SOARING temperatures and music from a mixed bill of vintage pop, classic folk and a bizarre blend of rock and bluegrass left festival-goers singing the praises of this year's festival.

Eighties pop act Madness headlined the first night, on Thursday, with The Bootleg Beatles doing the honours last night. Another highlight was Hayseed Dixie, who played heavy metal tunes in an Appalachian country style on banjos – getting the crowd on their feet for some energetic dancing.

But the high temperatures meant most people were content to just sit on blankets and deckchairs and sip beer from the real ale bar or chilled wine from the ubiquitous cool boxes which have become a feature of the festival.

The festival - correctly known as Fairport's Cropredy Convention – began at 4pm on Thursday with an acoustic set by Fairport Convention themselves. The folk-rock legends, who organise the weekend, will bring it to a close with their traditional extended set tonight and have promised some very special guests.

A tribute is also expected to former Fairport fiddle player Dave Swarbrick who died in June.

Festival director Gareth Williams said it was proving to be a vintage year. He said: "It's great: the sun is out and God is in his heaven.

"Madness were fantastic, of course, and so were Hayseed Dixie – you always know what you are going to get with them. There are lots of other great bands too though, and we have seen a lot of prog-rock fans who came up for Lifesigns and Headspace."

The audience last night numbered 18,000, with more expected today for Fairport Convention's finale. Other bands playing today include Babylon Circus and the Demon Barbers.

Mr Williams said: "Ticket sales have been good, and it is better than last year with a good walk-up at the gate. Though there are still tickets available if people want to come down."

He said festival-goers were coping well with the heat, saying: "Most people are aware of the sun and are looking after themselves but there is always the odd person who has hit the 6X a bit too early and gone a bit red – though there's nothing we can do about that."

Revellers included Pat Heasman from Melton Mowbray in Leicestershire. She said: "We are having a wonderful time, the weather is gorgeous and the music is fantastic.

"We can't wait to See Fairport; I'm really interested to see who their guests are, because there's always someone good."

A pair of unfortunate festival-goers were left temporarily homeless when their camper van – a converted mobile library – caught fire. Site stewards initially dealt with the blaze, before being joined by a crew from Oxfordshire Fire Service.

No one was hurt, though the vehicle and its contents, was destroyed. The owners were thought to be staying with friends in Banbury.

For details on tickets and the full line-up go to fairportconvention.com

Festival weather:

Revellers are in for a treat this weekend with perfect festival weather leading into an a mini heatwave next week.

Today and tomorrow temperatures are expected to reach 22C, with both days staying mostly dry though cloudy.

The MetOffice is predicting the sun will make an appearance from 2pm on Saturday and from 10am on Sunday.

Going ahead temperatures are expected to continue to rise through the week with highs of 26C on Tuesday and continuing throughout the remainder of the week.