Christmas is a-comin’, then in early ’24, Fairport will be setting out – for another Winter Tour!

Yes folks – it’s coming up to THAT time of the year again. The evenings are drawing in, the temperature is dropping and mince pies and crackers have found their way, once more onto the supermarket shelves (although, to tell you the truth, the crackers have been on display since August in our local Sainsbury’s…). And all those signs can only mean that Fairport Convention are loading the old Transit for another post-Christmas jaunt around this island of ours.

In our humble opinion, Cropredy 2023 was the best one ever and if, like us, you were there, you’ll be ready for another dose of Fairport tonic. And – if you didn’t manage to haul yourself to Cropredy this time, the WinTour is a splendid opportunity for you to get a taste of what you missed. Everyone can be a winner when Fairport hit the road!

Even as I write, Dave Mattacks is boarding his flight at JFK to cross the Atlantic and take up his rightful place on Fairport’s drum stool, whilst Simon, Peggy, Ric and Chris have already warmed themselves up nicely with a just-completed Autumn Tour.

This year’s WinTour is a 30-date affair, kicking off at The Stables in Milton Keynes on Tuesday 6th February and concluding at the famous Dudley Town Hall – scene of many Fairport-related adventures over the years – on Sunday 10th March. In between, the chaps will be visiting just about every part of England, with a few dips into Wales thrown in for good measure, so it’s very likely that they’ll be performing at a venue near you at some point. Fairport are promising an exciting setlist that’ll include a few surprises – make sure that you don’t miss them.

A favourite feature of every Fairport Winter Tour is the quality of support act that Fairport invariably manage to persuade to tag along with them, and this year’s tour definitely keeps that particular tradition afloat. Because – this year’s support act will be PLUMBHALL, aka Michelle Plumb and Nick B Hall. Prepare yourself to be delighted and thrilled by this duo’s eclectic mix of acoustic, electric and electronic soundscapes. Their first two albums, Thundercloud (2014) and The Hidden Gem (2022) attracted lots of media attention, and the duo’s third album – currently in the pipeline, promises to consolidate and build upon that success. We can’t wait!

As always, you can bet that At The Barrier will be popping along to shows all over the place as the tour progresses. Watch this space for our regular match reports. And Checkout this link for full details of the 2024 Fairport Convention WinTour and for ticket sales.

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