Simon Says....

[davidmjs]

My sad opinion is that unless the organisers get in fresh blood to book the acts to appeal to a broader age range but keeping the present values and musical variety (no problem with that , in fact it’s a big plus for me) then the festival will finish.

That seems like an impossible circle to square - it's as though you're saying they need to change the festival completely in order to appeal to the original audience.  Fresh blood booking the acts will, by default, automatically exclude the (well,the dwindling remains of) the original audience... Won't it?

[abby (tank girl)]

The 2024 lineup's not particularly weaker than other years (although maybe a bit soon to have Trevor Horn's band back), however :

1) The main reason I ever went to Cropredy at all was to see a mega-Fairport Convention gig - their celebratory annual concert in front of a massive home crowd, surprises in the setlist, recreating past lineups, special guests, etc. It's undeniably a lovely festival with a very special atmosphere, but the diminishing significance of THE Fairport Saturday night concert has meant my interest has similarly diminished.

2) The cost. The elephant in the room. Now, I appreciate as per Simon's statement the cost of everything has gone up stupidly, but a weekend at Cropredy has become very expensive. It was an essential part of my year when tickets were £45-£75 for the weekend, however at today's prices (currently £245 including 3 day camping) it suddenly becomes a serious luxury item.

If they had the courage to put on a "fire sale" - e.g. as of now, all tickets £100 per person, get the punters in, get it sold out, then I might consider coming. Total fantasy scenario, though...

HOW MUCH?

[Dan O.]

The 2024 lineup's not particularly weaker than other years (although maybe a bit soon to have Trevor Horn's band back), however :

1) The main reason I ever went to Cropredy at all was to see a mega-Fairport Convention gig - their celebratory annual concert in front of a massive home crowd, surprises in the setlist, recreating past lineups, special guests, etc. It's undeniably a lovely festival with a very special atmosphere, but the diminishing significance of THE Fairport Saturday night concert has meant my interest has similarly diminished.

2) The cost. The elephant in the room. Now, I appreciate as per Simon's statement the cost of everything has gone up stupidly, but a weekend at Cropredy has become very expensive. It was an essential part of my year when tickets were £45-£75 for the weekend, however at today's prices (currently £245 including 3 day camping) it suddenly becomes a serious luxury item.

If they had the courage to put on a "fire sale" - e.g. as of now, all tickets £100 per person, get the punters in, get it sold out, then I might consider coming. Total fantasy scenario, though...

HOW MUCH?

Indeed. Screenshot of current 3 day ticket prices from the FC website. Plus £55 for a 3 day camping ticket = £245.

[Wandering Steve]

My sad opinion is that unless the organisers get in fresh blood to book the acts to appeal to a broader age range but keeping the present values and musical variety (no problem with that , in fact it’s a big plus for me) then the festival will finish.

That seems like an impossible circle to square - it's as though you're saying they need to change the festival completely in order to appeal to the original audience.  Fresh blood booking the acts will, by default, automatically exclude the (well,the dwindling remains of) the original audience... Won't it?

I certainly don’t want a radical overhaul but to put it in a nutshell to anyone in their mid forties it’d be easier for me to sell a festival to them with the likes of madness or the waterboys etc who are bands they remember from their youth than the likes of focus , ric wakeman and Tony Christie who would be well before their time , only pensioners would remember them in their prime and pensioners regrettably are not the future of the festival , that’s not being unkind it’s a fact , the pensioners children and grandkids are the future of the festival and imo this years line up would only appeal to a small percentage of a target audience (that’s if the target audience isn’t just people 60 plus)
Like it or not a big 80’s headliner is now needed each year , nothing else much needs to change , it’s evolution not revolution.
The year madness played a lot of people turned up as they were an act that families wanted to see and I dare say a lot of older attendees also enjoyed it.
This line up has been ill thought out , lazy in the case of booking the TH band again so soon and does not have pulling power to attract many floating attendees.
That’s a job for the organisers and imho it should have been evident to them when booking the bands.
Every year up until now has been a triumph but this year they’ve got it wrong.
The last time ric wakeman played he was no where near headlining and please excuse my ignorance but what has he actually done in the intervening years to suddenly change this and make him headline the bill?
If anyone can explain this I’d love to know.

