Generation Prog Festival 2011, Nürnberg, September 23+24

[Kyo]

Good evening,

some of you have probably heard of the first Generation Prog live event we did in February - one evening, three prog bands, lots of fun. Well, when the opportunity to stage the next event at the awesome Luise in Nürnberg presented itself, I decided that we should turn it into more than just a bunch of German prog bands playing. And, lo and behold, my plan has come together! We're still waiting for some paperwork to be finalized here and there, but the Generation Prog Festival 2011 will take place on Friday and Saturday, September 23rd and 24th. It will feature four international and four regional bands - and instead of Genesis cover bands or old guys performing Marillion songs from the '80s you'll get to see young bands that are shaping the prog scene *right now*!

We will be announcing the full lineup soon, but until then I'm really looking forward to the initial reactions to this announcement - in my opinion the first two bands to be confirmed are amazing! More about them in our English press release (a work-in-progress version) below.

Here's the (German) official website for the festival:
//http://www.generation-prog.com

And here's the (English) official Facebook page for it:
//http://www.facebook.com/GenerationProg


All the best,
Michael

---

Haken and Exivous confirmed for Generation Prog Festival 2011!

The first Generation Prog Festival will be held on September 23rd and 24th at the Luise in Nürnberg, Germany. The event brings together some of the best young prog bands from various European countries and local talent from the Nürnberg area for an exciting weekend of progressive music!



The first two bands to be confirmed are perfect examples for the festival's focus: Haken from England and Exivious from the Netherlands may have released just one album each so far, but both got rave reviews from all over the world and both are not just seen as promising young talent, but already considered to be two of the best bands on the prog scene.



Haken's debut album combines such diverse influences as Dream Theater, Danny Elfman and Frank Zappa into a unique musical rollercoaster ride. The songs are filled with so many ideas that they never get boring despite their length and the arrangements are so elaborate that even with two guitarists and keyboardists at their disposal (main writer Richard "Hen" Henshall switches between the instruments on the fly), the six members of Haken have their hands full in a live setting. Even though the band was founded in 2007, this year marks the first time they will play live in Germany!



Exivious have dubbed their music "fusionmetal" - the purely instrumental mix of styles fuses the musical vocabulary of metal with the improv culture of jazz. Given the band's lineup, it's not a surprise that this happens on a stunningly high level: Drummer Stef Broks is also active in the Dutch metal band Textures while bassist Robin Zielhorst and guitarist Tymon played with legendary band Cynic until just recently. The performance at the Generation Prog Festival 2011 will be Exivous' live debut in Germany!

More bands and further details regarding the festival will be announced in the coming weeks.


Who: Haken, Exivious and six more bands
Where: Luise – The Cultfactory, Scharrerstraße 15, 90478 Nürnberg, Germany
When: Friday and Saturday, September 23 and 24, 2011, doors open at 18:00
How much: Ticket prices will be announced soon

//http://www.generation-prog.com
//http://www.facebook.com/GenerationProg

[Kyo]

Good evening,

first of all, I only just realized that I put this under "Other bands" instead of "Gigs". Sorry 'bout that.

Anyway, things are moving quickly here and we have now announced the next batch of bands, making it five out of eight. I'm very happy to announce that brilliant British proggers To-Mera will be making their debut on German soil at the Generation Prog Festival 2011! Also very interesting, although not quite as exclusive, will be the live premiere of the new quintet lineup of our local heroes Theory of Elements. Most people around here probably haven't heard of them yet, but check these guys out - I think you'll be pleasantly surprised! Both of these bands will be presenting brand-new material from their upcoming releases. And last but not least, the one announcement that shouldn't surprise anyone at this point: Yes, my own band Relocator will also be performing at the festival. Can't wait to finally play live in Nürnberg!

We still have three more bands to announce and that includes our big Saturday headliner. Please stay tuned!

I have attached some basic information about the three newly announced bands.


All the best,
Michael


---




To-Mera

Five years after the release of their debut album Transcendental, To-Mera finally make their debut on German soil! Started as a multinational band with Hungarian involvement, the quintet around vocalist Julie Kiss has since firmly established itself on the stages of Britain - which they already got to share with legends like Dream Theater and Emperor. Musically, To-Mera are a lot more daring than most metal bands with female vocals: Rhythmically the music is reminiscent of Meshuggah and Textures and there are detours into jazz and other surprises, raising the music far above the level of the all-too-common Nightwish copycat bands.

//http://www.to-mera.com
//http://www.facebook.com/pages/To-Mera/8008986142
//http://www.myspace.com/tomeraband




Relocator

Relocator's 2010 debut turned quite a few heads as it featured none other than former Dream Theater keyboardist Derek Sherinian as a special guest. But the album had more to offer than just star power: Helped by Dutch drummer Frank Tinge and Polish electric Violinist Bartek Strycharski, project founders Stefan Artwin (guitar) and Michael Schetter (born Pruchnicki, bass) delivered a varied, dense mix of progressive metal and modern fusion. The album was praised by critics all over the world and nominated for "best debut album" at the Progawards 2010. The live unit retains the core band featured on the CD, with newcomer Sergej Schamber (Ocean Spout) taking the place of Derek Sherinian.

