Joan Armatrading will headline the Friday night of this year's Fairport's Cropredy Convention, also confirmed Richard Thompson, The Saw Doctors, and Tarras.

Three times Grammy nominated, Brit award nominee and Ivor Novella winner singer-songwriter Joan Armatrading MBE, will be headling Friday 10 August at this year's Cropredy Festival. More...

Never one to rest on her laurels, Joan remains fresh, vibrant and current; no more so than when live, on stage, where music comes to life. With every tour you are guaranteed a fantastic mix of magical old favourites plus brand new songs to fall in love with.

From the English-Scottish Borders, Tarras provide a unique blend of the Gaelic and British folk tradition subtly fused with a range of genres: in the early days the blues and classical; and now to great effect, a new progressive feel.

Joan is as happy to play Love and Affection, Willow, Drop The Pilot and Me, Myself I, as the audience is to hear them. She is equally happy and proud of how her audiences embrace hearing new and exciting compositions, like Into The Blues (debuted at No. 1 in the US Blues chart 2007) and This Charming Life (debuted at No. 1 in Amazon download chart 2010).

During her long and illustrious career Joan has been successful in all musical genres, Pop, Blues, Folk, Reggae, and Jazz. Her audience, newly attracted or long term fans are as loyal to her as she is faithful to them.

The 2012 appearances will see Joan performing Love and Affection amongst many other firm favourites, and also showcase songs from her brand new CD due for release in time for the tour.

Joan is recognised as one of the World's leading singer, songwriter and guitarists and we are delighted to welcome her to the Cropredy Festival.

After a much-missed 3 years away, we welcome Richard Thompson OBE to the Cropredy stage once again for a solo performance! Richard will also be joining in the Fairport Convention 45th anniversary celebrations on Saturday night.

Since the 1960s, London-born Richard Thompson has established a reputation as a prolific songwriter, virtuoso guitarist and musical adventurer.  The former Fairport Convention founder has gone on to produce over 30 albums, numerous film and television scores,and more than 400 songs. 

The Saw Doctors is a group of songwriting musicians from the West of Ireland, hell-bent on celebrating,observing, recording and sometimes poking fun at their own locality, accent and idiomatic use of language whilst dressing their songs up in their favourite sounds and styles from their years of musical fandom.

Formed in Tuam, really a small market town but in fact a tiny city of two cathedrals, in the late 1980's, originally with Mary O'Connor as the main singer and later based around the songs and singing of Davy Carton, Leo Moran, Padraig Stevens, John 'Turps' Burke with no little contribution from the late Paul Cunniffe (who hadwritten and sang Davy's previous band, Blaze X's, repertoire with him)

The Saw Doctors were discovered by Mike Scott of The Waterboys on a stormy Wintry Tuesday night in Galway city, plying their trade with more gumption than virtuosity in the back of The Quays Bar, blue banger slates clattering down treacherously on the narrow, deserted streets outside leading to where the River Corrib meets the Atlantic Ocean. Scott took an unlikely liking to the unlikely bunch of raggedy and fashion-unconscious triers and offered them the support slot on what was, at that time, the most revered up-coming rock and roll tour of the country. Things must've somehow pleased the Scot along the way and in Sligo, before the tour was completed, he offered the itinerant songsmiths the six-week Spring tour of Great Britain, starting in February 1989. Padraig's coy acceptance of the offer came in four words 'We'll pencil it in.'