Black Water County kicked off Day 2 of this year's Cropredy perfectly, with my feet continually tapping in time with the music:
Saw Black Water County a few years ago at Wimbourne Folk Festival, in the band's native Dorset (Thomas Hardy country), so I knew we were in for a treat with highly melodic tunes like Rise and Fall and Under Skies of Black and Blue.
Some time afterwards, we found ourselves focussed on Dutch (Southern Rock-sounding band), DeWolff:
Whose backdrop, alongside the opening tune, Night Train, lit up the stage:
My friend found the following tracks a little too indulgent/over-ambitious.
Still, the band looked the part on stage:
My friend was left a bit disappointed, myself in two minds.
After a short venture to the Cream of the Crop, where we saw a calm-looking barn owl:
We found ourselves watching Elles Bailey:
Who certainly does possess a great Bluesy kind of voice, with opening tune, The Game, being my favourite of the set.
Next up, for us, was the main band of the day, Big Big Train, a Prog group that for years, had eluded me live:
With song titles like Keeper of Abbeys and Curator of Butterflies, a certain mystique surrounds the band (Prog almost always provides enchantment, that's why I love it).
Of course, my favourite tune of the set was always going to be Apollo, as it's so Kansas-like in texture, with the violin and keyboards intermingling beautifully.
Yeah, it was a real pleasure to get to see Big Big Train live, finally:
After the Big Big Train set, my friend and I kind of thought that the band should've headlined the day, with Trevor Horn having pulled out.
As things turned out, we skipped Spooky Men's Chorale to go and watch Marillion cover band, Misplaced Neighbourhood, at the Brasenose Fringe:
After enduring all sorts of technical problems during Script for a Jester's Tear and what seemed like a few other tunes, the band got much more on course doing Misplaced Childhood.
After catching the end of Spooky Men's Chorale (like we did with Baskery earlier in the day), it was time for Richard Thompson:
With Richard Thompson being initially on stage solo, my friend retired to his tent for an extended nightcap (or much-needed sleep), while I stayed to take in Classic tunes like Beeswing and 1952 Vincent Black Lightning.
As the set moved on, with Zara Phillips joining Thompson on stage, the temperature did get decidedly colder:
But like in 2022, the duo complemented each other perfectly.
Halfway through the set, I too retired to the tent, particularly enjoying Wall of Death from a distance.
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