ROSFEST announces Poland's Osada Vida for 2011

RoSfest is pleased to announce Poland's Osada Vida. The band is Adam Podzimski - drums & percussion, Lukasz Lisiak - bass, vocal, Rafal Paluszek - keyboards and Bartek Bereska -Guitars. To date the band has recorded 5 albums. 

Critical Moment (2000)

Osada Vida (2004) 

Three Seats Behind A Triangle (2006) 

The Body Parts Party (2008) 

Uninvited Dreams (2009)

In 2007 the band signed to Poland's Metal Mind Productions. For MMP Osada Vida recorded the next two full - length albums: The Body Parts Party (2008) and very highly acclaimed Uninvited Dreams (2009).

The music has been warmly received throughout Europe, The USA and Latin America, and is currently garnering excellent reviews for their critically acclaimed Uninvited Dreams album.

The band has extensively toured with the likes of Fish, Riverside, Believe, The Black Noodle Project and many others.

As time passed, Osada Vida started to play heavier, on one side, but on the other side, they incorporated more jazzy and ambient elements with a little bit of electronics. They are still developing their music, so no one knows where music will lead them… but we know that RoSfest will have them for a day on May 21st 2011 as our first band for the Saturday lineup.

Osada Vida official website - www.osadavida.art.pl
Osada Vida Myspace site www.myspace.com/osadavida
Osada Vida Youtube site - www.youtube.com/osadavida

Phideaux to play RoSfest 2011

Phideaux is a band comprised of many friends who have known each other since early childhood (Phideaux Xavier and Valerie Gracious were in nursery school together). They produce recordings of adventurous art rock music and make occasional live appearances. Always eclectic and somewhat hard to pin down, Phideaux has been described as funny, serious, doomy, derivative, innovative, pretentious, goth-tinged space folk "prog" rock. They are inspired by mellotrons, flutes and keyboard heavy music but are also known to love dual lead guitars and power chords. Syncopation and tricky time signatures are sometimes used but there's always a melody to be hummed and riffs that invade your ears and mind. The lyrics tell stories - sometimes clearly, sometimes not - but always with an intent to spark an image or metaphor. Phideaux's sixth album Doomsday Afternoon generated a bit of a buzz and won best foreign album 2007 in the Italian Prog Awards. 2010 will mark the release of the album Snowtorch. This album is a continuation of the long form compositions found on Doomsday Afternoon and Chupacabras. It represents another foray into progressive rock, with perhaps a tiny bit of jazz fusion, psyche/freak out and heavy rock. It may surprise you!

Drop by the Bloodfish Records website where you can listen to tracks from all of the Phideaux albums and download some free stuff: http://www.bloodfish.com.

Discography: Fiendish (2003); Ghost Story (2004); Chupacabras (2005); "313" (2005); The Great Leap (2006); Doomsday Afternoon (2007); Number Seven (2009); Snowtorch (2010)

Look For Phideaux on the RoSfest stage with a brand new album and a brand new show.

District 97 to play RosFest 2011

District 97 comes to us from Chicago and is a band that formed in the Fall of 2006 by drummer Jonathan Schang, keyboardist Rob Clearfield, bassist Patrick Mulcahy and guitarist Sam Krahn. The foursome from Chicago honed a no-holds barred style of Liquid Tension Experiment inspired Instrumental Rock before deciding the right vocalist was needed to complement their sound; enter 2007 American Idol Top 10 Female Finalist, Leslie Hunt. With a look, sound and stage presence comparable to a young Ann Wilson from Heart, Leslie's dynamic performances pushed the band into a new direction that forged a unique marriage between accessible, catchy vocal melodies and an adventurous instrumental prowess. The band is rounded off with Katinka Kleijn, cellist extraordinaire from the world-renowned Chicago Symphony Orchestra and one of Chicago's finest young guitarists, Jim Tashjian. With this new lineup of peerless musicianship in place, District 97 began wowing crowds and establishing a devoted fanbase through packed shows at legendary Chicago venues such as House of Blues, Schubas and Martyrs'. In May 2010, the band signed with Laser's Edge Records, and will oversee a worldwide physical and digital release of District 97's debut effort, Hybrid Child, in September 2010.