I think fairport is an amazing festival and couldn’t think of life without it but let’s not kid ourselves ,music festivals live and die by their line ups and this one imo is poor for the reasons I’ve listed above.
I absolutely hope the festival can survive after this setback but I only believe it would if the above advice is heeded ….. and no I don’t know everything before anyone asks but I truly stand by my convictions regards this.

[DarrenWilliams]

My sad opinion is that unless the organisers get in fresh blood to book the acts to appeal to a broader age range but keeping the present values and musical variety (no problem with that , in fact it’s a big plus for me) then the festival will finish.

That seems like an impossible circle to square - it's as though you're saying they need to change the festival completely in order to appeal to the original audience.  Fresh blood booking the acts will, by default, automatically exclude the (well,the dwindling remains of) the original audience... Won't it?

I don't think its impossible. What makes Cropredy unique (or at least unusual) is the fact that the original audience now bring their children and grandchildren. Its also a safe and friendly environment. So market and cater for this with acts from as many decades as possible, perhaps with a weighting towards folk music. There is also only one stage, so emphasise families enjoying music together. Fresh blood booking acts doesn't have to exclude the original audience, just widen the net a bit.

Is that hopelessly naive?

[davidmjs]

My sad opinion is that unless the organisers get in fresh blood to book the acts to appeal to a broader age range but keeping the present values and musical variety (no problem with that , in fact it’s a big plus for me) then the festival will finish.

That seems like an impossible circle to square - it's as though you're saying they need to change the festival completely in order to appeal to the original audience.  Fresh blood booking the acts will, by default, automatically exclude the (well,the dwindling remains of) the original audience... Won't it?

I don't think its impossible. What makes Cropredy unique (or at least unusual) is the fact that the original audience now bring their children and grandchildren. Its also a safe and friendly environment. So market and cater for this with acts from as many decades as possible, perhaps with a weighting towards folk music. There is also only one stage, so emphasise families enjoying music together. Fresh blood booking acts doesn't have to exclude the original audience, just widen the net a bit.

Is that hopelessly naive?

It excludes the original audience because the original audience was Fairport's and Fairport have become simply an addendum to the festival (gradually, over the last 20 years).

[bassline (Mike)]

Fairport are a Sixties band.
They weren't hugely successful then.
You can book Taylor Swift for Thursday night, but I doubt the field would be as populated by the time Dige came on.
Petula and Christie are not really the way to go either.
There was a contestant on Britain's Got Talent, or whatever it was, a pensioner, who came on, whipped off her granny clothes and ripped into an AC/DC song.
Robert Plant is 76.
Granny might have been a Percy groupie back in the day.
Songs don't have intros or endings anymore, because if there's not an exciting hook, the yoof, with the attention span of a deceased goldfish, swipe to the next song (with their decomposing fins, obviously). Well, not ALL the yoof. Some of them enjoy music beyond a catchy 'Woah, woah, woah.'
I remember when Thursday was music free and chill out time, and a young girl with her parents was talking to her friend on one of those new fangled mobile phones, 'It's OK, but it's full of OLD people.'
That was then, and it really is now.
At some point, it's going to take all of Thursday for us to shunt our way across the field, chairs and oxygen tanks strapped to our Zimmer frames to claim 'our spot.'
Our grand kids are going to be waiting for someone to start dancing around the stage, head mic engaged, rather than all those people playing, what are they called, Violets, or something ?

I didn't go last year, voluntarily, for the first time in nearly 35 years.
Cropredy has been like going home for such a long time.
I'm planning on doing just the Saturday this year.
I'd love to do the whole weekend next year.
We shall see.

(p.s I was typing this while David posted. It's not in response to him.)

[davidmjs]

Robert Plant is 76.
Granny might have been a Percy groupie back in the day.

Respect to your Gran.

Jimmy Page is 79.  His long term girlfriend (34) is younger than my daughter.  They're (apparently) planning to have a baby together this year.

