Tim Hughes savours the greatest folk festival of them all - Cropredy.

Despite threats of floods and even plague (well, foot and mouth disease), music lovers from around the world yesterday raised their tankards to toast this year's three-day feast of folk. The festival, held on a farm a few miles from Banbury, is always a popular draw, attracting devotees year after year. But this weekend's gathering is the most popular ever, with tickets selling out in advance, for the first time ever.

The reason? The event also marks the 40th anniversary of the band who set the whole thing off - Fairport Convention, right. Initially held as a farewell gathering for the band, whose members Dave Pegg and Dave Swarbrick lived in Cropredy village, the event has mushroomed into an annual gathering of the folk-tribes, who come to pay homage to their heroes.

Now dubbed Fairport's Cropredy Convention, the festival may no longer be organised by the band, but its members still form the core - with sets by former members - including Richard Thompson, tonight (Friday) - and the entire band tomorrow (Saturday), ending with the traditional massed singalong to Meet on the Ledge.

This year's major highlight though takes place on Friday, when folk-rock history will be made. For the first time since it was recorded, the surviving members of Fairport Convention's seminal 1969 line-up will reform to perform their classic album Liege & Lief.

The album, voted most influential folk album of all time by Radio 2 listeners, will be performed in its entirety - with Ashley Hutchings, Dave Mattacks, Simon Nicol, Dave Swarbrick and Richard Thompson joined by Chris While, who will sing in place of the late Sandy Denny. Festival organizer Gareth Williams is in no doubt about the significance of seeing history made: "When we announced that the 1969 line-up was playing, everyone came out of the woodwork."

And many of those coming will have been many times already. "People do keep coming back," says musician PJ Wright, who has played the festival many years, as a solo artist and as part of the Dylan Project.

"There's a great atmosphere and no trouble-makers. And because we are geriatrics and middle-class, we get on well!"

And with this year's festival only just begun, thoughts are already on next year: "We are planning an equally strong line-up for next year," says Gareth.

"We expect demand for tickets to be heavy, and we always advise our audience to buy in advance. Festival-goers should mark their diaries now for August 7-9, 2008!"