Abingdon United Football Club, Oxfordshire
16th July to 18th July 2026
The mighty Mark Cunningham, a man (mostly) exuding an exterior calm while controlling a thousand-and-one things fighting for attention beneath the surface, has produced yet another feat of organisation with his team, and given us punters another escape from the day-to-day with this year’s Prog For Peart festival. Once more it was in aid of the highly worthy Headcase Charity Trust. If ever there was a labour of love, this is it!
This glorious summer we’re having ( if it’s broken by the time you read this, substitute “we’ve had” 😉 ) continued into this weekend, and no-one needed to pack a jumper, or indeed, a waterproof. Many familiar faces greeted me as I stepped over the threshold into the clubhouse. Let the shenanigans commence!
PRE-FESTIVAL PARTY: Thursday 16th July 2026
Roger Trenwith
You’ve heard the phrase “The Irish farewell”, that takes forever, well, after an “Irish hello” of slightly shorter proportions, I settle into my position leaning on the bar for the pre-gig party.
First up was John Dexter-Jones, accompanied by his son Charlie “Tal” Jones on acoustic guitar. The Jump singer delivered his set of straight-ahead songs, some from the Jump back catalogue, in a laid-back but convincing manner. An entertaining start to proceedings.
After recharging our glasses, prog legend Guy Manning took the stage, with tasteful backing from Also Eden guitarist Simon Rogers. Now, you’ll have to forgive me, for before tonight I knew nothing of Guy other than his name, but it didn’t take me long to realise what a consummate songwriter this man (I nearly typed “guy” there!) is. A friend I was with told me after the set that Guy had played quite a few songs from his Tall Stories For Small Children album, which was duly purchased.
A pleasant evening and a nice gentle introduction the festival.
DAY ONE: Friday 17th July 2026
Jane Lee
Friday’s shenanigans kicked off with a delightfully quirky and erudite set from The Book of Revelations. As the name implies, the band openly pay homage to a certain icon of classic prog as fronted by Peter Gabriel, but their style and delivery are very much their own.
All the songs were based on Greek mythology, amusingly laced with witty puns and anachronisms – and the occasional reference to lyrics and titles from the aforementioned iconic band. Front man Gerard Freeman, despite suffering from “the sorest throat I think I’ve ever had”, gave a spirited and crystal-clear performance, his half sung, half spoken vocals a perfect fit for songs that are heavily narrative-based. A poignant personal touch was added when bassist Paul Blackwell stepped up to the mic to give a moving tribute to the great Neil Peart, the inspiration behind this wonderful festival.
The programme, drawn from The Plumes of Enceladus and a forthcoming album featuring the legend of King Oedipus, offered ample opportunity for the band to display their seriously impressive technical prowess, delighting the audience with intricately layered excursions through a breathtaking variety of keys and time signatures. What a cracking way to wake us up and leave us wanting more!
Rosamund Tomlins
Rarely does a band completely embody their name, but Kindred Spirit are absolutely one of them. Before the genial-looking five-piece even strum a note, their collective camaraderie might conjure up pleasant cosy fireside sing-a-longs, but that belies the strength of their intricate and varied original music. The main reason is the particularly engaging material on their newest release, The Journey Within – a concept album no less, and a double to boot! The band are on excellent form, performing as many of the new songs as possible in the time allowed, and the concept comes across brilliantly. I’ve seen them several times over the past ten years or so and they’ve often appeared at music festivals but not always under the prog umbrella, as they are usually considered more on the folky side. This time they absolutely earned their Prog stripes, transitioning easily between the album’s multifarious musical styles; bucolic folk-rock merges into dramatic heavy prog passages, then full-on rock riffs – plus even slipping into a cool bossa nova for one song!
