carthy
Seth Lakeman
Camel
Dawes
Wishbone Ash

Just to add someone, as the 80s have been mentioned..the great Holly Johnson would be good.

Having seen him on his tour, that voice was still very much there ..He sang many well known hits from Frankie and his own repertoire and he has a lovely personality.

Realistic and would be fab:

Dream in colours
Longest Johns
Nick Parker
Gaz Brookfield
Squeeze
Ocean colour scene

Unlikely but would be amazing:

Decemberists/Colin Meloy solo
Brandi Carlisle
Crowded House
Sparks

Dream on, sucker:

Kate Bush in the resurrected Sandy slot
REM reform for one night only and play all of Life’s Rich Pageant

Judging by this year Vera Lynn, Bananarama, Midge Ure and Benny Hill…….😇🤣

…extra request from me…

Fairport performing a good wodge of Rising for the Moon on its 50th anniversary with a special guest singer..

  ;D  Well, I'd go to see it.....

I may be amongst a minority in having seen Vera Lynn in concert...

That’s one for the win tour
We’re on about bands which may help the festival survive

FFS!!!

We’re really discussing people’s own personal wishes for 2025…so that sounds reasonable to me. They have celebrated album anniversaries at their festival before, after all.

Aye, what with it being (supposedly, anyway) their festival and all that...  It sometimes sounds like they're unwanted intruders at something which was (until fairly recently) entirely about them.  It's utterly monstrous.

… but looking at other Fairport F book sites…people asking why Fairport set is so long!!!!!!
For old farts like you and me David , I think we are accepting that the fest has become a generic fest at which Fairports and all things Fairport related are not the main attraction.
.and to go off at a tangent I happened to be folding (!) a 1993 Fest T-shirt today at which Robert Plant and Roy Wood did long sets as part of a 4 hr Fairport set. Tempis Fugit.

With all due respect, one of the frequent complaints I’ve heard (including friends who gave Cropredy a miss this year) is that Fairport’s set is pretty much the Wintour, so why bother when they heard 90% of the songs a few months previously. Performing a large chunk/all of an album at Cropredy (I recall full house, liege and lief, Babbacombe Lee) always makes it something special IMO. As others have said, the days of long sets, ex-members and special guests are sadly in the past, although I fully understand the reasons. A chap can dream, though….

They did.
And there were complaints that there was not enough Fairport that year, so 94 had no special surprise guests.
But you're right, the raison d'etre for Cropredy existing in the first place is bothersome for some people.
People who are not only continually suggesting that if the festival books they acts they want to see the event will be better, but those that want to see Fairport can go and see them on the winter tour, and even suggesting what the band play on that.

Anyway. I would also like to see RuMac play.

 He was highly entertaining, funny and original and really got the audience ( of a wide age range) engaged, when we saw him earlier this summer.

it did strike me that with their back catalogue FC could do a "Full House" style set almost every year (50/40/30/25 year anniversaries etc) for the first half of their set.  second half could then be all the stuff that has been wheeled out for the best party of a decade ;-)

eg next year is 50 years of "Rising For The Moon" or 40 years of "Gladys' Leap" or 20 years of "Jewel In the Crown" or 25 years of "The Wood and the Wire".

other than that real wishlist stuff would be

Beaux gris gris and the apocalypse
Gaz Brookfield and the Company of Thieves
Mark Harrison
Henry Priestman and Les Glover
Lowri Evans
Jack Grace band
Jon Amor Trio
" Oh My God! It's The Church" - probably a bit too "out there" and "weird" - but fun!

Jewel in the Crown has a strong claim to being the best post-reformation album, imo. Would be good to see it featured at Cropredy on its 30th anniversary, with someone like P J Wright filling in for Maart.

Well let’s get one thing straight
The festival was roughly at half capacity this year (it seemed fuller to me) but I have it on good authority that there less than 12,000 tickets sold.
That DOES mean that the line up offerings given did not entice the general public this year.
Last years festival DID have a much better more varied line up with better headliners and the attendance was far bigger (I read somewhere over 15,000)
No one on here can argue those facts.

Imo there were two or three bands playing at the fringe who would have added variety and quality to the main festival
Steve knightly
Dread zone
Leatherat

That’s before you get onto possible headliners for next year.

