Fairport Convention Tickets

About Fairport Convention

Fairport Convention formed in London in 1967, taking their name from guitarist Simon Nicol's family home where they first rehearsed. Early line-ups featuring Richard Thompson, Ashley Hutchings, Sandy Denny and Iain Matthews began by covering American folk rock artists such as Bob Dylan, before turning towards Britain's own musical traditions. That shift culminated in 1969's Liege & Lief, an album that fused traditional English songs with rock instrumentation for the first time and is widely regarded as the record that launched British folk rock. It was later voted the most influential folk album of all time at the BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards.

Despite frequent line-up changes over the decades, bassist Dave Pegg has remained a constant presence since joining in 1969, alongside founding guitarist Simon Nicol. The band's farewell concert in the Oxfordshire village of Cropredy grew into Fairport's Cropredy Convention, now the largest folk festival in Britain, drawing around 20,000 fans each year. Many former members went on to shape other landmark folk rock groups, cementing Fairport Convention's lasting influence on British music.