The organisers have now announced the dates of next year's event. Fairport's Cropredy Convention 2013 will be staged on Thursday 8, Friday 9 and Saturday 10 August.
Glorious weather and a great musical line-up ensured success for Fairport's Cropredy Convention this year as music fans enjoyed themselves at the three-day Oxfordshire festival.
"Attendance at Cropredy has held up very well given the current economic climate," says Simon Nicol, Fairport founder-member and festival co-organiser. "Advance ticket sales were surprisingly strong and the sunshine boosted numbers over the weekend. Everything ran smoothly, the audience had a fine time, and the weather was about as good as it gets. "
Festival Director Gareth Williams agrees: "The festival was a great success again. Were it not for the very wet weeks immediately before we opened we might have sold out. But even though there were a few tickets left at the end of the day, we are very pleased with sales this year. More importantly, though, we're delighted our festival-goers enjoyed such a great weekend."
This year's festival saw Fairport Convention celebrating its forty-fifth anniversary as a band with onstage appearances from many former members, among them Richard Thompson, Ashley Hutchings, Dave Swarbrick, Dave Mattacks, Maart Allcock, and Jerry Donahue. Offspring of Fairport alumni also performed at the festival including Blair Dunlop (Ashley Hutchings' son), Kami Thompson (Richard and Linda Thompson's daughter) and Kristina Donahue (Jerry Donahue's daughter).
As in previous years, Fairport's Cropredy Convention was filmed for Sky Arts HD as part of the television channel's festival season. The programme, due to be screened on Sky Arts 1 at 9pm on Friday 31 August 2012 and repeated 2pm on Saturday 1 September, will be fronted by celebrated music broadcaster Bob Harris OBE. "I love Cropredy," says Mr Harris, "and I've been coming for years with my family. The selection of bands and great weather helped to make this year really special."
BBC Radio Oxford attended all three days of Fairport's Cropredy Convention. The station's coverage culminated in a six-hour festival special on Saturday which included a live broadcast of the entire Fairport Convention set.
Published on 14 August 2012 by Ben Robinson
