Festival acts unveiled

Fairport’s Cropredy Convention takes place from Thursday, August 11, to Saturday, August 13.

The 2016 line-up will feature host band, the legendary Fairport Convention, who open the festival.

Fairport will take the stage again on the Saturday to close the festival with their traditional two-hour headline set.

Other acts include Steeleye Span, making a welcome return to Cropredy.

This pioneering band has never been afraid to reinvent itself and their current live show draws on their extensive back catalogue and their more recent repertoire.

Ralph McTell is one of Britain’s best loved singer-songwriters and has enjoyed a long and happy association with Fairport and Cropredy. He will perform on the festival’s final day on Saturday.

Legendary British band Gryphon are making their first visit to Cropredy where they will play an exhilarating mix of old and new material.

Wille and the Bandits is a classic rock power trio characterised by an eclectic repertoire and bizarre instrumentation.

The Bootleg Beatles are one of the world’s best revival of the fab four’s music and their show features hit after hit after hit.

Sound of the Sirens, a passionate young female duo combining sincerity and musicality, have featured on the Chris Evans Breakfast Show.

Hayseed Dixie take American bluegrass and give it a rocking edge with their hillbilly renditions of classic songs.

As always, veteran entertainer Richard Digance will open festivities on the Saturday and Cropredy will also present a set by the BBC Radio 2 Young Folk Award winner.

The online box office and will remain on sale throughout December. Pre-Christmas three-day festival tickets cost £120 and are exclusively available from Fairport Convention’s website www.
fairportconvention.com.

Camping tickets cost £45 for three nights.

Two-day and Saturday-only tickets will go on sale on at the beginning of February.

Among the musicians to have appeared at last year’s festival include The Proclaimers and 80s musician Toyah Wilcox.

Fairport’s Cropredy Convention festival takes place on a farmland site north of Banbury (three miles from Junction 11 of the M40 motorway).

The three-day event is staged by folk-rock band Fairport Convention and attracts up to 20,000 music fans, making it Oxfordshire’s most popular music festival.

The festival attracts some of the biggest names in music and in recent years has seen Alice Cooper, Midge Ure and Joan Armatrading perform.

The rest of the line-up, including the Thursday and Friday headliners, will be announced in January 2016.

Further details about the music festival can be obtained by visiting www.fairport
convention.com.