For one weekend a year, a town in Oxfordshire transforms into one of the UK’s best-loved music festivals as Fairport’s Cropredy Convention returns.
Running from Thursday, August 13 to Saturday, August 15, the festival with a cult following will host thousands of music fans ready for a weekend of rock, folk, jazz, country and everything in between.
Topping the bill on day one will be Le Vent du Nord, from Saint-Antoine-sur-Richelieu in Quebec, who will bring traditional Québécois music to this side of the Atlantic. Up first, though, noughties indie hitmakers Turin Brakes will return to the festival, while comedian Matt Bragg and jazz-rock veterans Soft Machine will also take to the stage.
Preceding Banter, it wouldn’t be a Cropredy without the opening ceremony from folk rock legends themselves, Fairport Convention. As the festival’s founders, it only seems right that they kick off proceedings with an acoustic set.
Stressing the community aspect, the Cropredy Primary School Folk Class will open up the main stage on day two, warming up for London rock and soul group Danny and the Champions of the World, not to be confused with Danny Bradley, the Liverpool-based guitarist (and former Fairport Convention support act) who will perform afterwards.
One of the highly anticipated acts of the weekend will be Marshall Gilmour Webbs, a supergroup of Louise, Romany, Hattie and Charley, whose respective collaborations include Leonard Cohen, Tom Petty, Jools Holland and David Gilmour (yes, Romany’s dad).
Scottish outfit Breabach will bring bagpipes galore and Australian vocalists Spooky Men’s Chorale will offer creative re-imaginings of classic songs ahead of a performance from Richard Thompson, the former Fairport guitarist who is regarded as one of the best in the world.
Unlike most festivals, Cropredy lets you take Sunday as a day off, so as the event reaches the final day by Saturday, the Gerry Colvin Big Band, followed by Rob Jones & The Restless Dream, begin to round off the event for 2026.
After hardcore-folk group The Haar’s Main Stage performance, Brighton’s Barbara (a band, not a soloist) will make their Cropredy debut ahead of bluegrassed singalongs from Hayseed Dixie, the eccentric group who can answer the question of ‘what does Guns N’ Roses sound like with a banjo?’
Fresh from supporting Fairport themselves on tour, Jenn Butterworth will be joined by Will Pound ahead of the final headline performance of the weekend. Bookending the festival the same way they do every year, Fairport Convention, whose history stretches back to 1967, will take to the stage for a massive two and a half hour set, filled with appearances from friends. Leading up to midnight, there will be one song on everyone’s minds, the anthemic Meet on the Ledge, a track which has closed out Cropredy for more years than many attendees will have been alive.
Fairport’s Cropredy Convention returns this weekend, and tickets are sold out.