The band now heads east to play at Rosfest and you can catch their show on Sunday May 22nd playing the second slot.

District 97 website - http://district97.net/
District 97 Myspace - http://www.myspace.com/district97
Look for a complete bio at the RoSfest website - http://rosfest.com/Performers-2011/District_97.htm

RoSFest - single band tickets to be made available

The long awaited anticipation is almost over and The Rites Of Spring Festival is ready to bring in the Spring with a blast of music. With a little over one month left to go before RoSfest we are sending out invitations to anyone who wants to attend the festival . We know the economy has taking its toll on many people and we know a festival can be a huge commitment for some. We want everyone and anyone who otherwise can not commit to an entire weekend to attend RoSfest in some capacity. RoSfest is creating a unique opportunity for anyone who can not commit to an entire weekend of music but might otherwise attend a single show. On April 3rd 2009 at 10 AM we are selling single concert tickets for the weekend. Tickets will be available at $25.00 each for the first 3 bands on Saturday and Sunday and $40.00 each for the two headliners. This pricing will not affect the Friday night showcase that price remains the same. Weekend passes will still be available as well as single day passes. Come on out and support RoSfest and bring on the Spring.

Tickets will be available 04/03/09 at 10 AM EST through the Keswick - box office at 215-572-7650

John Lees' Barclay James Harvest tour dates

The John Lees' Barclay James Harvest tour schedule for 2009 is as follows (dates courtesy of the band's official website):

• 12.04.09 Manchester Lowry Centre, Quays Theatre (SOLD OUT)
  
  
• 03.05.09 Keswick Theatre, Philadelphia (RoSfest)
• 06.05.09 Toronto Opera House
  
  
• 07.08.09 Cambridge Rock Festival
• 09.08.09 Memories of Woodstock Festival, Shrewsbury
  
  
• 06.09.09 AudioDénia Festival, Spain
  
  
• 03.10.09 Lisbon, University of Lisbon, Aula Magna
  
  
• 23.10.09 Perth Concert Hall (01738 621031)
• 24.10.09 Glasgow Òran Mór (0141 357 6200)
• 25.10.09 Holmfirth Picturedrome (01484 689759)
• 27.10.09 Cheltenham Town Hall
• 28.10.09 Milton Keynes, Stables Theatre
• 29.10.09 Colchester Arts Centre 01206 500900)
• 30.10.09 London, Bloomsbury Theatre
• 31.10.09 Portsmouth New Theatre Royal

The Syn announce US tour

February 18, 2009, New York - Progressive rock band The Syn will show off a new lineup and a new vision with their latest CD Big Sky and an extensive North American tour that includes a performance at the world famous progressive rock festival in Philadelphia, RoSfest. Stops also include Baltimore's famed Orion Sound Studios, Chicago, Milwaukee, New York and much more. The group will also be doing two full evenings of fundraising performances in Virginia with all proceeds to be donated to music, education and the arts.

Formed in 1965, The Syn was a precursor of the band Yes, with that band's bassist Chris Squire as one of the founding members. At various times The Syn has also included Yes alums Peter Banks and Alan White in their lineup. Now The Syn continues forward with a core lineup of Steve Nardelli (founding member, songwriter, lead vocalist and guitarist), Francis Dunnery (of It Bites and Robert Plant fame - guitars and vocals) and Tom Brislin (Spiraling - also keyboardist on Yes' Symphonic tour - keyboards and vocals). The lineup is augmented for the tour by Paul Ramsey (Echolyn) providing drums and other percussion and Brett Kull (also of Echolyn) on guitar.

Much of the Big Sky tour will be filmed. The footage will be released as a documentary of the tour. This film will be available in both digital and physical formats. For more details you can find the Syn on the web (and get a full listing of tour dates) at myspace.com/thesyn.