There is still the comforting underlying aspect of the habitual pastoral, but this set of songs truly shows their progression. As with most prog music, I find myself leaning towards possible references from complementary art forms, and Shakespeare’s makeshift arcadian court in the Forest of Arden, in As You Like It, comes to mind. Kindred Spirit could even be the house band for the play’s songs and incidental music, led by composer Elaine Samuels, with her partially plaited flowing fair hair and guitar in hand. Two of the lead characters, cousins ‘Rosalind’ and ‘Celia’, even seem to be embodied in Elaine and multi-instrumentalist Stevie Mitchell, on backing vocals, flute, saxophone (and usually cello, but not today for logistical reasons), in their onstage relationship. Other characters may be ascribed to the chaps.
Elaine, on semi-acoustic guitar and vocals, tells a good ol’ tale, taking us on the psychological journey that the album clearly portrays (not dissimilar to some of Shakespeare’s underlying themes).
Piers Hogg on electric guitar provides elegant prowess to proceedings, and along with Paul Austin on skilful underpinning drums and percussion, bassist/backing vocals and musical arranger, Keith Buckman steps up to show off his talents with his first stage appearance of the day. (Plus, some of us found ourselves induced into some appropriately court-style prog dancing!)
Roger Trenwith
Malcolm “Last Minute Replacement” Galloway came to the rescue again when King Of Sweden couldn’t make the gig due to illness, but at least two of them showed up to watch the show, which was good.
A set of Hats Off favourites and spirited covers were all delivered with an unusually high emotional intensity even for Malcom, a man not known for supressing his inner demons when behind a microphone. I have to admit that his fully committed take on Century Rain brought a tear to my eye. Given his continuing health struggles it is perhaps unsurprising that his songs are often used as vehicles to rage at the world, as titles like Broken But Still Standing and Going Down testify.
My personal favourite of these is I’mtiredandeverythinghurts, that despite the title, is a curiously optimistic number delivered here with zest.
Amongst the covers was the trusty Creep, sung with Malcolm’s familiar intensity, and later, having been joined by another festival stalwart in Buzz Elliot on guitar and vocals, and drummer Chris Taylor from The Gift, we were treated to Wish You Were Here, and Stairway To Heaven.
Fabulous!
Rosamund Tomlins
I love a prog festival where contrasts abound! After a free-spirited, emotion-wrenching, and largely spontaneous set from our previously mentioned worthy stand-ins, next up were The Gift, bearing a professionally wrapped present of tight, quality, classic rock songs. Their set comprised most of their latest album, Seven Seasons – another concept album showcased during this weekend. Thus the story-telling aspect is key and the band’s enthusiastic vocalist, the amicable, and ultimate ‘Everyman’ of rock, Mike Morton’s front-man talents actually succeeded in commanding me into listening-to-the-lyrics mode. This is a rare and worthy occurrence, as I usually find myself initially indulging fully in the music and treating the voice as another instrument, letting the words wash over me to be discovered later on at my leisure. However, what worked well here was that Mike took a brief moment, while the other musicians re-set, to embrace us fully into the fold by informing us as to what each song was about.
Plus, it was a good idea also to pause the pace, as Chris Taylor’s expert energetic drumming had me a tad concerned for the poor chap in the venue’s habitual heat (although notably less stifling than in previous years), as his trademark tight-lipped and increasingly reddening face displayed his no let-up approach! Even Mike, usually bedecked in a jacket of extravagant brocade, reluctantly had to forgo the fashion finery this time for a more sensible black cotton T- shirt!
A delightful surprise is Stevie Mitchell, guesting from Kindred Spirit, on flute for one piece. Newer regular personnel, from The (re-vamped) Far Meadow, Eliot Minn, on sumptuous keys, & Keith Buckman (in line for the festival’s prolificacy award as he plays in Kindred Spirit too) on ever fluid yet steadfast bass, worked their magic alongside impressive guitarist (and album producer) Cristiano Tortoioli.
Rapturous applause abounded for his solos, and for the whole band at the finish of their well-received set, and rightly so!
