Thank You from ProgDay 2024!

(September 13, 2024)

ProgDay would like to extend a huge thank you to all of the wonderful bands and appreciative music fans that met this year on the field to celebrate the 29th edition of the festival. Familiar faces, old friends, new faces, new friends, sitting in the open air listening to great live music… it all combines to create the one-of-a-kind weekend that is ProgDay.

Thank you to everyone who contributed to creating this little city in the woods for two memorable days. There are few festivals where the audience is so directly responsible for the environment and vibe. The unique culture of ProgDay belongs to all the attendees that have made the festival their own and contributed to its parts over the years.

A big shout out to the sound and stage crews. This year was a hot year, but the high humidity set a new festival record. By the second band on Saturday, the conditions led to an unexpected malfunction in the stage sound board. The crews worked creatively and diligently to keep things rolling until the arrival of a replacement board which was installed after the third band, and to insure that all the bands that day played their full sets. There were no other equipment issues for the remainder of the weekend. Again, props to our go-with-the-flow attendees who just rolled with the day.

Thank you to our regular attendees for continuing to be part of ProgDay. It couldn’t happen without you.

To those who were first-timers at the event, we hope you had fun, liked some of the music, made new friends, and enjoyed the overall ambiance of ProgDay. If you did, we hope the experience was good enough that you will become a regular part of the ProgDay family.

As always, huge thanks to those who generously donated their time as volunteers to make sure that the festival ran smoothly. You are an important part of ProgDay. Whether you were helping with parking, taking out the trash, working the ticket booth, or any of the many other things that have to be addressed over the weekend, your effort and time is invaluable and appreciated.

ProgDay also wants to acknowledge and thank those who made monetary donations to the festival. Many attendees made donations over the weekend and every year we continue to be blown away by the generosity of the ProgDay audience. Our operating expenses have greatly increased since covid. Being a modest event with a modest budget, there is no way to overstate the significance of the donations we receive.

Thanks to everyone for their presence and participation. We hope to see you all again next year for the 30th edition of ProgDay.

Last Two Bands for ProgDay 2024!

(August 11, 2024)

Janel & Anthony with Mike Kuhl

"Janel and Anthony are an important step in the evolution of music.
They both exist on so many levels, each piece is like a
hundred doors opening up.”
- JIMMY CHAMBERLIN (SMASHING PUMPKINS)

Whether forging unique music on her own or helming the twisting and adventurous avant-garde chamber group Ensemble Volcanic Ash, virtuoso cellist, composer and visual artist JANEL LEPPIN has become a creative institution in the D.C. area. World-class guitarist ANTHONY PIROG, an omnivorous and multi-faceted musician who studied jazz at Berklee, has been described by Guitar Player magazine as “…musically multilingual. In his case, this means that he’s equally conversant with Danny Gatton-esque country picking, jazz, free improvisation and post-rock experimentalism.” Together they form JANEL & ANTHONY, a Washington, D.C.- based duo creating music that draws from classical, experimental, jazz, rock and electronic traditions, but that ultimately is simply theirs. For ProgDay 2024, the duo will expand to a trio, performing a special set with drummer MIKE KUHL, who has performed alongside jazz greats like Dave Liebman, Tony Malaby, Michael Formaneck, and Tim Berne.

Sons of Ra

"On the spectrum of jazz to metal, Sons Of Ra skew heavily towards jazz, but they incorporate their heavier influences in a way that feels natural. Whereas a lot of ‘jazz metal’ music is either primarily metal with jazz as a texture, or just sounds like someone tossing a bucket of nails down a staircase, the trio make heavy tones and distortion feel at home against tightly syncopated grooves and expressive, unusual tonalities.”
- INVISIBLE ORANGES

SONS OF RA is a Chicago-based power trio that combines heavy progressive rock and metal with jazz fusion into a synthesis that is all its own. Formed over two decades ago, the group has honed its unique sound through years of experimentation and collaboration, creating music full of angular melodies, etherial textures, and energetic rhythms. Drawing inspiration from the avant-garde and classic jazz fusion with post-progressive sensibilities, SONS OF RA has proven that the itch of both jazz aficionados and progressive rock/metal purists can find relief from the same musical prescription.

Weekend & Patron Passes Now On Sale!

(July 22, 2024)

Advance sales of ProgDay 2024 Weekend and Patron Passes have begun. To purchase tickets, please visit the TICKETS page.

Remember that it may be necessary to refresh pages to see new content.

More Bands for ProgDay 2024!

(July 14, 2024)

PAKT

"PAKT follow their own law. Or make it up as they go along. Either way is thrilling." - Mike Jurkovic, ALLABOUTJAZZ.COM

PAKT is a true super group featuring Percy Jones (Brand X, Brian Eno, David Sylvian, Suzanne Vega), Alex Skolnick (Testament, Alex Skolnick Trio, Metal Allegiance, Trans-Siberian Orchestra), Kenny Grohowski (John Zorn, Brand X, Imperial Triumphant, Hipster Assassins), and Tim Motzer (Bandit65, Jaki Liebezeit, David Sylvian, Jamaaladeen Tacuma). An experience as much as a musical project, PAKT recalls the fearless attitude and daring approach that originally defined progressive music: where the magic of the moment always triumphs over preconception.

