It’s happening a little later this year but, fear not – Fairport Convention, with drummer Dave Mattacks back within their ranks, are back on the road in the spring. And, they’ll be coming to a place near YOU. Oh – and a certain festival is coming round again. The first waves of Cropredy news have broken…

IT’S A SPRING TOUR THIS YEAR!

It would be devastating news, if it didn’t have a sequel.

Fairport Convention won’t be undertaking their traditional Winter Tour in 2026. But they WILL be undertaking a 25-date Spring Tour that takes the band to all corners of England and Wales. And the particularly happy news is that Fairport will, once again be rejoined by drummer-par-excellence, Dave Mattacks, for the jaunt. They’re dynamite when DM’s in in the engine room…

2026 marks, of course, the 59th Anniversary of Fairport and, already, the excitement is growing in anticipation of 2027’s big 6-0 celebrations. But, all in good time. We’ve got a tour and another Cropredy to enjoy before the streamers are unleashed, the flags are raised and the diamond jubilee champagne is popped.

THE ITINERARY

Fairport’s Spring ’26 tour kicks off at The Stables in Milton Keynes on Tuesday 17th March and winds up at the Royal Spa Centre in Leamington Spa on Sunday 12th April. Along the way, Fairport will be playing shows at such esteemed venues as The Apex in Bury St Edmunds, The Roses Theatre in Tewkesbury, Exeter Corn Exchange, Bath Forum and London’s Union Chapel. The full itinerary is listed below and tickets for all the shows can be purchased via this link. Don’t hang around – Fairport tickets tend to disappear quicker than the Tardis.

Tuesday 17th March, 8pm – The Stables, Milton Keynes

Wednesday 18th March, 7.30pm – The Apex, Bury St. Edmunds

Thursday 19th March, 7.30pm – Princess Theatre, Hunstanton

Friday 20th March, 7.30pm – New Century Hall, Manchester

Saturday 21st March, 7.30pm – Buxton Opera House, Buxton

Sunday 22nd March, 7.30pm – The Lamproom Theatre, Barnsley

Tuesday 24th March, 7.30pm – Taliesin Arts Centre, Swansea

Wednesday 25th March, 7.30pm – The Roses Theatre, Tewkesbury

Thursday 26th March, 7.30pm – Corn Exchange, Exeter

Friday 27th March, 7.30pm – The Forum, Bath

Saturday 28th March, 7.30pm – Union Chapel, London

Sunday 29th March, 7.30pm – Town Hall, Loughborough

Tuesday 31st March, 7.30pm – Turner Sims, Southampton

Wednesday 1st April, 7.30pm – The Haymarket, Basingstoke

Thursday 2nd April, 7.30pm – Colyer-Fergusson, Canterbury

Friday 3rd April, 7.30pm – The Old Market, Brighton

Saturday 4th April, 7.30pm – Chequer Mead Theatre, East Grinstead

Sunday 5th April, 7.30pm – Eric Morecambe Centre, Harpenden

Tuesday 7th April, 7.30pm – Harrogate Theatre, Harrogate

Wednesday 8th April, 7.30pm – The Fire Station, Sunderland

Thursday 9th April, 7.30pm – Queen’s Hall, Hexham

Friday 10th April, 7.30pm – Lowther Pavillion, Lytham

Saturday 11th April, 7.30pm – Town Hall, Kidderminster

Sunday 12th April, 7.30pm – Royal Spa Centre, Leamington Spa

ANOTHER TREMENDOUS OPENING ACT

We say this every year, and every year, Fairport come up with the goods: Their choice of guests to open the shows during their Winter-Spring Tours is never less than inspired. Last year, the wonderful Danny Bradley astonished us all with his charming songs and his mastery of the acoustic guitar. And previous guests have been equally excellent. In recent years we’ve had our heads turned by the likes of Plumhall, Hannah Sanders & Ben Savage, The 4 Of Us, Smith & Brewer and Winter Wilson. And my personal record collection has been enhanced and enriched by all of those excellent artists.

We’re delighted to be able to confirm that Fairport’s guest for the 2026 Spring Tour will be the magnificent Jenn Butterworth, a long-time favourite of ours. Jenn’s 2025 solo debut album, Her By Design, prompted our writer to declare Jenn: “…a new giant, hiding in plain sight,” and we were so impressed by the album that we’ve included it in our Albums of the Year 2025 list. Her music incorporates the traditional, the original and some neat interpretations of songs you’ll probably know. She’s a dab hand on guitar, mandolin and mandola, too. Make sure that you’re in your seat early enough to catch her set – you’ll love her.

CROPREDY’S A-COMING…

And if there’s not enough hot Fairport action there to stimulate your Pavlovian reflexes, then suck on this: Fairport have, just this morning, announced the first tranche of artists that will be appearing at Fairport’s Cropredy Convention, 2026 – and we’re thrilled from our collars to our socks!

Cropredy 2025 was a classic year – as we recalled in our festival review and in our post-match analysis. The weather was perfect, the music was even better and – somehow – the reduced capacity, imposed as a result of the uncertainty that continues to surround outdoor events everywhere, didn’t seem to matter. Fairport have confirmed that the 2026 festival will be similarly scaled, with a maximum of 6,500 tickets offered for sale. I can’t imagine that anyone who was at last year’s festival will want to miss out in 2026 so, if you’re planning to go along, our advice is to book your place now and block out the dates of 13th-15th August in your diaries. The smoke signals that have emerged so far are particularly encouraging…

WHAT A LINEUP!

Hayseed Dixie will be back, along with their unique and highly entertaining brand of bluegrass-tinged rock. Turin Brakes will also be making a welcome return to the Cropredy stage, to build upon their 2022 triumph. Danny and the Champions of the World, Breabach, Le Vent Du Nord, Gerry Colvin and the stunning Spooky Men’s Chorale are other acts with top-notch Cropredy track records who will be back.

Regular readers of these pages will be aware of our enthusiasm for The Haar, Banter, the aforementioned Jenn Butterworth (who will be appearing alongside her long-time collaborator Will Pound) and Celtic Social Club all of whom will be making welcome Cropredy debut appearances. The children of Cropredy Primary School’s Folk Class will be back to charm us all once more, whilst lovers of guitar heroics and supreme songwriting will be delighted to see that Richard Thompson – with Zara Phillips – and Danny Bradley are also featured in the lineup (and all likely to be supplementing the Fairport lineup on Saturday evening no doubt…)

ALL THIS – AND FAIRPORT TOO!

Cropredy debutants this year will include the legendary Soft Machine, Americana practitioners Rob Jones & The Restless Dream, Marshall Gilmour Webbs – backing singers on David Gilmour’s 2024 Luck and Strange Tour, stand-up comedian Matt Bragg and – and we’re absolutely thrilled to be able to announce this one – ATB faves, the fantastic Barbara.

The festival will, of course, be opened and closed by the mighty Fairport. It all seems too good to be true! Fairport’s Cropredy Convention 2026 is an event that mustn’t be missed – under any circumstances.

Fairport Convention online: Website / Facebook / X (formerly Twitter) / Instagram / YouTube

Jenn Butterworth online : Website / Facebook / X (formerly Twitter) / Instagram / Bluesky

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