A big crop of talent lined up for Fairport Convention's annual Cropredy Festival

For lovers of folk rock, it’s the highlight of the year.

Up to 17,000 music fans today descend on a hillside near Banbury for the start of Oxfordshire’s longest-running music festival – Cropredy.

And it’s not just the festival-goers, many of whom return year after year, who are devoted to this three-day gathering in the open air. It’s also the band who started it, and continue to run it – Fairport Convention.

Formed by a bunch of mild-mannered teenagers in a house in North London, and playing their first gig at a local church hall in 1967, Fairport Convention went on to change the musical landscape, inventing in the process British folk-rock.

The band’s journey is a well-documented tale of triumphs and tragedies and of constantly changing line-ups. But this festival, officially called Fairport’s Cropredy Convention, is one of their greatest achievements.

What began as a farewell concert in a field for the band in 1979 has grown into an annual get-together for the band and its sprawling family tree of former members, friends and collaborators.

This year will be the 36th Cropredy festival and marks another milestone for the band, with the release of their first studio album in four years Myths and Heroes, recorded at Woodworm Studios in nearby Barford St Michael, features 13 new songs with five by Fairport’s Chris Leslie, two by the band’s Ric Sanders and six guest compositions including one given to Fairport by Ralph McTell. And the band can’t wait to air the songs this weekend – with the group launching the festival with an acoustic set today, and bringing it to an epic finale with an extended Saturday night set.

“You could say I am doing a young man’s job in an old man’s body,” says founder-member Simon Nicol. “But live performance is what I do and I love it. It helps us rise to the challenge of re-making the music all over again each time the lights go up and our drummer Gerry counts us in.

“That maintains our freshness. This year is a bit special because we have a whole album’s worth of new material to introduce to our audiences. Of course we’ll be playing many familiar songs from our repertoire, too.”

The band’s Chris Leslie talks about the inspiration for the songs he contributed.

“The title track is a reflection on how, throughout human history, we have tended to put faith in things that are never what they seem to be,” he explained. “And Theodore’s Song tells the tale of an Oxfordshire musician and clock repairer who travelled the lanes and byways of the county before 1950. By contrast Love at First Sight is a modern take on the age-old folk tales about women who dress in a man’s clothing to gain access to forbidden fruits.”

Reflecting on the new album’s title, Myths and Heroes, do Fairport members have any favourite myths about the band?

“There are many,” says Simon. “But the biggest Fairport myth is that we are super-rich like some of our contemporaries.

“Just because we have worked almost 50 years as a band doesn’t mean we own private islands or stud farms!”

And who are Fairport’s heroes? “Maybe Leonardo da Vinci would be my choice,” answers Simon, who plays guitar and sings.

“If people were gifted with the powerful curiosity and restless energy Leonardo brought to bear on his world – anatomy, mechanics, science, high art – then this would be a more peaceful, successful planet!”

By contrast, bassist Dave Pegg, who lives in Banbury, chooses Rick Danko of The Band. “He was a huge influence on my bass playing,” he says. “I had the great pleasure of spending a couple of hours in his company and he was a truly great musician. Sadly he died at just 56.”

• Fairport Convention

Drummer Gerry Conway opts for the late Spike Milligan as his all-time hero while Ric Sanders picks Kwai Chang Caine as portrayed by David Carradine in the 1970s Kung Fu TV series. Chris Leslie, as a fully qualified violin maker (as well as brilliant multi-instrumentalist), chooses the little-known Lloyd Loar who worked for the Gibson guitar company in Kalamazoo, Michigan in the 1920s and designed Gibson’s F5 model mandolin which is played today by top mandolinists everywhere – including Chris himself.

As for this year’s Fairport’s Cropredy Convention, what are some of the highlights festival goers can look forward to?

“We are especially pleased to welcome the world class Emmylou Harris with Rodney Crowell and, by way of contrast, Level 42,” says Simon. “Our special guest this year is Paul Carrack – who should be very popular.” Other acts include The Proclaimers, Fish, Band of Friends, Toyah Wilcox, the Norwegian all-female group Katzenjammer, Dreadzone, Richard Digance and The NewGrass Cutters – which is the bluegrass-style band of top Oxfordshire-based producer and multi-instrumentalist Pete Brown (son of Joe and brother of Sam) which already has a big celebrity following from the likes of guitarist Albert Lee, Pink Floyd’s David Gilmour, former Jethro Tull drummer Barrie Barlow, Chas and Dave, BBC radio’s Bob Harris and Mike Read plus Fairport Convention.

“It is an exciting challenge each year to try to better what we have done last time,” says Simon.

“Last year’s Cropredy was a sell-out and, hopefully, with the breadth and range of acts for this weekend plus our headliners, we will appeal to the wide-ranging age groups who now return to Cropredy annually.

“It is the highlight of my year and all of us in Fairport are looking forward to it.”

Cropredy highlights...

Fairport Convention (today and Saturday): The folk-rock supergroup convene for their annual get-together – and draw the festival to a close with the traditional rousing sing-along to Meet on the Ledge

• The Proclaimers (tomorrow): The dour Scottish twins will have the field jumping along, arms in the air, to such classics as I’m Gonna Be and Sunshine on Leith.
• Emmylou Harris (tonight): A superlative 13 Grammy award-winning singer-songwriter who has worked with everyone from Bob Dylan and Gram Parsons to Ryan Adams and Rodney Crowell, who joins her on stage tonight.
• Katzenjammer (tonight): Norwegian all-girl party band with a fiery reputation and virtuoso talent for switching instruments. Their name translates as ‘cat wailing’: a term also ascribed to a particularly bad hangover – which may well be familiar to Cropredy regulars.
• Dreadzone (tomorrow): Deep, rumbling dub and jump-up folk, dance and rock. What more do you need? Their anthem Little Britain is a real banger. 
• Band of Friends (Saturday): The music of the late Rory Gallagher presented by epic blues-rocker Gerry McAvoy and chums. Unmissable.

GO ALONG
Fairport’s Cropredy Convention runs from today to Saturday. Tickets on the gate. New album Myths And Heroes is out now.