Roger Trenwith
I have seen this engaging and long-established Italian band once before, and was looking forward to again experiencing their brand of cinematic prog metal. Unfortunately things didn’t go quite as planned for the band, as main man Daniele Giovannoni struggled for some time to get the right piano sound out of the venue’s keyboard, and to sync it with his laptop. Despite this elongated, and frustrating soundcheck, neither band nor audience became impatient, and we all behaved with good grace.
Eventually the set started and thanks to the festival’s efficient stage management, 75% of the setlist was still played, with the band being granted an extra 20 minutes at what should have been the scheduled end time of their set.
Entranced by their filmic backdrop, I was carried off into Karmamoi’s world, especially during one song where Daniele seamlessly duetted with a young lady on the screen. Karmamoi’s music is captivating and powerful, but it just seems to work better live when you get the whole package.
Jane Lee
Composer, vocalist and multi-instrumentalist extraordinaire Peter Jones is a man of many parts. Anyone expecting the gentle, quirky charm of his Tiger Moth Tales persona was in for a rude awakening, as Red Bazar is a band that can rock to raise hell! Right from the off, sound-checking with a blistering rendition of Motörheads’s Ace Of Spades, the band were on fire. The songs, ranging from the aggressive heaviness of Fall On Your Own Sword (from their latest album, Blood Moon) to the more reflective Smokescreen, brilliantly demonstrated the versatility and power of Pete’s vocals – yes, they were as mellifluous as ever, but there was grit mixed in with the honey tonight – and by golly the man can belt it out when he wants to!
Due to a sprained ankle he remained seated rather than occasionally standing at the keyboard, but this didn’t diminish the impact of his playing, by turns meltingly expressive and fiendishly virtuosic. Guitarist Andy Wilson dazzled throughout, scaling the heights of sublimity in an emotionally compelling performance of When The World Burns. Longstanding drummer Paul Comerie was joined by new bassist Roman Dudovskij – a striking presence onstage with electric blue dreadlocks to match his guitar. Both musicians were running on rocket fuel tonight, notably in the aptly titled instrumental head-banger High Velocity (and yes, heads at The Northcourt really did bang!) while the emotional intensity and glorious harmony vocals of City And The Stars showcased the superlative musicianship of the band as a whole.
Audience participation was actively welcomed in the politically vehement Liar, and a spirited cover of Rush’s Tom Sawyer celebrated the memory of Neil Peart. Add to this the irrepressible wit and charisma of Pete’s compèring, and you have all the ingredients for a sizzling musical experience.
Roger Trenwith
Prog giants Magenta headline the first night, and deliver a slick and professional show, full of fan favourites.
While this particular part of the prog pond will never be my favourite area to swim in, as I prefer more dangerous waters, I can appreciate the professionalism on display. The crowd and the band obviously loved it, and guitarist Chris Fry joined in with the vibe by going walkabout in the audience with his guitar, something that happened last time I saw them too.
My friend pointed out the inevitability of The Lizard King as the encore, the well-known tune merely requiring singer Christina Booth to refer to audience participatory clapping for most of the audience to know which song was to be the finale!
An uplifting end to a rather fabulous first day.
DAY TWO: Saturday 18th July 2026
Roger Trenwith
For 45 minutes Mark Cunningham can drop his prog cat-herder’s role and turn into a rock star… I better not say god, it might go to his head 🙂 His voice was in fine form despite the other stresses he was coping with. Mark’s band just seem to get better every time I see them, and it didn’t take long for any sleepy cobwebs to be blown asunder by the band’s brand of charging hard rock.
They are all well comfortable in their roles on stage, but special mention must be made of Steve Harris, and his consummate plank spanking. This guy can play a bit, o yes! There was a great song about a motorbike… or were they all about motorbikes? 🙂 …whose title passed me by, and of course the Neil Peart tribute, Everybody’s Hero, which went down a storm.
Yes Mark, we’re all awake now!
