Abingdon United Football Club, Oxfordshire
Saturday, 13th July, 2024
TPA returned to Abingdon United Football Club in Oxfordshire for the fourth Prog For Peart festival, with fourteen bands to entertain the prog faithful over two days, all in aid of the Headcase Charity Trust, researching into Glioblastoma Multiforme (and more) – the brain cancer that claimed the life of Rush drumming legend Neil Peart. Organiser Mark Cunningham and his team worked tirelessly to make it yet another very enjoyable, friendly, intimate and wonderfully musical event. Here, David Edwards collects the mini-reviews and photographs he posted during the event – edited and enhanced as necessary – to hopefully recapture the spirit of this great festival and highlight some of the wonderful performances from the musicians.
Saturday, 13th July 2024
Festival organiser. Mark Cunningham’s Forgotten Gods hit the ground running on Day Two with their multi-faceted prog epic, Eastern-tinged, Pillars of Petra, with Mark in fine voice and guitarist Steve Harris playing some lovely extended lines. The Neil Peart-inspired Everybody’s Hero was a delightful slab of melodic rock with some nice touches of Rush’s La Villa Strangiato in there too! Alive showed the whole band (including Mike Kentish on bass, Dave Hallett on drums, and Dave Bolland on keyboards) were really in sync with each other, before a smooth change down to the more reflective and yet uplifting Vigil, written as a celebration to Mark’s late mother. The powerful, straight-ahead rock of Alone and the undulating Rose and Pink completed an excellent set of melodic prog rock for a band who deserve to be seen much more on the prog live circuit in future.
The Welsh progressive trio played a thoroughly entertaining early afternoon set. Stephen Hughes on bass and synths, Chris Jones on guitar and Jonathan Kinsey on vocals and additional keys, were the surprise package of the weekend for me – with a broad sweep of progressive rock with elements of melodic symphonic rock and nods to other genres as well. Starting with Fear is the Key and then The Downfall of the Birdwatcher, they grew into the set wonderfully, with the epic Lament and then the impressive Calm Before The Storm. Jonathan’s vocals were clear and uplifting and he was a very amiable focal point for the band. Some stunning funky bass lines from Stephen and Rush-like guitar runs from Chris, but I was struck by the feel of the Canadian band, Mystery, in their playing and interplay, especially on the beautiful power ballad Dawntreader. Jonathan’s drums were on the backing tape, but it was great to see him return to the drum kit at the end – giving the finale a lovely boost in intensity. Marvellous prog that received a deserved standing ovation at the end. Check these guys out!
The wonderfully eclectic prog/art rock duo of Malcolm Galloway on vocals and guitar and Mark Gatland on bass returned to the festival and delivered a diverse set that sums up the band’s sound. Starting with the challenging and progressive intensity of Walking to Aldebaran, with its metal guitar lines and quirky lyrics, they eased down with the dreamy and melancholic The Light of Ancient Mistakes, with some lovely guitar soloing. The premiere of the latest single, Copenhagen, followed and worked really well. Full of asides and self-deprecating humour, they are quite unique. Silence is a Statement was as powerful and anthemic as ever, and Mark’s energetic bass relentlessly drove another new song, One Word That Means The World, over Malcolm’s distorted guitar. A cover of Peter Gabriel’s Here Comes The Flood provided a thoughtful contrast, and All Empires Fall, I’m Tired and Everything Hurts rounded off an idiosyncratic set very well. They remain real musical gems to treasure within the live prog circuit and I’m certainly looking forward to their next album.