I listened to 90 per cent of the acts at the main field and none I found terrible , a lot washed over me rather than grabbed me and personally I enjoyed RT and fairport (the latter being a 7/10 job this year and playing the same old stuff they have on the field for the last few years)
A competent performance given their advancing years but nothing mindblowing.

The vibe was great (until JC) and a good time was had.

How did you find the festival this year Mike compared to other years you’ve attended?
What was your highlight on the field this year?
Did you enjoy being there?

Interested to hear your opinion of the weekend.

Well, in the best traditions of the Spooky Men, I'll give it a go.

According to a post on last year's thread, Simon said on Radio Oxford that there were about 11,000 people in the field. So, if that's right, and your number above is correct, there were actually more people there this year than in 2023.

But the fact is that none of us know the actual attendance for any year (unless it's sold out) and it's not too hard to find anecdotal data that confirms our own particular bias. Opinions about the quality of the line up in any given year are just that.

And if you really think any of Steve Knightley, Dreadzone and Leatherat would have moved the dial significantly in terms of attendance, I'll have some of what you're smoking!

My nominations for the combined ticket sales/crowd pleasing/living legend/new favourite band category at this year's TAW 2025 Wishlist;

Nick Mason's Saucerful of Secrets
Tom Robinson Band
Rag n' Bone Man
Lachlan Bryan and The Wildes / The Pleasures
Police Dog Hogan
Albert Lee
The Tony Winn Band
Dana Immanuel and The Stolen Band
Fargo Railroad Co.
Emily Portman
Trilogy

I will now be taking questions.  ;D

I can so agree with and would randomly add Frank Turner, Jack White, Peter Gabriel (unlikely), Kasabian, Banter, Kaiser Chiefs, Hawkwind, Squeeze, Cyndi Lauper, Sleaford Mods, Old Time Sailors Longest Johns, and, please The Decemberists.

A good Thursday night headliner might be Jeff Wayne's War Of The Worlds or Ringo Starr's All-Star band.

This is a discussion forum.
There are facts, opinions, and preferences.
Often people state both opinions and preferences as facts.

Whether there are 100, 10,000 or 20,000 people in the field, chances are there will be 100, 10,000 or 20,000 different viewpoints.
This thread is an annual example of that.
Bit pointless, bit of fun, some of the acts might appear, some might not.
If they appear, they may or may not be booked as a result of being in this thread.

To answer your questions in reverse order :
Yes.
Eddi Reader.
It was in the same field as it usually is, so with little difficulty.

Another shout for The Decemberists!
This year they seem to be in the UK for just one festival gig which seems a little strange.

Taylor Swift - playing the whole of the folklore album.

(I'm allowed my dreams, amn't I?)

Yes, but if they came true the usual clientele would struggle to get tickets.    ;D

Well, having seen Fat Freddy's Drop at the Oxford O2 on Monday night, I reckon they'd be ideal for a warm summer's afternoon - reggae, funk, a bit of house, a horn section - I could see them appealing to those of us who enjoyed Dreadzone.

But - and it's a very BIG but - they're based in Aotearoa/NZ, so the fee would likely be prohibitive - unless they were touring UK/Europe again next year - unlikely, I'd have thought..

It seems to me that the reason Cropredy is special to many is that it has an Individuality. If we want to chase bums on grass (or Chairs) for its own sake we might lose the baby with the bathwater.

We need to fine tune what is already a joyous thing. We can do that by ;

a). Ensuring high profile Headliners who will draw a crowd. ( eg, Kaiser Chiefs, Saucer full of secrets , Blackmores Knight. )

b). Respecting that this is a folk rock event at heart. ( eg a selection from Ferocious Dog , Skinny Lister, Blackbeard's Tea Party etc on the bill )

c). A bit of variety ,(Dream in Colours, Tankus the Henge, The Heimatdamisch , Dreadzone. Gary Stewarts Graceland.)

d). A bit of International . (Skerryvore, Tidelines, Slambodians , Pierce Brothers, )

e). A couple of good singer/songwriter types,  ( Gaz Brookfield, Becky Mills etc)

This years bill was prog heavy and I loved it, but a better balance might draw in more. There is nothing wrong with the most wonderful event that a bit of TLC and careful pruning might improve.