Roger Trenwith
And now, for what turned out to be my highlight of the whole weekend. Over from Le Mans and having played the previous night at the Camden Club with Teiger and Dea Velata, these four young French chaps brought their youthful energy to the Northcourt stage, a vibe that had a fair few of us movin’ and yay, groovin’ too! There’s video evidence on the book of Face, on fellow Frenchman, photographer Marc Auger’s page if you care to look!
Not wishing to fall into the “sounds like” rabbit hole, HamaSaari are probably a name as new to you as they are to me, so maybe some comparisons would not go amiss. I can spot early Radiohead in there, and Riverside, with added post-rock quiet/loud dynamics. But it isn’t that simple. This band paint vast emotional pictures, and they are a joy to listen and shake your thang to!
Slight singer Jordan Jupin hops bird-like behind his mic stand with his guitar, and his expressive voice conveys the deep spirit of the music perfectly. He is joined on backing vocals by bassist Jonathan Jupin, and lead guitarist Axel Vaumoron. The latter also supplies very occasional and therefore more highly impactful growling, which had us shaking fists in glee! During this he was backed with some low-key cookie monster by Jordan, who then skilfully slotted straight back into his normal singing voice. As is usually the case it’s ‘last but not least’ for the drummer Élie Chéron, who holds it all together with aplomb. He is well hidden at the back, not helped by his black t-shirt merging into the black backdrop!
I make no apologies for waxing more lyrical about this band than any other, as for me they stood out, and will be long remembered. I must see them again! Oh…and they’re lovely blokes too. 🙂
Jane Lee
Benefitting from an extended set time (due to the King Of Sweden band’s unfortunate indisposition, and despite the soundchecking contretemps of Karmamoi) Glasgow-based Long Earth treated us to their new album, Towards The Sky in its glorious entirety.
The songs in this space exploration-themed album were richly melodic, with lush, dreamy instrumentation bathing the audience in starlight. The warmly ethereal vocals of the band’s new vocalist, Maaike Siegerist, floated expressively above Renaldo McKim’s atmospherically chiming guitars and Mike Baxter’s shimmeringly symphonic keyboards. The drummer, Kenny McCabe, was also new to the band and made his mark alongside bassist David McLachan, providing a firm and subtly imaginative rhythmic foundation that rewarded but rarely clamoured for attention – an exception being the catchy 80’s style groove of First Casualty.
Stylistically the music gave off folky vibes but veered towards light neo-prog, particularly in the extended instrumental sections of tracks like Colours, giving us a tantalising glimpse of what this new-look Long Earth could achieve in longer form songs. This was a warm-hearted performance that clearly enchanted the audience, and a captivating introduction to a band I shall certainly be following.
Jane Lee
One of the many joys of festivals like this one is the juxtaposition of contrasting musical styles, each setting the other into relief and keeping the audience on their toes. After the celestial lyricism of Long Earth’s set, Jump offered a punchy and full-blooded dose of political realism.
From the moment he strode on stage, dazzling in a flamboyant red shirt, Bangor-born front man John Dexter-Jones held the audience in the palm of his hand. His introductions to the songs, delivered with wry and self-deprecating humour, formed a perfect foil to the powerful lyrics which artfully combined personal stories with biting political and social commentary. Musically the songs blended the energy and grit of rock with elements from the English folk and broadside ballad tradition, while John’s charismatically theatrical delivery inspired several audience members to compare him with Fish.
The musicianship within the band was tight throughout, with songs like The City featuring some blistering riffing between demon guitarists Steve Hayes and Ronnie Rundle, against the atmospheric background of Mo’s neo-prog style keys and the rock-solid foundation of Andy Barker’s drums. A thought-provoking and superbly entertaining set.
