HOW can Poppleton Live surpass this spring’s festival when Led Zeppelin’s Robert Plant was in the audience as Fairport Convention played the Poppleton Centre?

“In our second year, the festival was a great success, selling more than 1,000 tickets over the five nights of music, drama and comedy events, and we hope to repeat that success next year,” says organiser John Watterson.

“Moving from a single day to a week-long programme of events from May 4 to 10 was an ambitious leap, but we were delighted with the response,” says organiser John Watterson.

Among the festival highlights were a jazz evening headlined by saxophonist Snake Davis; Green Hammerton company Badapple Theatre’s new play The Unlikely Dads; satirical pop veterans The Barron Knights; and Austentatious’s improvised play from an audience suggestion for a faux Jane Austen novel, Withering Depths.

Experimental multi-media comedian Joseph Morpurgo road-tested his 2015 Edinburgh Fringe show; Ralph McTell celebrated 50 years in music, performing, as he self-deprecatingly put it, a “medley of his hit” Streets Of London; and the Shepherd Group Brass Band and violinist Amy Fields took part in a Last Night of the Proms-style concert.

Folk-rock pioneers Fairport Convention visited the festival for the second year in succession. “They now wish to make Poppleton their regular Yorkshire venue for their May tour,” says John Watterson, their good friend.

In another festival highlight, Watterson adopted the guise of his alter-ego, Fake Thackray, to perform the songs of his hero Jake Thackray. “This event was made more special as there were six members of Jake Thackray’s family in the audience, as well as Jake’s best friend, Ralph McTell. A pretty scary audience,” says John.

Co-organiser Chris Ford was responsible for ensuring all the staging, sound and lighting worked to perfection and received compliments from artists and audience alike. “The venue is normally a sports hall and is very challenging acoustically, so to overhear Robert Plant and Dave Pegg discussing the great sound and acoustics was proof that we’d done a great job,” he says.

Keeping the artists happy meant keeping them amply supplied with food. “You can be sure that when Carol Watterson is cooking, no-one will go hungry,” says John. “As well as keeping the stewarding and ticket operations running smoothly, Carol also prepared a great spread for Fairport and friends; afternoon tea for the brass band of more than 30 players; and two nights of post-gig curries for 50 performers and helpers, which was enthusiastically received by all.”

Now John must turn his thoughts to next year. “Having had Fairport Convention, The Barron Knights, Ralph McTell and Robert Plant in Poppleton, we’re not sure how we’ll top that next time,” he says.

“I daren’t discuss it with Carol yet. She won’t let me use the words ‘next year!’ Everyone’s exhausted! But I’m just quietly playing Ralph McTell’s music in the background, and he will win her round.”

How can John and Chris trump this year? Maybe they could encourage Robert Plant to take to the stage next May. “Robert Plant? He’ll need to apply like the rest of them!” says John.