Progfest 2018

Wild Thing Presents, in association with The Music, David Roy Williams & Welkin Entertainment proudly present...

PROGFEST 2018 - featuring Leprous (Norway)!

PROGFEST: A festival that celebrates all things progressive is back for 2018!

Progfest 2018 has expanded to include all three east coast capital cities, hitting Sydney and Brisbane along with returning to Melbourne, following its December 2016 sold out edition!

Featuring progressive bands of all styles and genres, from prog, post, psychedelic, art rock, metal and everything in between, PROGFEST is about showcasing bands that think for themselves; bands who rather than following the latest trends, have decided to challenge themselves musically and create music with depth and vision.

Beginning life in 2008, Progfest has grown along side Australia’s love of progressive music, and has become the centrepiece of the nation's burgeoning prog scene. In the intervening years, the progressive scene in Australia has exploded and the bands associated with it are now a global force to be reckoned with. Many of the acts have gained huge followings from all over the world. Ne Obliviscaris, Caligula’s Horse, sleepmakeswaves and Twelve Foot Ninja have all headlined Progfest in the past, and each of them have gone on to crack the ARIA Mainstream chart and have global success.

The 2018 line up of Progfest looks to be their strongest yet with Norway’s LEPROUS confirmed to headline all 3 Progfest festivals, plus headline their own sideshows in Perth and Adelaide!

Stepping out of the shadows, Leprous have come into their own this year, performing to packed crowds on their European tour with Devin Townsend and becoming the ‘must see’ act of the Euro summer season. The band released their new album Malina in August this year to critical global praise and have crafted songs that are both catchy and progressive. Featuring sophisticated and intricate textures that are woven around sublime harmonies and rolling post rock rhythms.

Joining Leprous are some of Australia’s finest acts including (appearing on selected dates):

VOYAGER: Perth prog masters Voyager are one of the nations most recognised prog bands around the world. With 6 albums under their wings and constant appearances at global festivals such as ProgPower USA, ProgPower Europe, Hammersonic and Euroblast, supporting the likes of Opeth & Deftones plus multiple national tours of their own, Voyager have their live act honed to perfection.

ALITHIA: Melbourne’s tribal space rockers AlithiA are about to embark on a 29-date European tour supporting Leprous (Norway) and Agent Fresco (Iceland). Imagine floating through the cosmos, out of body and out of mind on a space trip shaped by mutant riffs, driven by tribal percussion and a shamanistic feel.

ORSOME WELLES: This Melbourne experimental creative defy classification. Merging progressive music with an early 20th century panache, pounding grooves, intricate instrumentality and raw uncaged power.
Their avant-garde live show is a must see!

MENISCUS: These Sydney instrumental post rockers seamlessly blend guitar-driven ambient soundscapes, hard-rock, electronic and psychedelic music with a striking visual element to their live performances that has captivated audiences since the bands inception in 2005.

OSAKA PUNCH: These Brisbane genre benders deliver a tonne of groove and extremity in equal measures. Their virtuosic high energy show has forged them a reputation as one of Australia’s most wildly entertaining live acts. The group’s distinctive fusion of funk jams, jazz chops and a rock ethos sets them apart from most heavy acts, and allows an element of humour and satire in an otherwise very serious scene.

TOEHIDER: Melbourne’s world-acclaimed singer/instrumentalist Michael Mills and his band of merry men, aka the prog power trio Toehider, bring their unmissable show to Progfest on the back of their latest release GOOD. Featuring Mills' unmistakable, otherworldly voice and signature bizarre storytelling lyrics, stadium-worthy guitar melodies and driving classic rock rhythms, Toehider is a prog cult classic known the world over, with prominent admirers such as James LaBrie (Dream Theater), Devin Townsend and Aryeon!

BREAKING ORBIT: Progfest 2018 will mark Breaking Orbit’s momentous reunion, with this being their first show with the original lineup since Progfest 2014. Their dynamic prog-alt brand of music ebbs and flows through passages intricate and eclectic, melodic yet heavy, tribal but modern, atmospheric and at times brutal.

DYSSIDIA: Adelaide’s foremost progressive metal act have crafted a unique sound amongst their peers. Their breathtaking motifs and intricate rhythms have lead to them sharing the stage with the kings of the global progressive scene.