Peace Frogs, a leading US manufacturer of ecologically responsible, sustainable living, and green-themed clothing is sponsoring the tour. A jointly-designed authentic branded Syn merchandise line will be available for sale at all of The Syn's live performances and selected in-store appearances and promotions.

The Syn Big Sky Tour 2009

April 25th: Baltimore, MD - Orion Sound Studios
April 26th: Philadelphia, PA - North Star Bar (with Echolyn)
April 27th and 28th: Gloucester, VA - Music & Education: The SYNergy of SYNtropy'
Gloucester High School Auditorium
(fundraising event; ticketing through venue - announcement made when ticketing available)
April 30th: NYC, NY - Joe's Pub
May 1st: Glenside, PA - RoSfest
May 8th: Pittsburgh, PA - Rex Theater
May 9th: Cleveland, OH - Wilbert's Food & Music

May 11th: Milwaukee, WI - Shank Hall
May 12th: Chicago, IL - Martyrs
May 13th: Poplar Grove, IL - Chubby Rain House of Tunes

More dates to be announced.

ROSFest post 2: The Syn as newly signed special guests

In light of APOCALYPSE having to bow out of the festival, we are pleased to announce THE SYN playing the second spot on Friday night. Progressive rock band The Syn will show off a new lineup and a new vision with their latest CD Big Sky and an extensive North American tour

Formed in 1965, The Syn was a precursor of the band Yes, with that band’s bassist Chris Squire as one of the founding members. At various times The Syn has also included Yes alums Peter Banks and Alan White in their lineup. Now The Syn continues forward with a core lineup of Steve Nardelli (founding member, songwriter, lead vocalist and guitarist), Francis Dunnery (of It Bites and Robert Plant fame – guitars and vocals) and Tom Brislin (Spiraling – also keyboardist on Yes’ Symphonic tour – keyboards and vocals). The lineup is augmented for the tour by Paul Ramsey (Echolyn) providing drums and other percussion, Brett Kull (also of Echolyn) on guitar and Dorie Jackson doing backing and harmony vocals.

The SYN website - http://www.synmusic.net/
Visit the Syn Myspace site for music samples: http://www.myspace.com/thesyn

ROSFest post 1: Apocalypse cancel show/tour

In a official statement, the premier Brazilian progressive rock band APOCALYPSE announces the cancellation of its new North-American tour that would happen in April/May 2009, including the show at Rites Of Spring Festival (RoSfest) in PA.

"With so much sorrow we announce the cancellation our show at RoSfest 2009 and the entire leg of our new North-American tour. The reason for that is exclusively due the financial world crisis that is affecting all sectors of the global society, and that made the band's trip to the US impossible at this moment. Due the dollar elevation, the flight tickets had a big increase in price in relation to the last year when the band signed the contract with the concert's promoters and planned the entire budget. The process to get the visas approval was also a determinant factor. APOCALYPSE and the festival's organizer George Roldan got to this decision amicably. Both sides will be in touch in order to get APOCALYPSE playing at RoSfest 2010. APOCALYPSE says sorry to all its American fans and promises to return for new shows soon."

Eloy, Gustavo, Ruy, Chico e Magoo - Feb/2009

APOCALYPSE will now concentrate forces on its national tour in promotion of its new album "The Bridge Of Light" released last year by Free Mind Records in Brazil and Musea Records in Europe and Asia.

Iluvatar to play ROSfest 2009

Iluvatar are a band from Baltimore, Maryland recognized as one of America's premier progressive rock bands. Having a solid foundation in rock music, Iluvatar combines different elements from other genres such as jazz, classical, and psychedelia, and weaves them into sound tapestries that, while pushing the boundaries of the standard rock formula, remain very accessible, even radio-ready. Although often incorporating extended instrumental passages, time signature shifts, strong dynamics, and sometimes unconventional arrangements, the music steers away from the self-indulgence of many artists that fall into the "progressive" genre. The focus remains on creating unique songs with strong memorable melodies and heartfelt vocals. The end result is music that can be appreciated by both the casual listener and aficionado alike.