Jane Lee
What is it with Welsh vocalists and red shirts? The new organiser of the Summer’s and Winter’s End festivals Huw Lloyd-Jones, dapper in red and blue check, is no stranger to celebrations of progressive rock. On this occasion though, he appeared as vocalist and front man of the superb Also Eden, delivering a powerful and heartfelt set ranging from the grandiose, almost IQ-like neo-prog of Between The Lines to the delicate acoustic textures and dreamy keyboards of A Painter’s Hands. Huw’s warmly resonant vocals were perfectly suited to the thoughtful and emotive lyrics – as he wryly mentioned, this band are not known for their happy songs! – and Skimming Stones, with its heartbreaking depiction of emotional isolation, left many audience members (myself included) reaching for their handkerchiefs.
All was not doom and gloom however, and the soaring chorus melodies of many of the songs were infectiously uplifting. Huw was ably supported by the stalwart team of Ian Hodson (keys), Simon Rogers (guitars), and Graham Lane and Guy Monk on bass and drums respectively, outstanding throughout and notably in the multi-layered, symphonic textures of Scented Candle Corridors. This was a stirring and memorable set which gained the band many new fans.
Jane Lee
As the final set of the festival approached the hall was densely packed and the air conditioning was struggling to cope. At my lofty height of 5’1” I was drowning in a sea of excited Mostly Autumn fans and could barely see most of the musicians. Fortunately singer Olivia Sparnenn-Josh was well to the front, both visually and vocally, stunning in a flowing dress of sunshine yellow.
The rousingly anthemic opener, Tomorrow Dies soon had the audience swaying and clapping despite the heat. Nowhere To Hide transported us back to the band’s debut, followed by Why Do We Remember The Rain?, a Celtic-influenced toe-tapper from the latest album, Seawater, showcasing the multi-talented Angela Gordon on whistles, keys and backing vocals. Future Is A Child followed the winning formula of reflective, moody vocals from Bryan Josh contrasting with Olivia’s powerfully emotive lead vocals in the dramatic chorus, supported by rich, symphonic keys from Iain Jennings and the fluid and inventive rhythm section of Andy Smith (bass) and Henry Rogers (drums). Versatile co-guitarist Chris Johnson took over the microphone in two of his own songs, Changing Lives and the movingly introspective Silver Glass.
Mostly Autumn’s signature sound is immediately recognisable but hard to describe, incorporating elements of singer/songwriter intimacy, Celtic folkiness, classic rock and full-blooded symphonic progressive epicness. The poignant subject matter and highly charged delivery of tracks such as My Home, with its heartfelt indictment of war, evoked a deep emotional reaction, while Bryan’s eloquently passionate guitar solos in songs like If Only For A Day were both moving and uplifting.
All good things must come to an end, and as midnight approached it was time for the final scheduled song, Heroes Never Die, penned by Bryan in memory of his father. The guitar work, ranging from delicate acoustic tracery to a searingly intense electric solo, beautifully mirrored the sentiments of the lyrics. I’m sure I wasn’t the only listener who could resonate with the sense of grief and love for someone precious they had lost. Not surprisingly, the band received a standing ovation and the warmth of the applause persuaded festival organiser Mark Cunningham to grant us one final encore – the soaringly melodic Tonight with its heart-warmingly cinematic climax, closing the festival on an emotional high.
[Photos by Marc Auger (close-ups of Magenta & Mostly Autumn), Rosamund Tomlins, Jane Lee, and Roger Trenwith]
And so ends the 2026 Prog For Peart Festival, another musical and charitable success, raising a whopping £3366 for the Headcase Charity Trust! Congratulations to all involved, and roll on next year!
Sound
Thursday – Lewis Wells
Friday & Saturday – Umair Chaudhry
Lights
Friday – Connor Shortt
Saturday – Aaron Cilia
Stage Managers
Steve Moy
Paul “Fuzzy” Furssedonn
Compère
Scott McArthur (Hearts)
Chief Tosser (the legend on the back of his t-shirt, honest!)
Mark Cunningham (Hibs)
And finally, thanks to the Chairman of Abingdon United FC, Alan Midwinter, for once more allowing his club to invaded by sundry ne’er-do-wells! 🙂
LINKS
Prog For Peart – Website | Facebook (Group) | X
