The rumours were true. Last year's successful and rather splendid Celebr8 festival of progressive music is to continue, its successor taking place on 11-12 May 2013. The 2012 line-up was truly stellar, so matching it was always going to be a challenge. But I think they just might have done it!
To kick things off on the Saturday, we have IOEarth, a band with two studio albums to their name and an interesting mix of pop, symphonic, operatic & ethnic influences on their sound. They are followed by District 97 from the USA, making their UK debut. Their choice of American Idol finalist Leslie Hunt as lead vocalist seems to have been a talking point for far too long, but hopefully we can move on from such trivia and enjoy their particular brand of complex, prog metal riffage on its own merits. Their modern, dynamic sound should certainly provide an interesting contrast to IOEarth.
Warming us up for the headline act will be the inestimable Frost*. These guys made a huge splash in 2006 with the release of Milliontown, an ideal antidote to claims from the unenlightened that prog was all about Mellotrons, capes and Genesis imitation. Since then, the busy schedules of Jem Godfrey and his fellow conspirators have allowed just one more studio album, a live album and a handful of live performances. Given this enforced rationing, an ecstatic reception from fans is inevitable.
Headliners for Saturday are the mighty Threshold, who will no doubt treat us to music from recent release March Of Progress plus material from a healthy back-catalogue of eight albums spanning a career of over twenty years. I must admit that I'm much less familiar with Threshold than with the rest of Saturday's line-up, but I'm looking forward to developing a deeper knowledge of their powerful sound.
Sunday's line-up is no less impressive. Alan Reed returns to the festival to get the day started, this time with a full electric band. I somehow managed to miss his acoustic set last year, so this is a welcome chance to make amends for that error. Following Alan, we have the UK debut of Harvest. I've heard nothing by this band and know very little about them, other than that they hail from Spain. But part of the magic of events such as this is the opportunities for discovery that they provide - so I think I might hold off from listening for now and preserve the mystery.
And speaking of mystery... the Canadian band of that name also make their UK debut on the Sunday, with Benoit David back on board following his departure from Yes and with new album The World Is A Game to promote. But before Mystery, we have the wonderful Haken, one of the most exciting bands to have emerged in recent years. Hopefully we'll be hearing plenty of material from the excellent Visions and perhaps some new stuff as well?
John Mitchell will once again be involved in bringing the festival to a close - this time in his role as guitarist for UK heavyweights Arena. Hopefully, his exertions with Frost* the night before will not have taken too much out of him. (He flew back from an Arena gig for the headline spot with It Bites last year, so presumably he's used to it!) I'm particularly looking forward to Arena's set because I've not seen them live and UK gigs have been scarce recently.
And of course, while all this is going on, there will be short sets on the acoustic stage from Andy Tillotson, Matt Stevens, Simon Godfrey and the "Clive Mitten and Mark Spencer Trio".
All in all, it looks like a veritable feast of great music once again, featuring up-and-coming acts alongside established names and giving several of them their first chance to perform in front of a UK audience.
Limited early-bird tickets are available, for the princely sum of £52.50 (including booking fee) - outstanding value. Get yours now!
