Category: Gigs/Tour News

SLEEPMAKESWAVES ANNOUNCE NEW SINGLE, 2017 TOUR DATES & THIRD ALBUM

Post-rock trailblazers sleepmakeswaves have announced a massive start to 2017 with a new single, a plethora of tour dates and the news that their third album “Made of Breath only” will be released Friday 7th April through Bird’s Robe Records.

The first taste of the new record ‘Tundra’ was premiered on triple j radio this week, with the station opining “a masterful rise-and-fall of breathless riffs and breathtaking atmosphere, the track pivots on scintillating guitars and epic climaxes towards a reflective final act.”

Listen to ‘Tundra’ here: www.sleepmakeswaves.bandcamp.com

The band also participated in an AMA on Reddit ahead of the premiere and indicated that the new album will have the “up-tempo pace and intensity” of their previous album ‘Love of Cartography’, “but there are more straight up riffs and overall, it’s angrier, sadder, and heavier.”

To launch the record, the band have begun rolling out a series of tour announcements which will ultimately form part of their world tour in support of ‘Made of Breath only.’

In February, they kick off their touring as main support for reunited post-hardcore legends UNDEROATH at a series of sold out theatre shows around Australia.

In March, they will begin their headlining run in China with a 10-date tour playing their biggest clubs and theatres to date. During March and April, they will return home to launch the new album with a 7-date headlining Australian tour covering capital cities and regional areas.

In May, they will then continue on to New Zealand and another Australian tour, as direct support for Canadian progressive rock icon DEVIN TOWNSEND at theatres across the continents.

The band have also responded to fan requests on social media, indicating that further touring is in the works for the UK, Europe & North America.

In late 2016, the band put out a call to fans to help raise funds for their third album and a world tour through pre-orders via Australian crowdfunding site Pozible. They raised over $40,000 to cover the remaining costs of producing the record, which follows 2014’s ARIA-nominated & J Award-nominated ‘Love of Cartography.’

The band posted the following message to social media upon the announce:

It feels like the last 12 months have been leading up to today, and we’re incredibly excited/nervous/eager about recording this material with Nick DiDia, and performing it for you all over the world from early 2017. Thanks for the support as always. Your friendly neighbourhood post-rockers, sleepmakeswaves

sleepmakeswaves recently wrapped up a massive sold out tour with reunited alternative rock legends COG, as well as touring extensively across North America and their own headline tour in Australia, clocking up 54 shows in support of the single and video ‘traced in constellations.’

The band’s busy schedule follows their epic 55-date, 22-country ‘Great Northern’ tour of 2015 and 10 Australian tours, 4 European tours, 2 US tours and shows across Asia and New Zealand since their release of their debut album ‘…and so we destroyed everything’ in 2011. In 2014, they successfully raised $30,000 in pre-orders to help fund the recording of ‘Love of Cartography’.

New album “Made of Breath Only” is out 7th April in the UK.

sleepmakeswaves Australian tour w/Underoath (USA)

Fri Feb 10 – Eatons Hill, Brisbane QLD Lic. All Ages

Sat Feb 11 – Enmore Theatre, Sydney NSW Lic. All Ages

Sun Feb 12 – 170 Russell, Melbourne VIC – SOLD OUT

Mon Feb 13 – 170 Russell, Melbourne VIC

Wed Feb 15 – The Gov, Adelaide SA Lic. All Ages

Thu Feb 16 – Metropolis, Fremantle WA

sleepmakeswaves China headline tour

Thu March 9 – Mao Livehouse, Hangzhou CHINA

Fri March 10 – Mao Livehouse, Shanghai CHINA

Sat March 11 – Yugong Yishan, Beijing CHINA

Sun March 12 – Ola Space, Nanjing CHINA

Tue March 14 – Nuts, Chongqing CHINA

Wed March 15 – Little Bar Space, Chengdu CHINA

Thu March 16 – Vox, Wuhan CHINA

Fri March 17 – Fei Livehouse, Guangzhou CHINA

Sat March 18 – B10, Shenzhen CHINA

Sun March 19 – Hidden Agenda, Hong Kong CHINA

sleepmakeswaves Australian headline tour

Fri March 24 – Metro Theatre, Sydney NSW

Sat March 25 – Max Watt’s, Melbourne VIC

Thu March 30 – ANU Bar, Canberra ACT

Fri March 31 – Cambridge Hotel, Newcastle

Thu April 6 – The Gov, Adelaide SA

Fri April 7 – Badlands, Perth WA

Sat April 8 – Max Watt’s, Brisbane

sleepmakeswaves Australia & New Zealand tour w/Devin Townsend Project (CAN)