Now that is the most hilarious suggestion I have ever heard.  I would so definitely go again if the Mods were playing.  90% of the audience (and I do actually mean that) would be losing their minds.  Oh my God, nothing could be more entertaining than that.  You've made my month, Andy. ;D

no issues with any of that (and great call on Tankus the Henge!) but the reality is it IS seen as an old person's festival, and old people die off over time.

So you can put anybody you like on stage, but if the usual suspects demographic is shrinking, then the bums on seats/blankets will decrease over time.

And so we are back to either accepting there is a end date that is inevitable, or the festival has attract those that are not "old" - which wont happen with the "old people's festival" line-ups. And if the line-ups change to attract a younger age group then it may lose the older traditional demographic so maybe just robs peter to pay paul.

im not saying any of these scenario is the right one. Just seems logical.

Thursday Headliner:

Pretenders / Texas / Deacon Blue / Paul Heaton

Friday headliner

Nick Lowe / Paul Carrack / Crowded House

Pre FC special guest - Graham Nash

Others on the bill:

Leisure Society / Magpie Arc / Beth Nielsen Chapman (or as guest with FC) / Gwenno / Nine Ton Peanut Smugglers (brilliant surf rock band) / Richard Durrant

and a few returners

Leatherat / Tradarrr / Dreadzone / E2 revival / Larkin Poe / Thea Gilmore

Fairport Friends

Ian Matthews / Thommo and Zara / PJ Wright / Percy / Thea Gilmore

If it was/is part of the winter tour set, then you can safely back it to be part of the Cropredy setlist

Sleaford mods?  People swooned with fits of the vapours when Steve Diggle indulged in a spot of lord mayoring when Buzzcocks appeared!
A team of counsellors might need to be available on site

Couldn’t argue with any of that.
That always seemed to be the rationale in previous years and this year it wasn’t imo.

No we're not. We're on about what people on this forum would like to see. Nobody mentioned any other criteria than that.

I did point out similar, earlier…quite agree.

As long the festival remains "Fairport's Cropredy Convention", which is its official title, not Cropredy Festival or anything else people may like to call it, the length and timing of Fairport's set remains entirely their prerogative.

When that name changes to "A Random Selection of People In A Field", everyone who wants the weekend to end with a tight 60 minutes by insert latest YouTube 5 minute wonder here can fill their boots.

The festival is Fairport's annual homecoming. It serves no purpose without them. It carries their name. They sponsor and organise it. If there is ever a festival on the site for which those things are no longer true, it will just be a generic festival with no ties to the location. It may be commercially more successful but it will be entirely meaningless and without the unique character that the current festival's history and hosts bring to it.

I've said this before but personally I think the damage was done when (after Chris stopped organising it) the festival changed from Fairport's "Annual Reunion" to "Fairport's Cropredy Convention" which I don't actually think means anything much to anyone.  Another example of a rebranding which didn't necessarily achieve what it set out to do.  It (deliberately?) weakened the branding...

I presume that came about as a result of a copyright after the split with Chris and also possibly as an acceptance that it by that point much more prominently featured the working band rather than a collection of previous members. It still retains their name above the title. It still proclaims the festival as their event by use of "Fairport's".

But I agree that some of the ways in which the festival changed through financial/commercial imperatives at that point made it less palatable to some of the old guard.

I think the general rise of festivals round every corner has changed things, too, including the reasons people attend festivals and what they expect. Various people’s earlier points are so true re: the difficult balance, in keeping the festival for what it is and encouraging wider attendance without selling out, becoming just another festival.

We felt a bit sad to note that many of the groups near to us didn’t stop to reflect when the beautiful tribute to Gerry was shown, which was quite telling.

When I started going in the early 90s it was just called 'Cropredy Festival'.

It was around 2005 (?) when it changed, I think.

Good spot.  You're not wrong - I just checked the 1990 programme.  I'm fairly certain the Fairport's Annual Reunion tag lasted though, on some things if only on the stage backdrop?  So, definitely 3 iterations, at least...  The honest truth is maybe after the divorce they had to change the name for legal/financial reasons?

It may be unpalatable for some to accept but there are a number of people who come to the festival and don’t want to watch fairport convention play.
This year I did make an observation that attendees were not leaving the field in the numbers they have in the past when FC are about to play (some years it’s been very noticeable)
I concluded from this that those on the field were mainly fairport die hards and those enticed by more attractive headliners who were not interested in FC were those not in attendance.

