Following a triumphant sold-out Cropredy festival this summer (see my review here), folk rock legends Fairport Convention embark on an Autumn 2025 UK tour.
Playing as a stripped back four-piece, Simon Nicol, Dave Pegg, Ric Sanders and Chris Leslie will take to the road in October with 23 dates across England, Scotland and Wales, rounding things off in Liverpool on November 2nd.
Interviewing Dave Pegg earlier in the year, he emphasised how important playing live still was to the band:
“We still enjoy touring enormously and treading the boards has always been what Fairport is good at. We’ve had more success playing live than we’ve had making albums.”
You can read my full interview with Dave Pegg here.
2025 marks 40 years since the Gladys’ Leap album – the first of the reunited Fairport Convention, featuring Simon Nicol, Dave Pegg and the first contributions from Ric Sanders.
Interviewing Ric Sanders ahead of this summer’s Cropredy, we discussed the Gladys’ Leap album, and how Sanders thought he was merely being asked to contribute to a Dave Pegg side project when he first got the call:
“Peggy had this offshoot group – a fun outfit it was – and they were called Dave Pegg’s Cocktail Cowboys, of which Chris was a member as well. At this time, around about ‘85, I was just doing jazz gigs around the Midlands. Just going out, playing with different rhythm sections, like jazz musicians used to. And it wasn’t hugely lucrative, but I got by. Peggy sent me this tape and I thought he was asking me to play on a Cocktail Cowboys record because I had no idea that Swarb had decided that he didn’t want to carry on with Fairport. And so when the tape arrived and I listened to it, I thought, hello? Well, that’s Peggy playing the bass, obviously. That’s Dave Mattacks on drums. And that guitar I could tell straight away. And yeah, it turned out to be Gladys’ Leap. And I went along and my first day was just recording those three tracks that I did on the album. The standout track for me, and the one that stayed in the repertoire, is ‘The Hiring Fair’.”
You can read my full interview with Ric Sanders here.
Fairport Convention’s Autumn Tour runs from 8th October to 2nd November, with some shows already sold out. Tickets are available to purchase now on the links below.
Fairport Convention – Autumn 2025 UK Tour
Wed, 8th Oct 2025
The Green Hotel, Kinross – TICKETS
Thu, 9th Oct 2025
The Green Hotel, Kinross – TICKETS
Fri, 10th Oct 2025
Byre Theatre, St Andrews – SOLD OUT
Sat, 11th Oct 2025
Lemon Tree, Aberdeen – TICKETS
Sun, 12th Oct 2025
St Lukes Church, Glasgow – TICKETS
Tue, 14th Oct 2025
Crookes Social Club, Sheffield – TICKETS
Wed, 15th Oct 2025
The Witham, Barnard Castle – TICKETS
Thu, 16th Oct 2025
Victoria Hall, Settle – TICKETS
Fri, 17th Oct 2025
Town Hall, Masham – SOLD OUT
Sat, 18th Oct 2025
The Met, Bury – SOLD OUT
Sun, 19th Oct 2025
The Mill, Banbury – TICKETS
Tue, 21st Oct 2025
The Exchange, Twickenham – TICKETS
Wed, 22nd Oct 2025
St Mary’s Arts Centre, Sandwich – TICKETS
Thu, 23rd Oct 2025
Theatre Royal, Winchester – TICKETS
Fri, 24th Oct 2025
St James’ Church, Emsworth – TICKETS
Sat, 25th Oct 2025
Medina Theatre, Isle of Wight – TICKETS
Sun, 26th Oct 2025
The Cutty Sark, London – TICKETS
Tue, 28th Oct 2025
Acapela Studios, Pentyrch – SOLD OUT
Wed, 29th Oct 2025
The Sub Rooms, Stroud – TICKETS
Thu, 30th Oct 2025
Assembly Rooms, Ludlow – TICKETS
Fri, 31st Oct 2025
Norden Farm, Maidenhead – TICKETS
Sat, 1st Nov 2025
Village Hall, Lowdham – SOLD OUT
Sun, 2nd Nov 2025
The Tung Auditorium, Liverpool – TICKETS
Related posts:
Live review: Fairport’s Cropredy Convention August 2025
Interview with Fairport Convention’s Ric Sanders 2025
Interview with Simon Nicol 2024
Live review: Fairport’s Cropredy Convention August 2024
Live review: Fairport’s Cropredy Convention August 2023
Live review: Fairport’s Cropredy Convention August 2022
Book review: ‘On Track: Fairport Convention – every album, every song’ by Kevan Furbank
Fairport Convention at Bexhill 2020
Live review: Fairport’s Cropredy Convention August 2018
Fairport Convention at Cropredy 2017
Album review – Fairport Convention ‘Come All Ye: The First Ten Years’
Fairport Convention – 50th anniversary gig at Union Chapel 2017
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