'Cream of the Crop'- Fairport Convention get stuck into Cropredy Festival. Interview with Dave Pegg + video

It’s one of the great annual migrations; one to rival the movement of wildebeest across the plains of the Serengeti – but with tankards.

Today thousands of folk rock-lovers will descend on a steep hillside in North Oxfordshire for the start of the county’s longest-running music festival – Cropredy.

Laden down with tents, wellies and the odd musical instrument, they come for three days of music in one big field. And chief among them are the members of the band that founded the whole thing, headline the event and give their name to the festival: Fairport Convention.

“It’s the highlight of Fairport’s year,” says Fairport guitarist, and longest serving member, Dave ‘Peggy’ Pegg. “The Cropredy fields mean so much to all five of us.

“The festival was conceived by me and my ex-wife Christine as an annual gathering way back in 1976 and I am immensely proud of its continued success.”

That success is largely down to its simplicity. For while other festivals branch out with complex programmes of music, theatre, comedy and everything else, across multiple stages, Fairport’s Cropredy Convention – to give it its official name – keeps things uncluttered, with a single stage and one (admittedly large) bar serving industrial quantities of Wadworth ale.

“I look forward to it enormously,” says Dave, a native Brummie who lives in Banbury. “It’s always a challenge to present an eclectic musical line up that we hope our audience will enjoy as much as we will.”

Fairport Convention bookend the event with an acoustic set to launch the festival today, and a lavish set to close Saturday night. Between shows, there will be sets from artists as diverse as The Proclaimers, 80s funk-pop act Level 42, and multiple Grammy-winning singer-songwriter Emmylou Harris.

Music also comes from Scandinavian alt-folk act Katzenjammer, dub-reggae band Dreadzone, former Marillion frontman Fish, former Ace, Squeeze and Mike + The Mechanics member Paul Carrack, Toyah Wilcox, Judith Owen, Celtic-rockers Skerryvore and folk acts Ahab and Skinny Lister, comic singer Richard Digance and blues act Band of Friends – who present the music of Rory Gallagher.

“It’s a fab line up,” says Dave. “Every year is different, so you can’t really judge one against the other, but we sold out last year’s festival which had a very ‘prog rock’ feel and attracted lots of newcomers, so hopefully they will come back this year too.

• Pegged out: Dave 'Peggy' Pegg can't wait for the festival to start

“We try to have something for everyone; that’s my role as a director. The logistics are endured by Gareth Williams who spent seven years mixing sound for Oasis and consequently knows how to cope with stress!”

Much of the line-up is distinctly un-folky, I suggest. “We have never seen Cropredy as a folk fest,” he says. “Who knows, next year the line up could be even more folky. But there are so many folk festivals which have all the same people performing and we try to be different from the rest.”

And who is he most looking forward to seeing? “I’ll see all of the acts, but I particularly hope to have a pint with bassist Lee Sklar who is one of my fave players. Lee is one of the band backing the lovely singer Judith Owen and I also hope to have a chat with her husband Harry Shearer, the voice of The Simpsons and bassist with Spinal Tap.”

Another special guest is Ian Matthews – who sang on the original version of Fairport’s greatest anthem Meet on the Ledge – a rendition of which forms the traditional end to the festival. He is also known for his version of the Joni Mitchel classic Woodstock, performed by his band Matthews Southern Comfort.

But it is Fairport’s grand finale that most people are waiting for.

Is Dave surprised that his band, which began life in a house in North London at the height of the swinging sixties, is still going strong? “I gave up worrying about whether we could keep going way back in the 1980s when I realised that as long as we don’t rest on our laurels, come up with fresh music and keep treading the boards, the crowd will stay with us,” he says. “Luckily they have.

• Cropredy nights

“When I joined the band Richard Thompson left after a year and I thought that would be it. But Fairport’s strength is in utilising and encouraging the talents of the people in the line up. Richard’s departure made Simon Nicol and Dave Swarbrick better singers and performers. And I still got to play on Richard’s albums anyway.

“There have been so many good moments, such as playing the Albert Hall, Carnegie Hall and Sydney Opera House when Sandy Denny was in the band – she was a fantastic singer. Also playing support for Jethro Tull on an American tour where I played bass with both bands.”

And the worst? “Sandy Denny dying, followed a year later by her husband Trevor Lucas . And losing other dear friends who won’t be coming to Cropredy this year.”

The band have made a tradition of brining along special guests for their set. Does Dave have any surprises in store, this year? “I can’t say, I’m afraid, but there will certainly be some. We’ve had many impromptu performances in the past by the likes of Robert Plant, Yusuf Islam (Cat Stevens), Jasper Carrot, Frank Skinner and Roger Hodgson, so who knows?”

Dave is convinced the festival as its own magic – which is what keeps the faithful returning.

“Cropredy is the friendliest festival you’ll ever attend,” he says. “The sound quality is second to none, there are high-quality video screens, and because there’s one main stage you don’t have to keep moving your stuff or miss any acts. Also, we’ve got great campsites where you can park right next to your tent and most of the campsites are a short walk from the stage. But the thing that really keeps people coming back is the quality of the music and the unique vibe.

“Lots of Cropredy-goers first came with their parents and now bring their own kids. It gets cold at night so we reckon there have been plenty of conceptions on the campsites!”

And how will he feel at the festival’s close, as the crowd sing along with Fairport for the final rendition of Meet on the Ledge. Happy or relieved? “Happy if the year’s gone well but also very sad that some of my mates didn’t make it to join in the chorus with us.”

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