Thu May 18 – Powerstation, Auckland NZ

Sat May 20 – The Triffid, Brisbane QLD

Mon May 22 – Enmore Theatre, Sydney NSW

Wed May 24 – 170 Russell, Melbourne VIC

Fri May 26 – Capitol, Perth WA

Tickets for all shows from www.sleepmakeswaves.com

Pre-orders from www.sleepmakeswaves.bandcamp.com

BE PROG! MY FRIEND ANNOUNCES FINAL BANDS – THE DEVIN TOWNSEND PROJECT, LEPROUS & JARDÍN DE LA CROIX.

THE FESTIVAL WHICH HIGHLIGHTS THE WORLD’S BEST PROGRESSIVE BANDS COMPLETES THIS YEAR’S LINE-UP WITH THE DEVIN TOWNSEND PROJECT, LEPROUS & JARDÍN DE LA CROIX.

Since its inception in 2014 the Barcelona based festival Be Prog! My Friend has played host to the likes of Opeth, Steven Wilson, Anathema, Devin Townsend, TesseracT, The Pineapple Thief, Magma, Agent Fresco, Camel, Meshuggah, Katatonia, Riverside, Ihsahn and Alcest.

Taking place in the beautiful open air surroundings of Poble Espanyol – a huge stone built architectural museum – the site is one of the most important and striking landmarks of tourism in Barcelona. Whilst by day the Catalonian hotspot may play host to some of Barcelona’s most interesting historical articles, by the end of June to the start of July it will instead play host to some of the world’s finest progressive bands. Last year saw the festival co-headlined by Steven Wilson and fellow progressive heavy weights Opeth.

So far for 2017 Be Prog! My Friend have announced legendary headliners Jethro Tull and Marillion alongside Norwegian music collective Ulver, Anathema, Animals as Leaders, Mike Portnoy’s Shattered Fortress and Caligula’s Horse.

Now Be Prog! My Friend’s line-up for this year is complete with the addition of the Devin Townsend Project, Leprous and Spain’s Jardín de la Croix.

Devin Townsend returns to Be Prog! My Friend for an exclusive performance of his 1997 album ‘Ocean Machine: Biomech’ in full to celebrate its 20th anniversary. Devin himself describes ‘Ocean Machine’ as ‘a labor of love that was born more out of adversity than almost anything else. I’m very proud of this album, and has a very obvious ‘blue’ feeling to me’

Joining Devin will be one of the best progressive metal acts in the world, Leprous. The festival organisers comment: ‘we were stunned by their technical genius, the absorbing personality of frontman Einar and their almighty live shows’. At Be Prog! My Friend their performance will be a ‘By Request’ show, where all fans of Leprous can vote. The songs with the most votes will be played at the festival.

The final band that completes the line-up for Be Prog! My Friend 2017 is Jardín de la Croix described by the festival as ‘one of the most beloved bands in the Spanish rock scene at the moment. With their excellent live shows they are definitely one of the best instrumental rock bands in Spain at the moment.  We proudly welcome them to the festival and hope you enjoy Jardín de la Croix with us!’