The band is made up by lead singer Glenn McLaughlin, Dennis Mullin - Guitars, Jim Rezek - Keyboards, Dean Morekas - Bass, Backing Vocals and Chris Mack - Drums, Percussion.

To date the band has recorded three great albums Iluvatar's self-titled debut CD was released on Kinesis Records in November 1993 and quickly became the label's top-seller. Iluvatar re-entered the studio in March 1995 to record "Children", their second album for Kinesis, and firmly established Iluvatar as one of the premier American bands in the 90's progressive movement. In 1997 Iluvatar released their third album "A Story Two Days Wide".

In addition to numerous headlining shows, Iluvatar has played before progressive rock fans at both ProgScape 94 and 96 in Baltimore, one of New York City's ProgNights in 96, ProgDay 96 in North Carolina, and ProgEast in Quebec, Canada. They played to packed theaters in Buenos Aires, Argentina in September 1997, and performed in Mexicali, Mexico at BajaProg 98 as well as NEARfest 2000 in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania.

Iluvatar are currently in the midst of recording their long-awaited new studio album and they will feature their new music at RoSfest.

For more on information on Iluvatar head on over to the RoSfest website and check out the complete bio and sample the free MP3.

Iluvatar website - http://iluvatar.com/
Iluvatar Myspace - http://www.myspace.com/iluvatar2006
Check out the bands bio and MP3 - http://www.rosfest.com/Performers-2009/Iluvatar.htm

John Lees' BARCLAY JAMES HARVEST signed for ROSfest 2009

RoSfest is extremely honored and pleased to announce John Lees' BARCLAY JAMES HARVEST to our stage as our Sunday night headliner on May 3rd 2009. Founder Barclay James Harvest members John Lees (vocals, guitar) and Stuart "Woolly" Wolstenholme (vocals, keyboards, mellotron, guitar) return to the concert stage with a five piece band to perform a set drawn from the long career of BJH and such classic albums as Once Again, Everyone is Everybody Else, Time Honoured Ghosts, Octoberon, Gone to Earth and XII.

Barclay James Harvest was formed in Oldham, England when John Lees and Woolly Wolstenholme teamed up with Les Holroyd and Mel Pritchard. In the summer of 1967 the band turned professional and adopted the name. Under the patronage of a local businessman who became their first manager, they moved into an 18th Century farmhouse in the Saddleworth area in North West England to write and rehearse. A one-off single deal with EMI's Parlophone label resulted in the release of the single "Early Morning" in April 1968, leading in turn to a full contract and the band becoming one of the first signings to the legendary Harvest label.

From the very beginning, BJH had experimented with musical ideas, going beyond the traditional guitar, bass and drums format to utilize a Mellotron to simulate the sound of an orchestra. By the time their debut album, Barclay James Harvest, was recorded the band had their own 48 piece orchestra and undertook a short orchestral tour to promote the album. Working with former Beatles engineer Norman Smith, classic albums such as Once Again and Barclay James Harvest and Other Short Stories saw them perfecting their fusion of rock and classical music.

Upon signing to Polydor in 1974 the band enjoyed much greater commercial success. 1974's studio set, Everyone Is Everybody Else, was followed later that year by Barclay James Harvest Live, a double album which became their first UK chart album. Time Honoured Ghosts in 1975 (recorded in San Francisco by Neil Young producer Elliot Mazer) and Octoberon in 1976 saw the band build on their achievements and sell out the now-traditional autumn tours of the UK, whilst exploring new territories abroad with tours of Europe and the USA.

1977's Gone to Earth heralded the beginning of major success in Germany, where the album eventually reached platinum selling status. In 1978 the second live set, Live Tapes, paved the way for a new studio album, XII, and an extended tour of Britain and Europe. As rehearsals began for a new album, Woolly Wolstenholme announced his departure to pursue a solo career. He subsequently released an album, Mæstoso in 1980, and toured with his Mæstoso band before retiring from the music business to live and work on his own organic farm.