JAMES NORBERT IVANYI: One of the most original, commanding and versatile young guitarists on the scene today. His unique style of technical modern metal fused with the classic sounds of 1960’s and 1970’s progressive rock music have seen his fan base transcend generations and genres.

OPUS OF A MACHINE: Brisbane’s Opus Of A Machine meld mechanical precision with electronic aesthetics to stunning effect. Intricate progressive passages give way to anthemic, fist pumping metal with a pop sensibility that has captivated live music fans everywhere. Headed by ex-Caligula’s Horse axeman Zac Greensill, Opus Of A Machine are a force to be reckoned with.

BRANCH ARTERIAL: Following near life-ending experiences for two of their members, Branch Arterial have risen from the ashes to release their strongest album yet Beyond The Border. A unique and distinctive sound derived from the desire to push musical boundaries, don’t miss one of Australia’s most spine tingling onstage performances.

MAJORA: Newcastle natives, Majora infuse post rock elements into their progressive bedrock to produce an emotive wave of emotion that is utterly captivating. The instrumental quintet have earned praise from the heavy music press as well as Triple J Unearthed - who labeled them one of their top ten finds of 2015.

ACOLYTE: Melbourne’s Acolyte bring plenty of theatre to their prog rock sound. The band's classically trained front woman Morgan-Leigh Brown’s distinctive, soaring vocals blend seamlessly with the bands effect-driven rhythms and analogue keyboards. All underpinned by chunky riffs and surrounded in ambient layers. Their 2016 debut album was critically praised and received several prestigious award nominations.

HEMINA: Sydney’s Hemina combine hard hitting syncopated grooves and lush synth backwashes with multi-part vocal harmonies and blistering, memorable leads to create soundcapes full of emotion. With their latest album Venus,Hemina are at their heaviest and most energetic without ignoring the tender and delicate side that keeps the music in balance.

KODIAK EMPIRE: Brisbane five-piece Kodiak Empire blend prog rock, post rock and metal and add dashes of technical flair to create a sound that gives them a wide appeal across the alternative music realm. One moment chaotic, the next a steady back beat, they combine the unpredictable with the predictable and leave audiences breathless.

ENLIGHT: Enlight's mix of progressive, jazz, metal, pop, folk and post-rock surround Rachael Graham's dreamy yet intense vocals perfectly. As if they were written just for them. With 5-part vocal harmonies, acoustic sections and odd time signatures, Melbourne’s Enlight describe their sounds as ‘music that glows in the dark’.

SEIMS:Sydney natives Seims are hailed as one of the most inventive math-rock acts around the globe; with their flavour of ‘controlled chaos’ sweeping through every influence imaginable - from post-rock to hardcore to electronic to jazz. Frenetically energetic and furiously infectious, their live show will leave you breathless (for better or worse.)

BALLOONS KILL BABIES: Brisbane three piece Balloons Kill Babies create a sound that’s much bigger than it looks on paper. Psychedelic inspired instrumental escapism that merges metal crunch and post rock atmosphere into a cinematic experience. BKB are one of the most prominent instrumental progressive bands in the country.

FIERCE MILD: Fierce Mild have been described as a synthesis of David Lynch & The Drones. The Melbourne based group draw from cinema, visual art and Australian history, as much as any musical influences, to craft their intricate brand of Post-Electro Cinematic Art Rock. On stage with an electric cello, horror movie projections and dreamscape sounds. Audiences are left utterly speechless.

MERCURY SKY: Sydney's Mercury Sky bring vibrancy to the rock and metal scene with their distinctive brand of meticulously constructed progressive rock. Technical aggression juxtaposed with effect-drenched ambience centred around big hooks and bigger vocals have led them to make waves in their hometown scene.

HE DANCED IVY: Imagine if you will, Incubus sitting down to have tea with Jeff Buckley, when all of a sudden, Soundgarden burst into the room. Confused, Queens of the Stone Age tried to calm the situation, before being struck over the head by Violent Soho. Smashing Pumpkins smashed pumpkins, and halloween was ruined. That’s Brisbane's, He Danced Ivy.

LOGIC DEFIES LOGIC: Melbourne based Logic Defies Logicreally do defy logic. Their experimental, progressive, psychadelic, funky, metallic music sounds like Faith No More, Van Halen, Pantera and Opeth all at the same time!

GENETICS: Sydney instrumentalists, Genetics incorporate progressive metal, and post-rock with poignant samples of spoken-word.

Tickets from wildthingpresents.com