The complete line-up for Be Prog! My Friend 2017:

JETHRO TULL / MARILLION

MIKE PORTNOY’S SHATTERED FORTRESS / ANATHEMA / THE DEVIN TOWNSEND PROJECT / ULVER / ANIMALS AS LEADERS / LEPROUS / CALIGULA’S HORSE / JARDÍN DE LA CROIX

Tickets are on sale now at the fixed price of 130 Euros:

http://www.ticktackticket.com/entradas/goto.do?claves=.127248&origin=TTT&codIdioma=ING

 Press for Be Prog! My Friend festival 2016:

‘And so Prog finds itself in love with Barcelona, the delightful weather and everything that Be Prog! My Friend has to offer’ – Prog Magazine

‘The leading festival for progressive music in Spain, showcased avant-garde music in a magnificent location’ – The Independent

‘Set in the hazy sunlit square of Barcelona’s historic and quite stunning Poble Espanyol, it certainly beats the sodden mud of the British festival season’ – Total Guitar Magazine

‘If nothing else, it proves that prog is alive and kicking. Especially in Catalonia’ – Classic Rock Magazine

http://www.beprogmyfriend.com/

facebook.com/beprogmyfriend

Be Prog! My Friend takes place in the heart of Barcelona and with an airport only 12km away, regular, cheap flights make it an easy festival to get and from the UK. Bands will start playing from mid/late afternoon each day which will also mean visitors have plenty of time to explore the stunning city of Barcelona while they are there.

http://www.barcelonaturisme.com

Exclusive hotel deals for Be Prog! My Friend attendees are available here:

http://www.beprogmyfriend.com/17/en/nearby-hotels/

LEVIN BROTHERS 2017 TOUR feat. TONY & PETE LEVIN with ERIK LAWRENCE & JEFF SIEGEL

Tony Levin is currently on tour with his progressive avant-rock band STICK MEN (heading in a few days to the Cruise To The Edge, followed by the trip to Japan), and in March and April, his jazz band, featuring his brother PETE LEVIN, will hit the road, performing in Chile, Uruguay, Argentina, Bolivia, El Salvador and the USA.
Here are all confirmed dates:
March 4 – Rosendale, NY, USA (Rosendale Cafe)
March 10 – Santiago, Chile (Teatro Teletón)**
March 13 – Montevideo, Uruguay (Las Trastienda)**
March 15 – Mar del Plata, Argentina (Teatro Colón)**
March 16 – La Plata, Argentina (El Teatro Sala Opera)**
March 17 – Rosario, Argentina (Teatro Sala Lavardén)**
March 18 – Buenos Aires, Argentina (ND Teatro)**
March 21 – La Paz, Bolivia (Teatro Municipal)**
March 24 – San Salvador, El Salvador (Scenarium)**
March 29 – Pawling, NY, USA (Daryl’s House)**
March 30 – Natick, MA, USA (Natick Center For Arts)**
March 31 – Schenectady, NY, USA (The Van Dyck Lounge)
April 1 – Rochester, NY, USA (The Lovin’ Cup)
April 2 – New Hope, PA, USA (Havana)**

April 3 – Piermont, NY, USA (The Turning Point)
April 4 – New York, NY, USA (The Iridium)**
TONY LEVIN – upright bass, cello
PETE LEVIN – piano, organ
ERIK LAWRENCE sax, flute
JEF SIEGEL – drums
** Dates with Leonardo/MoonJune..
On this tour, Levin Brothers will perform as well several specially  arranged tunes for the Latin American market, in addition to the material recorded on the debut album.

Prog Duo JUPITER HOLLOW Announce Ontario Show Dates; Debut EP ‘Odyssey’ Out Now!

Band picture by Sandra Beatty

Barrie, ON’s ambient progressive metal / rock duo JUPITER HOLLOW announce they will be performing the following Ontario show dates in support of their debut EP ‘Odyssey’ recently released on Jan 13th. 

Show Dates:
Feb 26 – Toronto, ON @ Mod Club
March 3 – Barrie, ON @ The Foxx Lounge
April 15 – Toronto, ON @ Cherry Cola’s N Rock & Rolla Cabaret Lounge

‘Odyssey’ is a concept record featuring 5 tracks to introduce JUPITER HOLLOW‘s ambient experimental progressive songwriting plus will act as a prelude to their planned full length ‘AHDOMN’. The duo was birthed in 2015 and have already mastered the art of bringing their fans on an audio and visual experience. Their sound is usually referred to as spacey, experimental and refreshing, reminding listeners of bands like Tool, Pink Floyd, A Perfect Circle, Tesseract, The Contortionist and Rush. Consisting of two young, passionate and driven Canadian artists, Grant MacKenzie (21) and Kenny Parry (18), the pair perform with a dominating stage presence, while captivating their audiences with their unique sonic journey.