The remaining trio resolved to go it alone and following the release of Eyes Of The Universe, the band enjoyed spectacular sales in Europe, particularly in Germany where it rapidly went platinum. On August 30th 1980 the band performed a free concert on the steps of the Reichstag, in the heart of the divided city of Berlin to 175,000 people. 1981's Turn of the Tide album led to yet more touring and 1982's Berlin - A Concert For The People (recorded at their historic Reichstag concert) went straight to No. 1 in Germany and reached number15 in the UK. In early 1987 the album Face To Face marked a return to the traditional BJH sound, and this was confirmed on another massive tour of Britain and Europe, including several major festivals. One of these took place in East Berlin's Treptower Park on July 14th, 1987 in front of an estimated 170,000 fans, the first time that a western rock band had performed an open-air concert in what was then East Germany; a live recording was released as the album and video Glasnost in 1988.

After the release of 1997's River Of Dreams disharmony in the ranks of the band led to an announcement in March 1998 that the band would be taking a sabbatical, in effect marking the end of the original Barclay James Harvest, and that the members of the band would be pursuing solo projects. John Lees immediately teamed up with Woolly Wolstenholme for the first time in twenty years to record the album Nexus, marking a return to the "classic" sound of BJH. More recently the 2006 John Lees' Barclay James Harvest All is Safely Gathered In tour (with Craig Fletcher on bass and Kevin Whitehead on drums) was a huge success and resulted in the live album and DVD Legacy, recorded at London's Shepherd's Bush Empire and released the following year on Esoteric Recordings. The release of both titles gained further attention in Germany where the band was honored in March 2008 by being bestowed the "Lifetime Achievement" award at the annual Radio Regenbogen Awards (the equivalent of the UK BAFTA awards).

2009 sees the band invited to perform in America as headliners at the Rites of Spring Festival in Glenside, PA and plans to perform further US shows and to tour Japan in May. The American visit is the first by any Barclay James Harvest members since 1976. The 2009 concerts are the start of the welcome return to prominence of the Barclay James Harvest name and feature the very best music recorded by the band. Prepare to sit at the table and sample the fruit.

John Lees' BARCLAY JAMES HARVEST website - http://www.barclayjamesharvest.com/
John Lees' BARCLAY JAMES HARVEST Myspace - http://www.myspace.com/jlbjh
Barclay James Harvest website - http://www.bjharvest.co.uk/index.htm
Check out the bands bio and MP3 - http://www.rosfest.com/Performers-2009/John_Lees_Barclay_James_Harvest.htm

LAZULI signed to ROSfest 2009

LAZULI are a French rock ensemble from the region of Alès, France, currently recognized as an arousing, enchanting and vigorous prog rock band. The band was formed in 1998 and is made up by a sextet Yohan Simeon (percussion), Frederik Juan (stand-up drumkit/percussions, respectively assorted percussion, marimba or vibraphone), Sylvan Bayol (Chapman Stick & Warr Guitar), Dominic Leonetti (vocalist, lyricist and acoustic guitars), Claude Leonetti (La Léode, a midi-electronic plug-guitar instrument), and Gédéric Byar (guitar).

To date the band have produced three albums. Lazuli (1999) - Amnésie (2004) - En avant doute (2007). Their live performance is what makes this band very special and it is the style of music that makes them want to be seen live. Their music has been best described as a blend of prog rock, retro and modern spots weaved together with alternative/warm world music – the edge between pop and rock with heavy beats and rhythmic sounds creates a lush musical landscape.

Lazuli comprehends a strange and rare set of instruments, such as Marimba, Chapman Stick, Warr Guitar, Vibes, several Percussions and a "Léode" (an instrument invented by band member Claude Leonetti). And instead of presenting the listeners with off-topic, strange and unapproachable musicality, the band focus on the creation of emotional landscapes, driven by the excellent vocals of Dominic Leonetti and the thoughtful construction of the musical architectures.

