Festival season is quickly approaching. We will be taking in plenty of what they have to offer over the summer. One of our favourites is Fairport’s Cropredy Convention.

We are huge supporters of Fairport’s Cropredy Convention. We believe that the annual event is one of the great British festivals. There are many reasons why this is so. To get a flavour of the festival, check out our reasons why it is one of the best here.

The festival has been taking place for the best part of 50 years and we hope that there are many years of life left in the old feller yet. One thing’s for certain, as long as there is a Cropredy Festival, At The Barrier will be there to absorb, report and – most importantly, enjoy the event. It’s a musical highlight of the year.

However, with the constraints of the world being felt, the UK festival industry is finding life tough. The expenses involved in organising and running a festival are vast and many festivals have sadly folded. Fairport Convention haven’t had to do this, and they won’t – provided that they continue to attract lovers of great music in sufficient numbers.

Fairport co-founder, Simon Nicol, recently shared a message about the potential plight of Fairport’s Cropredy Convention in the future. You can read the full message here. Please take the time to read his vital message.

Here, we will take a look at some of the artists who will be treading the boards at ‘The Friendliest Music Festival in the Country’. In the meantime, look out for more previews from us in the build up to the festival. To secure your ticket, you can click here.

First up, we put three acts in the spotlight…

TONY CHRISTIE (SPOTIFY / APPLE MUSIC)

A man that needs no introduction. Or does he?

Early on in the noughties, Christie ended up back atop the charts due to (Is This The Way To) Amarillo? being used by Peter Kay for Comic Relief. It shifted by the megaunit and threw him back into the limelight. Moving through the 80 year old milestone, and with decades of experience, Tony Christie will make his Cropredy bow. For some, this could be seen as a bit of a leftfield choice. Fairport have never been afraid to make a left turn in their booking. I mean, who ever thought Alice Cooper would headline Cropredy?!

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Aside from the aforementioned Amarillo, you can throw Avenues & Alleyways, I Did What I Did For Maria, Las Vegas and Solitaire into the mix. On top of the hits, Tony Christie has recently released a new album entitled We Still Shine. Therein, Christie shows that the voice is still strong, the song writing is reflective and the music is strong. If you were ever a fan of Neil Diamond’s or Johnny Cash’s later work with Rick Rubin, some of the music and message feels like it is in the same vein. He’s also toured recently with Ranagri, another band from the 2024 Cropredy bill. One thing for sure, is that Tony Christie is still drawing crowds. Another certainty, is that the Cropredy crowd will show up for a true legend.

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When Ric, Chris and I saw Tony perform at the Costa Festival we were immensely impressed. His classy show earned him a well-deserved standing ovation.

Dave Pegg, January 2024 (Banbury FM)

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DEWOLFF (SPOTIFY / APPLE MUSIC)

According to DeWolff, they are a young Hammond/guitar/drums three-piece from The Netherlands making an explosive mix of electrified southern blues rock with a dash of soul and psychedelia. They have been playing together for half their lives. Still in their mid twenties, they have already released 9 studio albums (7 of which hit the Dutch Top 20), 3 live albums, 2 EP’s and even recorded an album with Black Keys-producer Mark Neill. They also toured with the likes of Toto, The Black Crowes, The Black Keys, Deep Purple, Ten Years After and Wolfmother. They have picked up fans in Seasick Steve, who once woke up backstage at a festival to hear them play, thinking he heard the Allman Brothers playing from 1972, and Roger Glover who has openly declared his love for the band.

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There are no arguments about the fact that this band has some serious chops. The accolades that they have amassed are completely warranted. A cursory look at some of the live footage of the band on YouTube shows their skill and ability in the live arena. Check out the studio video to their epic Rosita from their 2023 album, Love, Death & In Between. It is a 16 minute long shapeshifting tour de force of blues rock with brass aplenty, Hammond for days, and exultant backing vocals. If this is aired at Cropredy, it could cause structural ructions; DeWolff could walk away from Cropredy with an army of new fans (as many artists over the years have).

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Whole tribes have been created in these postcodes and many families bring three or even more generations together. Some of our key people were first here as toddlers and have lifelong treasured memories to prove it.

Simon Nicol, April 2024

BASKERY (SPOTIFY / APPLE MUSIC)

Baskery is a band built on what three people can do together and it’s all about turning the music on its head. They blend the straightforwardness of punk with the subtlety of singer/ songwriting. Back in October 2023, we were taken aback by Baskery’s fifth album (review here). V: End Of The Bloodline served as a primer in Americana, crossing all angles and aspirations. Oh, and it comes via Sweden. It had been  five years since the Swedish trio of sisters, self-styled Queens of Banjo-Punk, delivered any new music.

According to the billing on the poster for the festival, Baskery will be back to back with DeWolff. This will prove to be a truly irresistible Friday afternoon. If that little ball of light in the sky known as the sun decides to come and play, we could be on course for one of the finest afternoons of music that the fields of Cropredy will have ever witnessed. Baskery will bring an energetic and enigmatic performance that will charm fans old and new. If you have ever seen the band live in the past, you will know that these three sisters are incredibly talented, and will bring good vibes only.

So far this year the number of cancellations has already reached thirty-four, some of them a lot bigger than Cropredy. We’ve seen swingeing increases in the costs of staging the festival – everything from infrastructure to artist fees, diesel fuel, lighting, PA, and so on – without compromising health, safety and comfort.

Simon Nicol, April 2024