| Festival Bell | |
| Type: | studio |
| Artist: | Fairport Convention |
| Cover: | File:Festival Bell.jpg |
| Released: | January 2011 |
| Recorded: | 2010 |
| Studio: | The Bowman's Retreat, Oxfordshire |
| Genre: | Folk rock |
| Length: | 59:04 |
| Label: | Matty Grooves Records |
| Producer: | John Gale with Fairport Convention |
| Prev Title: | Sense of Occasion |
| Prev Year: | 2007 |
| Next Title: | By Popular Request |
| Next Year: | 2012 |
Festival Bell is a 2011 album by British folk rock band Fairport Convention, recorded at The Bowman's Retreat, Oxfordshire in 2010, and released in January 2011 on the band's own Matty Grooves Records label. The band have released over 30 albums since their debut, Fairport Convention, in 1968.
The name of the album (as well as the cover and the title track) is a reference to the bell of the same name that currently rings in St Mary's Church in Cropredy, Oxfordshire.[1] The track "Ukulele Central" features guest appearances from comedian Frank Skinner and singer Joe Brown.[2] The song "Mercy Bay" tells of the ill-fated voyage of to search for Franklin's lost expedition, itself searching for the Northwest Passage.
The album was released four years after the band's previous studio work, Sense of Occasion. It consists of 14 tracks, mixing original compositions with four cover versions including a reworking of the title track from the band's 1975 album Rising for the Moon. Record Collector magazine's 4 star review of the album stated: "Festival Bell is a work of maturity and depth, yet delivered with a lightness of touch that will delight fans old and new".