The EP is now streaming at www.JupiterHollow.ca plus on Youtube at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x5H7zRhIx_s

The EP is available on iTunes, Amazon.

About the duo:

Grant, who plays guitar, bass and synth for the band started his music career 8 ½ years ago at the age of 12, sitting in his basement watching the movie Rock Prophecies. This movie was about legendary rock photographer Robert M. Knight, finding and transforming a young, unknown guitarist from a small town into a worldwide success. Inspired and motivated, Grant spent the next few years honing his guitar skills, writing music, and later learning the business side by attending college for business marketing. At age 20, Grant was invited into the Brotherhood of the Guitar, by founder Robert M. Knight, leading to endorsements with Ernie Ball Music Man and JH Audio.

While Grant was performing with another group at a local battle of the bands, he came across a mesmerizing singer by the name of Kenny Parry (vocalist, drummer and synth for Jupiter Hollow), who was almost performing as if he was possessed on stage, hitting notes that seemed impossible by any guy. Kenny Parry started music at the young age of 2 years old, setting up pots and pans like a drum set and banging away. This led to an obsession with music, and a discovery of his unique talent. In his teenage years, Kenny won himself the title “Best Drummer in Ontario” 3 years in a row. Around this time, Kenny started learning how to sing after being inspired by singers such as Maynard James Keenan, Mike Lessard, Dan Tompkins and Ian Kenny to name a few. Through years of strengthening his vocal abilities in choirs, bands and hours of dedication, Kenny has acquired an articulate vocal range, relentless endurance, and almost shocking performance through his uncontrollable stage presence.

Shortly after meeting, Grant and Kenny knew that their talents combined would create something truly unique, and Jupiter Hollow was born. Since then, the duo effortlessly created music in Kenny’s basement for months on end. The concept grew to be a two-man band, since Grant and Kenny wrote all of the music and wanted to keep it that way. The two musicians use technology to their advantage, allowing them to perform with a dominating stage presence, while captivating their audiences with their unique sonic journey.

1. Deep In Space (5:06)
2. Ascending (2:52)
3. Hades Heart (4:30)
4. Over 50 Years (5:05)
5. Odyssey (5:50)
EP Length: 23.26
For more info, please visit: www.JupiterHollow.ca.

KATATONIA ANNOUNCE “FALLEN HEARTS OF UK & IRELAND” 2017 HEADLINE TOUR

 

Sweden’s much loved architects of dark progressive rock/metal, Katatonia celebrated their 25th anniversary as a band in 2016, a year that also saw them release their 10th studio album – the critically acclaimed The Fall of Hearts.

A special one off anniversary show took place at London’s Shepherds Bush Empire towards the end of the year but now the band has revealed that they will tour the UK & Ireland in May. Guitarist Anders Nyström comments;

‘We’re really excited to be returning to the UK and Ireland for a proper full headline tour in support of our latest album ’The Fall Of Hearts’. Last year, we only got as far as playing London where we focused on the 10th anniversary of ’The Great Cold Distance’ by playing the album in full, so this time we’ll be coming back for more! Join us in May and see us deliver the rest of the darkness!’

UK & Ireland Tour dates:

7th May – Brudenell Social Club, Leeds

8th May – Marble Factory, Bristol

9th May – Slade Rooms, Wolverhampton

10th May – Engine Rooms, Southampton

11th May – Sound Control, Manchester

12th May – Garage, Glasgow

13th May – Limelight 2, Belfast

14th May – Academy, Dublin

Tickets are on sale from 27th January at 10am – www.myticket.co.uk and www.seetickets.com

A new 2 disc tour edition of The Fall Of Hearts is due for release on 17th March 2017 through Peaceville, the new version will feature live tracks taken from the band’s show in the Ancient Theater in Plovdiv, Bulgaria in September 2016. 