FWIW i stayed to listen to FC as I always do.

Thea Gilmore
William the Conqueror
Fishermen's Friends
Ocean Colour Scene
Turin Brakes
Tom Robinson
Squeeze

I'm sure others will come to mind tomorrow

How about David Carroll and his Bold Reynold/Bold Reynold Too friends? Two of the finest new albums of what might be called "traditional" folk rock I've heard in years - other opinions might be available but obviously they're wrong  ;D

Also, Oysterband could perhaps add another date to their farewell tour?

Cropredy has always been a festival where 'special' performances or collaborations have featured like the fabulous Liege and Lief set. I would be really happy to see a 2025 version of the GPs come together. Listening now to the album and it's wonderful. I guess the cost of rehearsal time makes this a bit of a pipe dream sadly. Perhaps Ralph and guests is a more realistic option as long as RT is involved as well.

Or maybe lots of people who were not originally Fairport fans have come to enjoy their set over the years, and decided to stay?

You seem determined to fit events into your pre-determined narrative. Maybe you could consider that you might not be correct in your assumptions?

It was just an observation
We would need to wait until next year(and a different line up) to make a judgement one way or the other.
It’ll be interesting to see.

I think it was in the programme, but there was mention somewhere that a 'new' recording had come to light and was going to be released in the next few months. But does that make it more likely that we might see a reunion?

The GPs have certainly played at Cropredy at least once, maybe a couple of times in my time there ('84-'10).  I love the album....

I think that a lot of the regulars no longer have to leave early to put their children to bed!!

But their kids have to leave early to put their parents to bed!

It's not out of the question. They've stated on their FB group that while touring definitely ends in March next year, there's going to be at least one special UK event (all details TBA) after that, and 2025 festival dates aren't being ruled out.

I'll add:

Yusuf
Dream in Colours
Merry Hell (further up the bill this time)
Thea Gilmore
Kate Rusby (she won't be doing Underneath the Stars next year, after all...)
Tide Lines OR Skipinnish
Duran Duran

I’ve just looked at Duran Duran live from 2023
They sound very good still
Now that would sell a lot of tickets in the same way Alice cooper and madness did.
I would love to see all those acts but Duran Duran at cropredy…..
That’s 20,000 imo

Not posted on here for a long time. I attended every Cropredy from 1987 until 2019. Then along came the 2 years of forced absence and everything changed. I have not been for the last 3 years. In 2022 and 2023 I drove over on the Saturday afternoon and walked around the village just to take in the atmosphere
(I am only 30 minutes away) but this year didn't go at all. If it hadn't been for Covid I am sure I would have just carried on going come what may. But like many I am sure the break made me realise that I could live without it and I would need enticing back. Unfortunately the line up over the last 3 years has not done that and I have chosen to spend my 'music allowance' elsewhere. I would dearly love to be enticed back as it was a big part of my life for 33 summers with many great memories.

 Getting to the topic of a wish list of those who would get me back, there are many I can think of but 3 who I have seen in the last year who were excellent and would certainly bring me back to that field, and I suspect sell a couple of thousand more tickets are Paul Weller, Richard Ashcroft and Johnny Marr.

I've just been to possibly the best of my very many Cropredy's. (Brilliant on and off the Field).

It's amazing how many people ( who don't go to the festival ) feel the need to come on here and run it down as if it was not the wonderous event it ever was.

The actual attendances are never revealed , but it felt like as many as usual , and possibly more, were there on Saturday this year.

We don't need change to anything really, just more of  the excellence we already get.

Im a Fairport Fan of old and didnt stay for whole set.. make of that what you will

Good afternoon one and all.

I haven't posted here for quite a while, but this thread has prompted me to have a word  :)

My wife and I returned to Cropredy this year for the first time since 2019 (various reasons for that) and it was, I'm happy to say, quite lovely to be back in one of our happiest places.

I happily watched the majority of artists this year and watched the whole FC set for the first time in quite a while, because of the long gap, maybe, familiarity can breed contempt.

Being a died in the wool prog fan, Big Big Train were the stand out act for me, I'm also a long time fan of Elles Bailey so thoroughly enjoyed her (despite the over plug) but I also thought Baskery & The Spooky Men were exceptional.

We also, nipped off to take in a bit of the fringe from time to time. Dreadzone were very enjoyable at the Brase, but I can telly you now, there were not 3,000 people there - maybe that was they're total numbers over 3 days?

