Cropredy 2025 Wishlist

[Field 7 is Heaven (Trev)]

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.

[Tasha]

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 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.

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.

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?

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

[SteveT]

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!  

I may think of some more along the way.

Hope everybody has a lovely weekend.

Steve

[davidmjs]

The Last Dinner Party - A bigger name, get them before they get too big.

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...

[SteveT]

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

[Lubiloo (Lorna)]

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.

[PL (Peter)]

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

[Glen S]

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

[wayne stote]

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!  

I may think of some more along the way.

Hope everybody has a lovely weekend.

Steve

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.

[Chris from Fieldtown]

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.  

[Nick Reg]

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.

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.

[PaulT]

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