February 3rd also sees the release of a limited edition 10th anniversary version of their class album The Great Cold Distance. This new 4 disc deluxe hardback 40 page, book edition of the album will include 3 bonus discs featuring b-sides and bonus songs, a new 5.1 remix of the album by Bruce Soord (Wisdom Of Crowds) and a live album of Katatonia playing The Great Cold Distance in its entirety with the renowned Plovdiv Philharmonic Orchestra in Bulgaria, performed September 2016. The design of this essential 10th anniversary edition has once again been taken care of by long time collaborator Travis Smith. (Available to pre-order via www.peaceville.com/store & http://www.omerch.eu/shop/katatonia )

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Mew Announce New Album ‘Visuals’ and European Tour Dates

Danish band Mew have announced Pre-order details for their seventh album ‘Visuals’, due to be released on April 28th.

Frontman Jonas Bjerre has worked on the projections for the band’s live shows since their early days. Usually, the Danish trio finish an album and Bjerre gets to work on the visuals. For their seventh record, though, the singer decided to turn things upside down, working on the visuals first and seeing if they informed the music. The resultant record feels like a culmination for one of rock’s most ambitious and inventive groups: Visuals is where Bjerre and his bandmates, bassist Johan Wohlert and drummer Silas Utke Graae Jørgensen, join the dots of a career that has spanned over two decades. “We do everything on this album ourselves,” says Bjerre. “We produced it ourselves, I did the artwork, I’m doing the visuals. Visuals felt like a fitting title. I like the idea that each song has a visual aspect to it somehow.”

You can pre-order the album here:

Mew – ‘Visuals’ Pre-Order

Mew have a tradition of, as Bjerre puts it, hiding away in a cave for three or four years between albums. The tour that accompanied 2015’s +- album found the band reaching a creative peak that they felt was too exhilarating to be dampened by a period of extended cave-dwelling. They arrived home with demos that had been written on the road and the spark was lit. They wanted to break the cycle and make an album quickly. “We just felt like, “if we do it the normal way, it’s gonna be another three or four years before we get to do it again’,” says Bjerre. “If you keep doing it like that, ultimately you make a handful of albums and then you’re ready for retirement.” The trio wanted to make an album spontaneously, keeping the energy they’d generated on the road going.

Listen to their new song ‘Carry Me To Safety’ here:

They set to work in Copenhagen and started knocking the demos they’d written on tourbuses and in hotel rooms into shape. At the same time, new songs were emerging in reaction to what was going on around them. Mew aren’t a political band but couldn’t help but be affected by rolling news and the death of an icon. “It was pretty dark last year, so some of the darkness in the lyrics comes from that. You definitely get the feeling that things don’t last forever when someone like David Bowie dies.” Visuals was completed in just under a year – what Bjerre describes as an “incredible” feat for a band used to periods of prolonged tinkering. “Spending less time on it, you can still maintain the feeling you had when you first wrote it,” says Bjerre.

‘Visuals’ is Mew at their most compact, their chemistry at its most potent. With only one song over five minutes, it’s their most concise album. Bjerre says there was no need for a grand, overarching concept. Each song on ‘Visuals’ represents its own little chapter and story: nothing needed to be overly long. “Each album is like a collection of thoughts and ideas that fit the time we’re in,” he says. “They’re like little diary entries, except they’re a little bit more veiled perhaps. To me, albums are memories of times in my life.”

Recorded and self-produced in Copenhagen, ‘Visuals’ was completed in under a year and sees Mew at their most concise, each song representing its own little chapter and narrative. The first taste of the album comes in the shape of the mesmerising intricacies of the album’s finale Carry Me To Safety.

Meanwhile, the slow-build euphoria of album opener, Nothingness And No Regrets, and expansive 80’s-style pop of The Wake Of Your Life countered by the discordant stomp of the intriguingly titled Candy Pieces All Smeared Out and blissful glide of In A Better Place, compete across eleven tracks that convey an irrepressible ebullience of a band on their debut album.