Threshold’s founder and keyboardist Richard West and his wife Farrah delivered a refreshing set of lighter and accessible contemporary pop with prog flourishes in the late afternoon. I enjoyed them at a previous Fusion, and they were as professional and entertaining on this occasion too. Ranging from the infectious beat-driven music of Shockwave, Ghosts and With You, to the more emotional I Still Remember and Due Diligence, there was a nice range of styles. Farrah’s beautiful voice certainly impressed, and Richard’s keyboard could be simple chords or complex patterns depending on the feel of each song. Songs like The Collector, Fox and Persephone could pack quite a punch at times, thanks to the dynamic backing tracks as well. There was also a really nice piano-led version of Threshold’s Avalon to savour. On A Night Like This was certainly toe-tapping and Forever equally catchy. Ending on a high with the beautiful Kings and Queens. If commercial radio played more engaging music like this, I’d be listening to it a lot more!
Grace and Fire kindly agreed, at short notice, to step into the festival line up after the sad news that Covid was affecting Comedy Of Errors. As ever they produced a classy performance of prog metal and more – featuring mainly songs from their debut release, Elysium, but also gave a preview of a brand new one. Starting off with the instrumental Overture, André Saint took the stage for an energetic Elysium with his powerful and penetrating vocals. Chains of Insanity and the popular Paradise Lost followed, building up a real head of steam generated by Tim Ashton on bass and Graham Brown on drums, along with keyboard flourishes from Joshua Gidney, as Aaron Gidney drove the melody with some astonishing lead guitar virtuosity. There was a nice keyboard-led interlude with André and Joshua as the new track Tabula Rasa was demoed, which then flowed into a sweeping Sea of Dreams. Eyes of the Seer gave the band a final prog metal outing before the band finished with their melodic prog rock masterpiece, The Great Divide (Part 1 & 2). They seem to get better every time I see them. Good luck with the forthcoming tour with Threshold, guys – and the next album!
I was still buzzing several hours after Cheshire’s Sonic Tapestry had played one of the best individual sets I’ve seen at any Prog For Peart festival over the years. My expectations were high after the excellent second album, Into The Sun, but they nailed it with their first live performance in many years. Starting with some great melodic prog with Mystic Void and Caged Lions of Old from their debut album, Aftermath, then they hit a wonderful funky groove with System Failure and then the sumptuous, driving Out Of The Blue, and it’s memorable chorus. In Steve Forster, on vocals, bass and flute, the band have a charismatic frontman – well supported by Giles Ashley on lead guitar, John Byrne on drums and backing vocals, Stuart Forster on rhythm guitar and Sean Byrne providing the sparkle on keyboards. The ebb and flow of Aftermath was special, but it was the epic Into The Sun that was for me the epic prog track of the whole weekend, with light and shade, ever changing tempos and an infectious heart to it that led to a spontaneous standing ovation at the end. This is a band who play with a smile on their faces and the effective encore of a flute version of the Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy theme which then morphed into Focus’ Hocus Pocus, had those at the front dancing and yodelling heartedly! I think the melodic prog of Sonic Tapestry has fully landed at long last, and I hope we see them more on the prog live circuit in future.
The festival ended on a high with an impressive set of symphonic prog rock from Birmingham’s IO Earth, with a diversity of styles demonstrated as they highlighted their extensive back catalogue. Guitarist Dave Cureton’s virtuoso guitar playing drove the emotionally charged music incessantly, with Adam Gough’s keyboards creating wonderfully supportive soundscapes – all backed by the solid rhythm section of William Kopecky on bass and Tim Wilson on drums. However, it was the angelic elegance of vocalist Hayley Griffiths that added the ‘fairy dust’ to so many songs (so lovely to see her on top form). The likes of Running, New World and Race Against Time showed the band that their heaviest, but they contrasted this with more mystical and atmospheric pieces such as Moments, Airborne and Aura. There was a lovely fragile version of Close By from Hayley and Adam, and Dave’s cathartic playing on the 9/11-inspired The Rising was simply stunning. Dave’s stage persona increasingly relaxed as the set progressed and by the time the band delivered the curfew-breaking encore of the excellent Outside and Harmonix (two songs spanning the years) – the deal was done between band and audience! Hopefully the prog community can see more of IO Earth live in the near future.
All in all, another musical triumph from Mark Cunningham and his hard-working and friendly team!
LINKS
Prog For Peart – Facebook