As for the future, I agree that tweaks are needed - the Thur/Fri headliner pool definitely needs some refreshment and I think it is achievable within the festival budget (as much as I love Duran Duran I think they might be out of the price range!).

I do have suggestions for newer bands that I think would go down a storm and possibly bring in a younger demographic whilst also appealing to the older generation - myself included (hit my 60's this year).    

The Big Moon - great female harmonies and good tunes.
English Teacher - A bit of everything! Fresh out of the can - saw them at Bearded Theory this year and they blew me away.
The Last Dinner Party - A bigger name, get them before they get too big.
Green Lung - old school hard rock who make me  smile a lot!  ;D

I may think of some more along the way.

Hope everybody has a lovely weekend.

Steve

Too late for that I imagine...and also with a very young fanbase which would I suspect bring a whole host of knock-on consequences for the festival, not all of them necessarily welcome?  Decent band though...

Nice of you to call me very young  ;)

I know what you are saying though, however, I'm not convinced that element would fork out for a weekend festival ticket just to see them.
However I may be wrong.

There was a very small stage at Bearded Theory called Maui Waui (they run their own mini festival in Norfolk too). There was a fantastically ecelctic mix of bands on their stage, a few of whom would do well at Cropredy I think.
The stand out being a band called Klonk - gypsy folk rock that was simply joyous.

I would also suggest that some of the 90's bands would now go down pretty well, such as Manics or Suede as a headliner or Echobelly, Sleeper, Dodgy for afternoon fun.

Lastly, for now, The Damned would be great Thursday headliner I reckon.

PS - I'll also add Public Service Broadcasting & Field Music as a great fit for Cropredy

I like most of the suggestions in recent posts, apart from Duran Duran ( never been a fan, just personal taste). For 80s pop, I’d go for Spandau Ballet,instead…or Tony Hadley ..not sure if they still tour as a group…In my view their songs are more singable and more in keeping with the field. Tony H was a great sport when he was pranked on a recent TV show and has a fantastic voice!

I think the Manics and Paul Weller ( though great choices) may still be too big? But Paul Weller did pick WKWTTG as one of his ‘Tracks of my Years’ recently, so maybe…

Ocean Colour Scene were brilliant in the Belladrum coverage on BBC Alba recently, a similar size of festival…so they might be realistic.

I`d love to see the following at Cropredy:
Blackmore`s Night
Calexico
John Fogerty
Niteworks (yes I know, they intend to call it a day by end of 2024, but maybe they could be convinced to have a big final event in the southern of Britain or they could start their own annual reunion)
Rodrigo y Gabriela
Santiano
Texas
and... probably too expensive, but what a hell of a Thursday headliner they would be: Nightwish

My last time at Cropredy was 2018 following a very happy 19 year run.
It's unlikely I will go again, but never say never... :)

Martin Barre Band
KT Tunstall
Steel Pulse
Deborah Bonham Band
Larkin Poe
Glenn Tilbrook
Voodoo Room (Jimi Hendrix & Cream tribute)
Hejira (Performing the songs of Joni Mitchell. Formed by Oxford musician and Jazz Club organiser Pete Oxley, featuring vocalist & guitarist Hattie Whitehead) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mc48imlvsU4

Green Lung & The Last Dinner Party are both excellent live bands. I'm sure they'd bring a lot to the festival if they got the chance to play.

Chatting with someone who went to the Wilderness Festival, one of their top two standouts was Bill Bailey. Funny, very musical and thoroughly entertaining. Family friendly, very talented and a good fit for Croppers.  

Trev, I didnt go for the first time in nearly 40 years , as you know, because I was at my youngests' wedding in France. HOWEVER , although I am glad that some/many enjoyed the festival, I am unmoved in my opinion that its the worst line up, FOR ME, in all my time. I am not a naysayer, a cynic or a so called expert, just someone who prefers a different sort of music to a lot of that currently on offer. I am quite offended by some of the insults banded about, Cropredy used to be so important to me but £500 would have been a lot to pay from my pension for something that would have been of little interest. We have already booked for one festival next year because the line up is so good and very reasonably priced. Now I have broken the chain the line up at cropredy next year will have to be very good.

NoGood Boyo. There's a cracking youtube video of their recent performance at Lorient...