Many of the newer tracks evolved in light of what was happening globally. “It was pretty dark last year on many levels, so lyrically that definitely came into play, it’s an important reminder to treasure the here and now,” says Bjerre. Visuals feels like the culmination for one of rock’s most ambitious and inventive groups.

 Twenty years into their career, Visuals is the distinctive sound of Mew seizing the moment…

New European tour dates have been announced for May 2017.

Tickets will be on pre-sale from 9am local time on Jan 25th, and on general-sale 9am local time on Jan 27th.

Get tickets here:

Mew Tour Tickets

MAY 2017 EUROPEAN TOUR

May 17 – Paradiso, Amsterdam
May 19 – Point Ephemere, Paris
May 20 – Trix, Antwerp
May 21 – Trinity, Bristol
May 22 – Ritz, Manchester
May 23 – Shepherd’s Bush Empire, London
May 25 – Luxor – Köln
​May 26 – Knust – Hamburg
May 27 – Immergut Festival, Neustrelitz

More world-wide tour dates to be announced very soon.

SIKTH BEGIN WORK ON NEW STUDIO ALBUM & CONFIRM DETAILS OF FIRST SINGLE SIGN TO NEWLY CREATED LABEL IMPRINT MILLENNIUM NIGHT

SikTh, the UK’s progressive metal forefathers, have commenced recording their brand new studio album.  The, as yet, untitled 3rd album will be their first new full length since 2006’s ‘Death Of A Dead Day’ and follows on from last year’s acclaimed Opacities EP recorded after their reunion performance at the UK’s legendary Download Festival. The new album is scheduled for a May 2017 release, with the first single and video entitled “No Wishbones” due to be released on Friday 10th February.

Vocalist Mikee Goodman reveals how the recording sessions are progressing “We’ve started recording and it is sounding really vibey so far. This album should be a lot more aggressive than our Opacities EP on the whole. A lot of slamming grooves there, also lots of intricacy and dynamics as always”. He goes on to explain the creative process within the band “There is a formula in SikTh which works well. I always take the lead in the early stages and also I write all lyrics. But of course I am open to Joe Rosser, our new vocalist’s melodic input later on. We have not entered that stage yet. These initial steps are me laying my ideas in, since I have a great studio set up, if I do something awesome now, it goes straight on the record. That’s a great thing because as most vocalists will tell you, it’s all about the vibe and feeling. It’s all about the moment.”

The vocals are primarily being recorded at Mikee’s own studio and at Adrian Smith’s (Iron Maiden) R&R Studios; Mikee & Adrian Smith worked together previously on the Primal Rock Rebellion project. The guitars and drums will be recorded at the renowned Monkey Puzzle House studios. Dan Weller will be producing, alongside Adam “Nolly” Getgood (Periphery), handling mixing duties.

The new album is to be released via Millennium Night, the newly created imprint from Snapper Music, home of Peaceville Records & Kscope. The label imprint name, chosen by SikTh, comes from the track taken from their debut 2003 album The Trees Are Dead & Dried Out Wait for Something Wild.

Mikee explains “We have signed to Millennium Night, which is a new division of Snapper Music; they decided they would invent a new label just for us, we don’t fit in and we never felt the need to”.

Further updates from the studio will be revealed over the coming weeks.

Ahead of the release of their new studio album the band will head out on tour across the UK & Europe with Trivium.

Sikth are:

Pin – guitar

Dan Weller – guitar

Dan Foord – drums

James Leach – bass

Mikee W Goodman – vocals

Joe Rosser – Vocals

www.sikth.band

https://www.facebook.com/sikthofficial

https://twitter.com/sikthofficial

 

Summer’s End Festival announces (almost) complete 2017 line up…

We are delighted to announce the (almost) complete line up for Summer’s End 2017, to be held at the Drill Hall, Chepstow on October 6-8 2017.

Leap of Faith tickets have now come off sale and will be replaced by standard tickets on Tuesday 17th January.

