Fairport Convention plays unique form of folk-rock music

Factoid:Fairport Convention will play at the Copper Dragon on April 6 at 8 p.m. The $20 tickets can be purchased at Pinch Penny Liquors and Plaza Records or online at ticketweb.com.

This band has been around since rock n’ roll’s famed 1960s era. The group also emerged from the foggy shores of England.

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No, it’s not the Beatles. Guess again. It’s a question many people might need a lifeline for if they were being grilled by Regis.

If you didn’t think of Fairport Convention, you’re not alone. Fairport Convention, a music group well-known in Europe for playing a unique genre of folk-rock, is slated to play at 8 p.m. this Saturday at the Copper Dragon. The concert is a fund-raising event for the Southern Illinois Irish Festival.

Although Southern Illinois residents may not have been to a Fairport Convention concert, they may have heard their music recently if their radios have been tuned in to Celtic Connections, a nationally syndicated NPR program that is hosted by Bryan Crow, and broadcast from 91.9 WSIU. Crow, also a volunteer in the committee planning the event, said the folk-rock tunes the band plays are a unique genre in the American music world.

It’s not the sort of sound you would typically hear on rock stations, he said.

The band uses violins as part of the presentation, but with an electric sound, Crow said.

And along with the electrifying tunes, Fairport Convention also brings a long tradition of telling ballads or stories in the music, some of which make for 10-minute songs, Crow said.

The tunes get in your head, they’re very catchy, he said.

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With their folk ballads, the group has gained much popularity among European music lovers. However, when the group first began in 1967, many Americans were listening to the Beatles and Elvis instead of songs about ballads.

But American critics have also taken notice of Fairport Convention. Fairport Convention’s melodies are so infectious that they seem destined to inspire sing-a-longs in pubs throughout England, one Washington Post critic wrote.

Since their inception, the group has released more than 40 albums and seen more than 20 band members perform in their ranks. Simon Nicol, one of the lead vocalists, is the only remaining original member still performing with the group.

Mike Shanahan, a volunteer with the committee, has been a longtime fan of the group, and compared the group’s longevity with the Rolling Stones. They have almost a cult status, he said.

John Sands, manager of Plaza Records, said the store stocks older CDs from the band’s earlier days, and noted that many younger music fans are oblivious to Fairport Convention’s existence.

Fairport Convention fans, I would say, are usually at least 35-plus, he said.

Although many SIUC students weren’t around during the group’s formative years, Crow hopes they’ll be open to something new.

Students may be too young to have heard the group, Crow said. We’re hoping people will take a chance on the concert.

Reporter Ben Botkin can be reached at [email protected]