THE folk-rock band Fairport Convention say they are confident their annual music festival at Cropredy will go ahead this summer.

The band are planning to proceed with their Fairport's Cropredy Convention, near Banbury, from August 12-14, following the publication of PM Boris Johnson's four-step plan for easing restrictions by midsummer.

The band, including guitarist Dave Pegg, pictured, say the line-up for last year's cancelled event remains unchanged and 2020 tickets are valid.

Gareth Williams organises the event with the band. He said: "Following the government announcement, we are much more confident that Cropredy will take place. However, like many other independent festivals, we remain anxious for news about assistance with cancellation insurance.

"To be honest, we haven’t taken our foot off the pedal in our preparations for this August and remain committed to presenting a wonderful weekend of music. The line-up remains unchanged and 2020 tickets will be valid for 2021.”

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He added “The safety of our customers, staff, artists and local residents is our first consideration; it was the main reason we postponed back in April 2020. We’ll be working closely with the responsible authorities to keep everyone safe.”

The event, known locally as Cropredy Festival or, simply ‘Fairport’, has been taking place in the village of the same name since 1979 and attracts 20,000 people each year.

Last year's line-up of acts will be carried forward. Highlights include the Trevor Horn Band, Clannad, Steve Hackett of Genesis, Richard Thompson, Matthews Southern Comfort and Fairport Convention thsemselves.

Cropredy tickets are on sale from fairportconvention.com.