• Hero tickets (including a t shirt and our very special thanks) priced £120
• Sponsor tickets (including a T shirt) priced £105
• Standard weekend tickets priced £85

A very limited number of day tickets will be available soon. The festival sold out quickly last year and we are already 50% to sell out just with LOF tickets, so very early purchasing is recommended. With one band still to announce, we are already very proud of what is our most varied and internationally-orientated line up yet!

Here’s the line up -with one major band still to announce. Day splits will be announced soon.

FROST* (UK)
www.frost.life

Our Saturday headliners are the inimitable Frost* making their first appearance at the festival since their remarkable performance in 2008. The line up of the band – Jem Godfrey, John Mitchell, Nathan King and Craig Blundell – is now stable and playing regular live gigs in support of last years’ excellent “Falling Satellites”,

THE TANGENT (UK / Sweden)
www.thetangent.org
KARMAKANIC (Sweden / UK)
www.facebook.com/KarmakanicOfficial/

As they did in 2014, The Tangent and Sweden’s Karmakanic will be touring in 2016 as an intriguing double act, comprising of (largely) the same members playing two sets, closing the festival on Sunday 8th October. The band(s) will comprise Andy Tillison, Jonas Reingold, Luke Machin plus Marie Eve De Gaultier and other members to be announced. The Tangent will be making their third appearance at the festival and release “The Slow Rust of Forgotten Machinery” in 2017, while Karmakanic released “DOT” in 2016 and last played Summer’s End in 2010.

FRANCK CARDUCCI (France)
www.franckcarducci.com

Those that have had the pleasure of seeing Franck Carducci and his superb band perform will know that they are one of the best – and most colourfully extravagant – live acts playing today. Mixing Prog with hard rock and just a touch of psychedelia, the band are sure to be one of the bands of the weekend following a successful UK tour in late 2016.

SOUTHERN EMPIRE (Australia)
www.unitopiamusic.com

Following his performance with Damanek in 2016 (and with Unitopia in 2010), Australian keyboard wizard Sean Timms returns to the festival with his current band Southern Empire. The band are riding high following the release of their superb debut album and will be touring Europe in late 2017 with Karibow.

MASCHINE (UK)
www.maschineuk.com

Few who were there will have forgotten the performance of a young band called Concrete Lake at Summer’s End 2011. Now called Maschine, guitar wizard Luke Machin‘s brilliant young band, which also includes bassist Dan Mash, released their magnificent second album ‘Naturalis’ during 2016 to great acclaim.

KARIBOW (Germany)
www.karibow.com

This well known German band have had an award winning, 20-year history. Led by vocalist and multi-instrumentalist Oliver Rusing, their powerful, crunchy, song orientated brand of Prog is often compared to Saga and It Bites. The band will tour Europe in 2017 with Southern Empire in suport of most recent album ‘Holophinium’.

ELEPHANTS OF SCOTLAND (USA)
www.elephantsofscotland.com

Following Phideaux, K2, Discipline and 3rDegree, Elephants of Scotland will become the 5th band from the USA to play the festival. Formed in Vermont in 2010, the band have 3 studio albums under their belts and played a triumphant set at the Rosfest festival in 2014 , later released as a CD and DVD set.

MIDNIGHT SUN (UK)
www.facebook.com/midnightsunprog/

Making their first appearance at the festival, but with several members that have played for us before are Midnight Sun, which comprises various former members of Unto Us and Also Eden in a combination which moulds the progressive and melodic textures of those bands with some heaver elements. Recording of the band’s debut album will begin in early 2017.

HALF PAST FOUR (Canada)
www.halfpastfour.com

Our first participants from Canada, Half Past Four have won a deserved reputation for their quirky, jazzy, playful take on prog. So strong was their 2016 third album ‘Land of the Blind’ that we knew that it was high time they made their debut at the festival.

WEENDO (France)
www.weendo.fr

This superb band from France – fronted by vocalist and keyboard player Laetitia – mix Prog with slightly more metallic textures. The band are currently working on their second album following their excellent 2011 debut ‘You Need to Know Yourself’.

More news soon!

