Supersister out, Trettioåriga Kriget in at NF 2009

It is with a heavy heart that we inform you of this unfortunate circumstance regarding Supersister. Below is what was passed on to us from the band...

Due to the unexpected illness of Ron van Eck, Supersister regretfully have announced that they will be unable to appear at NEARfest this year. Ron has had to undergo a course of chemotherapy treatment for cancer. His prognosis is optimistic, but the members of the band feel that Ron's presence and well being is vital to any Supersister performance and regretfully have had to make this decision. The band apologize to all of their fans in America who were looking forward to seeing the and perform once more and hope to visit NEARfest as soon as the health of Ron allows it.

They have been replaced by Trettioåriga Kriget.

Trettioåriga Kriget (Thirty Years War) was formed in 1970 in Saltsjöbaden, a seaside resort southeast of Stockholm. In just a few short years, the band developed a sound that set them apart from the mainstream of Swedish rock. Early in 1974, the band struck a record deal with CBS and released their self-titled debut album. This was followed in 1976 with their symphonic masterpiece, "Krissång," a progressive rock tour de force with the entire second side of the LP devoted to the "Krissång 2" suite. Despite gaining international praise from the subsequent tour, CBS dropped the band and they signed with a small Swedish label for the release of "Hej på er" in 1978. The band continued until mid-1980 when they decided to call it a day. However, in 2002 most of the classic lineup reunited to try out new material. "Elden av år" was released in 2004 and immediate burst the band back on to the prog rock radar, even garnering them an invite to ProgDay 2004, where they dazzled the audience at Storybook Farm. Since then, the band has continued to play live and produced excellent albums, including 2007's "I början och slutet."

After the void left in this year's lineup by the unfortunately departure of Supersister, Trettioåriga Kriget has accepted our offer to perform at NEARfest '09. We could not be more excited to welcome them to the NEARfest stage. Please help us welcome Trettioåriga Kriget to the show!

DUTCH MASTERS SUPERSISTER TO LIGHT UP NEARFEST `09

NEARfest '09 is pleased to announce that SUPERSISTER has signed on for Sunday evenings #3 slot. The band will be playing their 40th anniversary reunion gig in the United States at NEARfest `09.

While in school in 1968 they formed under the moniker Sweet Ok Sister but soon after changed their name with the departure of their first singer. Once under the name SUPERSISTER the band took a more serious approach to music making and gave us some of the finest progressive music from the era. Whether it was their debut `Present From Nancy' or `To the Highest Bidder', `Pudding En Gisteren' and `Iskander' the band made music that was well respected then and still is to this day. The band walked a line between Canterbury and Psychedelic with some intelligent pop thrown in for good measure. Robert Jan Stips (keys, vocals), Ron van Eck (bass) and Marco Vrolijk (drums), will regroup for NEARfest '09 although it will be minus Sacha van Geest (flute) who unexpectedly passed away in 2001. The band has a new flautist who will step in for the event to make the show complete.

Recently the band had their song "She Was Naked" featured in the 2007 Joy Division biopic `Control'. With this nod the band have recently found themselves in the spotlight once again with a new wave of interest both at home in The Hague and abroad. So get ready to welcome SUPERSISTER as we shine the spotlight on "The love child of Frank Zappa and Caravan" at NEARfest '09!