At the end of July it's time again: "The mountain calls!" Then the "Burg Herzberg Festival" in Breitenbach in eastern Hesse opens its doors to thousands of old and young hippies. This time under the motto "Back To The Garden", based on a line of text from Joni Mitchell's anthem "Woodstock". As usual, there's something for almost every music lover: Blues rocker Walter Trout is there, punkivaldi Nigel Kennedy fiddles Jimi Hendrix, the noble German rock chansonnier Element Of Crime are performing for the first time at Herzberg, the Belgian retro rockers DeWolff could be won for the now cult final chord at the "Freakstage".
Last year the "Night Of The Prog" festival, idyllically situated in the middle of the Upper Middle Rhine Valley UNESCO World Heritage Site, celebrated its tenth anniversary. But after the festival is before the festival, and so the organizer had his hands full during the last months to present another impressive line-up. After all, there should be something for every friend of progressive music.
Legends like Hawkwind, Focus or Lucifer's Friend are among the highlights, as is the exclusive live reunion of Spock's Beard with their ex-members Neal Morse and Nick D'Virgilio. Carl Palmer's ELP Legacy will also be coming to the Loreley open-air stage: the drummer will present a special program for his recently deceased buddy Keith Emerson. The famous Genesis interpreters The Musical Box join the band with a "Foxtrot" show deluxe.
Tuesday, 18 February, 5 p.m.: On the huge pool deck and along the higher parapet of the luxury liner Norwegian Pearl off the coast of Miami, around one thousand progfans from all over the world cheer for the multinational supergroup TRANSATLANTIC. The artificial palm trees all around symbolize the wonderful weather, which brings sunny 26 degrees Celsius. The mood couldn't be better. The hymn-like sounds of Transatlantic's current album "Kaleidoscope" unfold their very own greatness within this framework. This can be seen from the faces of everyone involved. The blue of the sky and the blue of the Atlantic Ocean, which pushes into Biscayne Bay, form the perfect setting for the longtrack "Into The Blue". Minor teething troubles - Mike Portnoy gets messed up once, Roine Stolt generates unwanted feedback - don't interest me. Again and again the audience stretches their hands into the air, mostly led by the radiant Neal Morse. Fans and musicians in unison.