I'm not sure what any of this proves

[ColinB]

Looking back at one of the few times I've made it down to Cropredy, 2011 had a pretty good line-up which brought in younger music fans with The Coral (who I very much enjoyed) and Badly Drawn Boy (less so). Then we had Hayseed Dixie and The Blockheads who were, and still are, bands who will go down well at any festival. Headliner Seasick Steve might well have had John Paul Jones on bass and for the folkies there was The Shee, Lau and Urban Folk Quartet. Add in UB40, Horslips, the Dylan Project and Fairport and that was one good festival.

So from all the comments posted so far on this thread I reckon this line-up came close to ticking all the right boxes for making the future of Cropredy look a bit rosier.

[davidmjs]

This is what a decent Cropredy lineup looks like to me.  Throw in a wonderful Thursday in and around the village and bob's your mother's brother.  You're all invited to my 21st birthday party, too...

Friday 14th
Le Rue
Gordon Giltrap
John Martyn & Danny Thompson

Saturday 15th
The Steve Ashley Band
Mara !
Chicken Shack
Muzsikás
Whippersnapper
Richard Thompson
Fairport Convention with Special Guests:

Richard Thompson
Dave Swarbrick
Ian Anderson
Martin Barre
Ralph McTell
Jerry Donahue
Cathy LeSurf
June Tabor

[bassline (Mike)]

I'm not sure what either of MY grans would thought of Percy, as opposed to the BGT one, but when we saw him in Ibiza just after the Knebworth concerts, my mom was keen to have a go.

Jimmy, allegedly, has always liked the younger lady.

As to your line up suggestion, that's the sort of Croppers that hooked me in.

[David W]

So, we have a letter from Simon pushing ticket sales, telling us costs have risen and that the festival has no sponsorship etc etc.

Don't we get this almost every year though - maybe not quite as dramatic but FC make a point of reminding us that Cropredy depends on ticket sales and the support of "The Crowd".

Everyone's costs are spiralling but ask yourself how much did you earn in 2010? Half of what you earn now - because the festival cost £85 then.

With several tours each year / cruise trips / off the desk Cds / assorted merch I feel that FC are close to milking the faithful pretty dry and maybe Cropredy is suffering from that.

DW

[Metro96 (Keith)]

This is what a decent Cropredy lineup looks like to me.  Throw in a wonderful Thursday in and around the village and bob's your mother's brother.  You're all invited to my 21st birthday party, too... Grin

Friday 14th
Le Rue
Gordon Giltrap
John Martyn & Danny Thompson

Saturday 15th
The Steve Ashley Band
Mara !
Chicken Shack
Muzsikás
Whippersnapper
Richard Thompson
Fairport Convention with Special Guests:

Richard Thompson
Dave Swarbrick
Ian Anderson
Martin Barre
Ralph McTell
Jerry Donahue
Cathy LeSurf
June Tabor

My first Cropredy  

[Wandering Steve]

My sad opinion is that unless the organisers get in fresh blood to book the acts to appeal to a broader age range but keeping the present values and musical variety (no problem with that , in fact it’s a big plus for me) then the festival will finish.

That seems like an impossible circle to square - it's as though you're saying they need to change the festival completely in order to appeal to the original audience.  Fresh blood booking the acts will, by default, automatically exclude the (well,the dwindling remains of) the original audience... Won't it?

I don't think its impossible. What makes Cropredy unique (or at least unusual) is the fact that the original audience now bring their children and grandchildren. Its also a safe and friendly environment. So market and cater for this with acts from as many decades as possible, perhaps with a weighting towards folk music. There is also only one stage, so emphasise families enjoying music together. Fresh blood booking acts doesn't have to exclude the original audience, just widen the net a bit.

Is that hopelessly naive?

It excludes the original audience because the original audience was Fairport's and Fairport have become simply an addendum to the festival (gradually, over the last 20 years).

I think many of fairport original fans are now dead.
You can’t get away from that fact.
That indeed excludes them.
The original fans that still attend are obviously a minority and plenty that are still alive can no longer attend due to health mobility issues.
That’d be the same for every sixties band, it’s just the passing of time.
You cannot base a festival around bands that appeal to a minority and fail to cast an eye to the future.