//http://www.relocator-project.com
//http://www.facebook.com/relocatorproject
//http://www.myspace.com/relocatorproject




Theory of Elements

Theory of Elements have been a fixture on the Nürnberg prog scene since 2005. Playing countless live gigs and two editions of the Brainmusic Festival, organized by bandleader Enzo Ferrara, the Franconian quartet earned its reputation as a commanding live band. The Generation Prog Festival will see the live debut of their new quintet lineup with two guitarists and returning keyboardist Martin Koralewski. The band are currently working on a new EP that should be available in time for the festival and they can't wait to bring some of that new material to the stage!

//http://www.theoryofelements.com
//http://www.facebook.com/pages/THEORY-OF-ELEMENTS/116274136552
//http://www.myspace.com/theoryofelements

The three remaining bands (including the big Saturday headliner) will be announced soon.

[johninblack]

Moved it for you

[Kyo]

It's been months in the making, but tonight I can finally reveal the full lineup for my prog festival:

Don't miss this if you can make it! It's going to be an awesome weekend and we're hoping for quite a few guests from abroad (especially from Austria and Switzerland, obviously) given the rather special lineup: It's Andromeda's first German gig in five years, Exivious' and To-Mera's debut on German soil, one of the first non-UK gigs for Haken and one of the rare occasions to see my own band Relocator live!

More information here:

http://www.facebook.com/GenerationProg

http://www.generation-prog.com (the English section will be updated soon)

[Kyo]

Alright, everyone - things are getting serious: Tickets for the festival are now available!

For now we're only offering weekend tickets and two different weekend ticket+hotel packages.
40 Euro for a weekend ticket, 125 with two nights at a 4-star hotel or 180 for the double package
(two tickets and two nights in a double room) at the same hotel, i.e., just 90 Euro per person!



If you want to make the trip to Nürnberg, don't hesitate too long before placing your order,
because the hotel deals are limited in number and time - the offer is valid only until August 25!

For more information please visit the English information page for the festival:
http://www.generation-prog.com/?page_id=461

Or jump straight to our online store:
http://www.shop.generation-prog.com

Hope to see many of you in the audience in September!


All the best,
Michael

[Kyo]

Good evening

last morning we got the news that despite all agreements, To-Mera would not be making the trip to Nuremberg after all. The reasons for that are "complex and no fault of your own," says the band in its cancellation mail – in any case they're nothing that they didn't already know three months ago. We regret that this decision wasn't made earlier, especially since we've already started selling tickets.

Fortunately, we were able to secure a more than worthy replacement promptly:



The band Subsignal was founded by Sieges Even members Arno Menses (vocals) and Markus Steffen (guitar) in 2007. Originally intended as a project, the whole thing developed into a real band after the demise of Sieges Even. The top-class band also features Roel van Helden (Drums, Sun Caged), Ralf Schwager (Bass, Dreamscape) und David Bertok (Keyboards, also Dreamscape) and can thus justifiably be called a prog supergroup. More information on the band can be found on the official Subsignal website: http://www.subsignalband.com

And don't forget: The weekend hotel offers are only valid until August 25!


All the best,
Michael

[Pedro]

Crikey, that must be an organiser's nightmare.  :shock:
Ah well, at least Haken's bass player will be well rested.

[Kyo]

Crikey, that must be an organiser's nightmare.  :shock:
Ah well, at least Haken's bass player will be well rested.

 :lol:


Time for an update from the festival front: The average travel distance for our advance ticket buyers is about 500 kilometers! Wow! Seems like we're really onto something with this lineup! Five weeks to go!

A reminder: Our affordable hotel deals will run out in one week (August 25th is the last day), so if you need a place to stay but haven't ordered your ticket yet, don't hesitate any longer! It's hard enough to find a decent double room for 50 Euro here, much less one in a hotel as nice as our 4-star Mercure!

The standard combo deals are for two-night stays only, but we realize that some people might want a room just for one night – because they can't make it on Friday or maybe because they want to go straight back home after the last Saturday band. Do you need a hotel room at the Mercure just for one night? Contact us at mailto:info@generation-prog.com">info@generation-prog.com and we'll figure something out!

[Kyo]

Hey everyone,

thanks to YouTube we can now share some of the great music performed at the festival with you. Of course I'm particularly happy to finally get to share some footage of the current live incarnation of my own band Relocator (with awesome soundboard audio!) - hope you like it!


Andromeda - Periscope
http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=268155163216560

Exivious - Time And Its Changes
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iIW2aPYrIyY

Relocator - Red Vibes
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u20ecgzE3aY


Relocator - Proxima
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y598B9_8eFA

Relocator - The Alchemist
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DcuZB7GW75g

Relocator - drum solo (from The Alchemist)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NYvRM3oZpFc

Relocator - 13 Reasons
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GzbmCYkMuIY

Relocator - Aavishkar
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZXvu-e7H3uo

Relocator - Relocator (check out the audience reaction at the end! )
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PByohBtF3bs

Effloresce - Sear
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qwqLMHOGF2Q

Effloresce - Swimming Through Deserts (new song!)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b2BGu4GcwSA

Effloresce - Sunset in the Snowdome
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wsfXNUfTDgQ

Theory of Elements - Travelling (new song!)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GA7iNPsZrDk

Enjoy!

[johninblack]

Looks like you had a really great festival, well done!

[Kyo]

I'd say we did, thanks!

Now let's see whom I can get to play at a potential 2012 edition...