Squeaky Feet

"It’s these types of discoveries that keep me searching for new music, this band should have a bright future, they are a terrific group of musicians, and they will rock your socks off." - Eric Porter, SEA OF TRANQUILITY

SQUEAKY FEET, a Colorado quintet whose genesis began over a decade ago at Berklee College of Music, has created a large buzz among progressive music lovers since the release of its debut album, Cause For Alarm, in 2023. Influences and inspirations range from Frank Zappa, Dream Theatre and King Crimson, to Umphrey’s McGee, Rush and Snarky Puppy. Incorporating the band members’ varied musical voices and visions, the resulting music is a unique, forward-looking, innovative mashup of progressive rock, jazz-fusion and dance/trance.

Birdsongs Of The Mesozoic

"A Boston band that compresses Stravinsky, Steve Reich, and Question Mark and the Mysterians into keyboard driven stomps."
- John Pareles, THE NEW YORK TIMES

Fans of progressive music will already be familiar with BIRDSONGS OF THE MESOZOIC. An instrumental quartet that developed out of Boston's post-avant punk scene in 1980, BIRDSONGS has flown a distinctive course, creating an eclectic blend of rock, avant-garde noise, punk, classical, minimalist and free-form music with hypnotic electronic sequences. With a history spanning over 40 years, the band has earned international recognition and praise for its originality and excellence. Twelve years after BIRDSONGS first performance at ProgDay, we are thrilled to again host one of the band’s rare live appearances.

Jane Getter Premonition at ProgDay 2024!

(July 4, 2024)

Jane Getter Premonition

"Getter is a powerhouse stratslinger and her latest blends jazz and prog rock to create her own unique sound… all highlighted by her wailing, heartfelt solos.” - VINTAGE GUITAR MAGAZINE

Known as a “triple threat” (guitarist, singer, and award winning composer), JANE GETTER first picked up a guitar when she was eight years old. Having toured or played with musicians like Brother Jack McDuff, Lenny White, Michal Urbaniak, and the Saturday Night Live Band, she has built a significant reputation for her superlative, versatile and genre-bending guitar work. Along with Jane, JANE GETTER PREMONITON is an ensemble of superb musicians including keyboardist Adam Holzman (Miles Davis, Steven Wilson), guitarist Alex Skolnick (Testament, Transiberian Orchestra, PAKT), bassist Paul Frazier (David Byrne, Nile Rodgers) and drummer Gene Lake (David Sanborn, Nile Rodgers, Chic). The music features “masterful playing of Getter’s complex, sophisticated and dynamic compositions.” (All About Jazz) and lies somewhere at the intersection of rock, jazz, metal, and singer-songwriter.

First Band Announcements for ProgDay 2024!

(June 14, 2024)

Yang

"Superb guitar from Frédéric L’Epée and his ensemble. Ticking all sorts of Canterbury, RIO, and other boxes.” - SID SMITH - UK

The legacy of guitarist/composer Frédéric L’Epée stretches back to the 1970s with the legendary band Shylock. Followed by the evocative and intricate music of Philharmonie, YANG continues this musical exploration and development. While Robert Fripp is an obvious influence, the music ranges out into territories that really sound like nothing Fripp or King Crimson has done before. Often described as a midpoint between complex math rock and more traditional progressive rock, the music is always unpredictable and captivating. Join us as YANG celebrates it’s newest release on Cuneiform Records, Rejoice!, with a spellbinding journey through their eclectic repertoire that seamlessly combines intricate melodies and powerful rhythms.

Jack O' The Clock

"Jack O' The Clock just seem to go from strength to strength, one of the most original and compelling groups I know playing some amazing compositions that seem to tread effortlessly between Van Dyke Parks and folk music from an as yet unidentified culture, while making all the things you've always thought of as difficult sound as effortless and natural as breathing.” - FRED FRITH

JACK O’ THE CLOCK released its first album in 2008. Now, with ten albums of original music, the band’s unique blend of Americana, progressive rock and the avant continues to defy easy characterization. While the basic instrumentation is inherently folk in nature, the final result, with it’s chamber orchestra leanings, jazz details, intense storytelling, and a dollop of surrealism, creates a sonic landscape which is really like nothing else. …Or as one reviewer stated, “JACK O’ THE CLOCK is what you get when you put together After Crying, Frank Zappa, Donovan, The Beatles and Indie Pop.” Whatever your description, the music is eloquent and beautiful, and always interesting and engaging.

Stay Tuned for ProgDay 2024!

(June 6, 2024)

Hello to everyone.

This is just a quick post to say that ProgDay will again be happening this year at Storybook Farm on Labor Day weekend, Saturday and Sunday, August 31st and September 1st.

Our first band announcements are coming soon. As usual, the bands from last year will remain on the ProgDay website until our first band announcements are made for 2024.

See you on the field!