I hadn’t a clue who fairport were when I attended my first cropredy in 2008 but they grew on me and I enjoy them immensely now.
Therein is the point.
You have to keep the festival relevant
No open heart surgery
Just some tinkering.
All it needs is one family orientated headliner that appeals to middle aged families and if that’s seen as a deal breaker by pensioners who don’t want that then I’m afraid the festival is dead….(by the way they don’t mind because after watching Alice cooper , madness etc they still attend)
This year does not have a headliner that will attract the middle aged and the tickets are unsold , look on Facebook etc , many have said exactly the same and are in fact attending other festivals instead , so it is indeed a line up that is unappealing to them.
THEM being the future of the festival.
You book madness or someone similar as next Thursdays headliner and they’ll be back.
That’s just fine tinkering, the rest stays the same.
Let’s hope it survives.

[David W]

Maybe they should announce who the special guest is going to be.

[Adam]

The nearest parallel to Cropredy that I can think of is Beautiful Days (no corporate sponsorship, the leveller’s festival, etc). From my recent attendances, I’d guess that their average audience age is c10 years or so younger than Cropredy. I think their numbers are capped at 10,000. In my opinion, their line-up is streets ahead of Cropredy this year, with something for everyone (as a side-note, we were amongst the oldest at a sold-out and heaving Longest Johns gig of c600; brilliant band!). Im pretty sure that their ticket sales are v healthy from what I’ve heard. I think my point is that once your unique selling point (for Cropredy it is/was the band, the fantastic location and a great chance to catch up with old friends) is no longer the main draw, lineup is everything.

[bassline (Mike)]

The nearest parallel to Cropredy that I can think of is Beautiful Days (no corporate sponsorship, the leveller’s festival, etc). From my recent attendances, I’d guess that their average audience age is c10 years or so younger than Cropredy. I think their numbers are capped at 10,000. In my opinion, their line-up is streets ahead of Cropredy this year, with something for everyone (as a side-note, we were amongst the oldest at a sold-out and heaving Longest Johns gig of c600; brilliant band!). Im pretty sure that their ticket sales are v healthy from what I’ve heard. I think my point is that once your unique selling point (for Cropredy it is/was the band, the fantastic location and a great chance to catch up with old friends) is no longer the main draw, lineup is everything.

That's true, but BD is a multistage event on a bigger site, so they are able to cover a wider range of music, more choice and attract a wider demographic.
The Levellers came to prominence a good 20-30 years after Fairport, and actually had enough top 40 hits to make a bona fide Greatest Hits album.
Most of the acts tend to be 80's, 90's and 00's, give or take the odd Hawkwind or Van Der Graf, so they have that advantage too.
The year Cropredy had Supergrass on did not go too well on the feral yoof front.

[Andy]

Maybe they should announce who the special guest is going to be.

That seems very pertinent.

[Adam]

The nearest parallel to Cropredy that I can think of is Beautiful Days (no corporate sponsorship, the leveller’s festival, etc). From my recent attendances, I’d guess that their average audience age is c10 years or so younger than Cropredy. I think their numbers are capped at 10,000. In my opinion, their line-up is streets ahead of Cropredy this year, with something for everyone (as a side-note, we were amongst the oldest at a sold-out and heaving Longest Johns gig of c600; brilliant band!). Im pretty sure that their ticket sales are v healthy from what I’ve heard. I think my point is that once your unique selling point (for Cropredy it is/was the band, the fantastic location and a great chance to catch up with old friends) is no longer the main draw, lineup is everything.

That's true, but BD is a multistage event on a bigger site, so they are able to cover a wider range of music, more choice and attract a wider demographic.
The Levellers came to prominence a good 20-30 years after Fairport, and actually had enough top 40 hits to make a bona fide Greatest Hits album.
Most of the acts tend to be 80's, 90's and 00's, give or take the odd Hawkwind or Van Der Graf, so they have that advantage too.
The year Cropredy had Supergrass on did not go too well on the feral yoof front.

Excellent point, Mike, re: multiple stages, which I hadn’t considered. Is Cropredy the only festival with one stage?

[davidmjs]

Maybe they should announce who the special guest is going to be.

That seems very pertinent.

Although it could, depending on who they are, actually make things worse?  A shrug of the shoulders is probably not what is needed here?