Best wishes

Huw and Stephen
www.summersend.co.uk

Our facebook page:
www.facebook.com/…
Our facebook group: www.facebook.com/home.php#/group.php?gid=98170444873
One twitter: www.twitter.com/summersendfest
Email: stephen@summersend.co.uk

DREAM THE ELECTRIC SLEEP ANNOUNCE FIRST EVER LONDON SHOW

Dream the Electric Sleep, who released their 3rd album ‘Beneath the Dark Wide Sky’ last year, have announced a one off UK date as part of their upcoming European tour. Taking place at the Black Heart in London on 8th February the band will be bringing their expansive electric sound to the city for the very first time. Vocalist Matt Page comments:

“It has been an extraordinary year for Dream the Electric Sleep with the release of our third album, “Beneath the Dark Wide Sky.” We have moved forward in ways we never imagined possible and with the help of our fantastic team of partners in the UK and Europe, we are thrilled to be coming to play our first show in London at the Black Heart! We have pooled all of our resources together and worked feverishly to make this happen with the hopes of showing our tremendous gratitude towards those who have helped keep this band going all these years. The music industry is tumultuous these days and we see great bands come and go too often. Making this project long lasting and sustainable has been a high priority of ours and after nine years of writing and recording albums we are finally coming over to play a show and say thank you to our supporters in the UK, face-to-face, for helping keep this ship sailing for so many enriching years. See you all soon!”

The band was formed in Lexington, KY by Matt Page (vocals/guitar), Joey Waters (drums), and Chris Tackett (bass) in 2009.  After two self-produced, independent releases, “Lost and Gone Forever” (2011) and “Heretics”(2014), Dream the Electric Sleep’s third album, “Beneath the Dark Wide Sky,” marked a clear shift in the band’s songwriting style and sonic quality which Prog Magazine hailed as ‘monumental’.
Wednesday 8th February – Black Heart, London – Free entry

Threshold announce new tour dates + album title!

After ten successful years with the label Nuclear Blast, British progressive protagonists THRESHOLD have signed a new contract and extended their partnership with the label. Furthermore, they have also announced plans for their next release. THRESHOLD are currently recording their 11th masterpiece at Thin Ice Studios in England, a new concept album that will be called ‘Legends Of The Shires’. It is being produced by Karl Groom and Richard West and it’s scheduled to be released later this year. More information will be revealed soon.

But that’s not enough:the band is also announcing the dates for the ‘Legends Of The Shires’-Tour 2017 where you’ll be able to fully experience songs from the new album on stage! This European Tour includes a one-off UK date at London’s O2 Islington Academy on 10th December.
Tickets on-sale now and available here:
http://www.ticketweb.co.uk/event/YDH1012T?brand=o2academyislington&camefrom=AMG_ISLINGTON_thhld

Richard West comments: “It’s great to be announcing these tour dates so soon, we can’t wait to get on the road and perform for you. Our new album is coming together perfectly, we’ve got a lot of strong material so it might be our longest one yet.”

Catch THRESHOLD live here:
Legends Of The Shires -Tour 2017
(presented by ‘Rock Hard’, ‘Eclipsed’, ‘Rock It!’, ‘Blast!’ and ‘Wacken Radio’)
+ Special Guests
28.11.  NL       Bosuil – Weert
29.11.  GER     Hamburg – Markthalle
30.11.  GER     Berlin – Lido
01.12.  GER     Aschaffenburg – Colos Saal
02.12.  GER     München – Feierwerk
03.12.  CH       Pratteln – Z7
05.12.  GER     Stuttgart – Club Cann
06.12.  GER     Hannover – Musikzentrum
07.12.  BEL      Kortrijk – De Kreun
08.12.  GER     Essen – Turock
09.12.  NL       Zoetermeer – Boerderij
10.12.  UK       London – O2 Islington Academy

The last record of the band was their live album ‘European Journey’, which was recorded during the November 2014 ‘For The Journey’ tour and consists of 15 live tracks.

Order the live CD here with a signed insert:  http://bit.ly/ThresholdSigned

More on ‘European Journey’:
‘Watchtower On The Moon’ official live video: https://youtu.be/s8QN-lU4QbI
‘Lost In Your Memory’ official video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HrINbxutmH0