A Copper Family Celebration

Celebrating 75 years of song and tradition

Bob Copper spent much of his life collecting, singing and sharing the traditional songs of the Sussex Downs. His work kept the family songs alive and helped preserve the voices and stories of rural communities at the heart of English folk music, shaping how we understand and celebrate it today.

The tradition is proudly continued by his family – now into its eighth generation – who still sing the old songs with the same spirit and pride. Seventy-five years on from the famous BBC broadcast from Jevington that first brought Bob and the Copper Family to national attention, this special event will bring together three generations of Coppers to honour that remarkable legacy.

Two documentaries about Bob’s life and work – the 1972 Aquarius documentary ‘Bob Copper – A Man for Every Season’ and ‘Coppersongs’ a BBC documentary released in 2004 will be shown, alongside a set from the Twagger Band, dancing from Brighton Morris, a display of 12 of Bob’s paintings, never publicly exhibited before, and a special performance from today’s representatives of the Copper Family who will bring the day to its end.

Come together and connect with the living tradition of Sussex folk songs — songs about real lives, sung in pubs, kitchens, and fields for hundreds of years.