Lazuli's concerts have an unexpected quality, most of their musical shows being appreciated or even well-awaited. Except a 1999 notable concert, held at FIMU in Belfort, most of the band's important concerts were held in these recent years. In July 2005, their attendance at the Montreux Jazz Festival earned them acclaim, plus an award for best rock band "Under The Sky Award". The band has been invited twice to play the Baja Prog Festival which has improved their popularity. They have been invited by the legendary group Ange and played a full concert in Bergerac, Dordogne (France). They have played at the German festivals Colos-Saal, KOMMZ-Festival and they've repeated some of the German stage previous performances, while every new programmed event is spot on interesting. In 2008 the band headlined the prestigious Burg Herzberg Festival to a crowd of over 2500.

Popular, yet not hesitantly remarkable, LAZULI are recommended for their resounding artistry, playing a lot of art rock, and modern concept music.

Lazuli have already won the hearts of the RoSfest promoters and are ready to embark onto RoSfest with an outstanding and stunning performance. Look for them to headline on Saturday, May 2nd, 2009.

LAZULI website - http://www.lazuli-music.com/
LAZULI Myspace - http://www.myspace.com/lazuliworld
Check out the bands bio and MP3 -http://www.rosfest.com/Performers-2009/Lazuli.htm

2 ROSfest updates

GPS:

GPS regrettably announces that Ryo Okumoto is unable to perform at Rosfest. We are all upset, including Ryo who was greatly looking forward to this. This is unavoidably due to travel issues from his current home on the island of Fukue, Japan 800 miles from Tokyo. However, Erik Norlander keyboardist for Asia (featuring John Payne), Lana Lane and Rocket Scientists has kindly agreed to fill in for Ryo on this date.


The Rebel Wheel:

RoSfest announces The Rebel Wheel to play at a free after hours party at the Holiday Inn host hotel on Friday night after the Friday night showcase. The Rebel Wheel are a modern progressive-rock ensemble based out of Ottawa Ontario. With influences that range from Gentle Giant to Frank Zappa via Genesis and Rush, the band features a frenetic mix of rock aggression, odd-meter vamps, and turn-on-a-dime arrangements. Originally formed in 1991 as a fusion-based midi ensemble, the floating lineup has gradually solidified to the current five piece featuring Aaron Clark - Drums, Ken Kanwisher - Keyboards, Cello, David Campbell - Guitars, Vocals, Bass, Keyboards - Gary Lauzon - Bass, Bass Pedals, Keyboards and Angie MacIvor - Sax, Vocals, Keyboards. Since its inception, the music has focused more on modern and traditional Progressive Rock.

Look for them to play on May 2nd after the Friday night showcase at the Holiday Inn at the main bar.

A few small bits of prog news

Dutch band Knight Area replaces Magenta at FMPM in Montreal. At the same time, "Knight Area currently is a 5 piece band. Rinie Huigen - one of the guitarists - has left the band and I (the one who started the whole thing) has left too, but started a new project Brandaris '78. I'm still doing some promotion and web maintenance for the band (my brother is in it you know...)," according to founder Joop Klazinga.

As has been discussed ad nauseum in a load of places, The Flower Kings have stepped down from their headlining spot at this year's ROSfest. They have been replaced by Maryland art rockers Crack the Sky, featuring original members John Palumbo, Joey D'Amico and Joe Macre.

Porcupine Tree has announced the release of a new live EP recorded in Orlando FL at a record shop in-store. Titled We Lost the Skyline, the EP features founder Steven Wilson and touring guitarist/vocalist John Wesley on 8 songs performed acoustically, including several rarely or never played. A highlight for this writer is a performance of the opening vocal section of "The Sky Moves Sideways," the lyrical source for this release's title.

The EP can be ordered HERE. US residents may be better served ordering from HERE in order to save on shipping costs (thanks to FZDolfan for reminding me about this link/site...it's the actual store the performance was recorded at).