TalkAwhile - The Folk Corporation Forum

I’ve just come back from seeing Fairport in Wimborne, and on reflection I enjoyed it so much more than their Cropredy performance this year. It could be a combination of me getting older or just the mood I was in, but sitting in the front row of a warm theatre was a much better experience than freezing my nick-naks off in a cold field. No-one was talking through the quiet songs or wandering about, and it was a real treat to see such fantastic musicianship up close. The set-list was a great mix of old and new with some long-unplayed songs which worked very well in an acoustic setting, rather than a Wintour rehash which seems to be the theme of recent Cropredy performances.  Cropredy might tip it for me if (as in some classic previous years) there were some real surprises in terms of special guests and/or songs played. 50th anniversary of Rising for the Moon is next year, so let’s see. I’d be really interested in your views of festival performances vs smaller more intimate gigs.

It is, as you say, a matter of playing off the benefits of both.

As I rapidly approach 69, I've a real fondness for indoor, warm venues.

Festivals offer good value for money (mostly), plus the opportunity to see friends from all over the UK and beyond, whereas theatre venues tend to only attract relatively local fans. No-one is flying over from New York for one folk gig.

In years where we attend several festivals that are cold, wet and windy, it does set me wondering.

That said, after this year's Cropredy, I expect and hope that the chaps will produce an exceptional line-up in '25 that will make it a superlative experience.

The thing you're maybe missing though with regards to Cropredy is that absolutely everybody is there to see Fairport in the theatre.  At Cropredy, and there will be disagreements about this, I'm sure, a very significant minority, if not even now a majority, have very little interest in Fairport Convention.