We continue our multi-part preview to Fairport’s Cropredy Convention 2024 as we look at three more acts on the bill.

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.

Next up, we put three more acts in the spotlight. You can read part one of our preview here.

FOCUS (SPOTIFY / APPLE MUSIC)

A band that will suit the Cropredy atmosphere perfectly, and appeal to the progressive rock members of the regular audience, will be Focus. Today, they will be seen at more smaller venues but they consistently fill them. In July, the band tour America with Asia, Martin Turner & Wishbone Ash and Curved Air. By the time they reach UK shores, they will be a well oiled machine. Their melodic brand of prog is incredibly appealing. Moving Waves was an  LP used to promote the new stereo hi-fi systems in the early 70’s , which were replacing old mono Dansette turntables, such was the quality of the album’s production.

Focus’ sound quality has not waned over the decades with yodeller, flautist, keyboard player Thij van Leer still stretching his vocal chords and playing with astounding intricacy. Pierre wan der Linden is still expertly, the percussive master. Current guitarist, Menno Gootjes,  also matches the original maestro Jan Ackerman. On bass, Udo Pannekeet keeps the grooves together. Not only will they hold the auditory attention of the faithful but will make many new friends. Sylvia, Hall Of The Mountain King and Hocus Pocus will stir many a memory and enthral newcomers to their music too. In addition, the band will have a new record out in 2024 which will be in collaboration with the great Roger Dean. Focus 12 will be released on 5th July.

If you haven’t been to our festival I urge you to take the plunge and join us this year!

Simon Nicol, April 2024

RANAGRI (SPOTIFY / APPLE MUSIC)

Last seen by us at the Manchester Folk Festival in 2023, Ranagri have been a regular presence on our pages. Nay, even before ATB was born, the ATB team has been on their case, catching them at the likes of the Big Whistle Festival at Bury Met with their unusual combination that places harp right at the core of an organic and pastoral landscape (check our review of Tradition II). We’ve even had the honour of premiering a couple of their videos so are well onside with what Rangri will bring to Cropredy.

There may have been a few changes in the line-up over the years but with the core remains with singer Dónal Rogers and hugely talented, multi-instrumentalist and much in demand Eliza Marshall (featuring on Peter Gabriel’s i/o and venturing into solo mode, showcasing a bewildering flute/tuned percussion/electronic loop combo also at the Folk Festival).

Carrying the sort of musical connections often found at Cropredy, the band also has form with Tony Christie with their The Great Irish Songbook project – Dónal Rogers being not the only fan of Mr Christie, adding fuel to the fire of his appearance at Cropredy this year. However, the breadth of their work is highlighted as they take the traditional The Wife Of Usher’s Well and give it a thorough Ranagri revamp.

We have an absolutely incredible line-up of acts and they’re all set to blow you away. So don’t miss Fairport’s Cropredy Convention 2024 and do what you can to persuade a newbie to share the joy with you.

Simon Nicol, April 2024

HANNAH SANDERS & BEN SAVAGE (SPOTIFY / APPLE MUSIC)

They’re long-time favourites of ours, and we were delighted when we saw that Hannah Sanders and Ben Savage had been added to the bill for this year’s festival. With a string of delectable albums – most recently 2022’s Ink of the Rosy Morning, an album that we called “an imperious record of class and beauty” – to their name and an intimate stage presence that sees the pair clustered around their single suspension mic as they deliver their engaging songs, they’re a duo that mustn’t be missed.

To recap: Hannah’s voice is angel-sweet, Ben’s is grittier but no less tuneful and those voices blend together to create something that is, almost literally, out of this world. And Cropredy-goers are advised to keep a close eye on Ben’s guitar playing – he does things on that well-worn Gibson acoustic guitar of his that almost defy gravity. The couple’s stock in trade is an eclectic mix of traditional songs, well-chosen songs from the pair’s favourite writers and their own self-composed material and – trust me – it’ll have you spellbound.

Hannah and Ben are old mates of Fairport – they accompanied them on their 2023 Winter Tour – and they’re no strangers to the Cropredy stage either, having joined Fairport’s Saturday night extravaganza at last year’s festival to deliver a dazzling psych-folk version of Reynardine. we said then that we’d love to see Hannah and Ben on the Cropredy bill in their own right. Our wish has been granted!

After a couple of cancelled Cropredy’s, the audience seemed to have an extra emotional charge, which definitely fed into the performance. That and the fifty (and change) years being celebrated made it a memorable and quite overwhelming experience.

Richard Thompson on playing Full House at Cropredy in 2022. (ATB’s Full House interview)

That’s three more. Three acts we can’t wait to see at Fairport’s Cropredy Convention. For a great weekend of music, fun, revelry, community and guaranteed good times, you can get your ticket here. If you are a first timer and wondering what it is like at the festival, check out our First Timer’s Guide written by Fairport Convention themselves! You can find that here.

Check out our Spotify playlist of artists appearing at Fairport’s Cropredy Convention below.

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