As 2025 steams to a close with the world in such turmoil it is difficult to fend off the more worrying aspects of the human condition and the effects it has on our fellow human beings. And with that in mind I will steer clear of the root causes, namely politics, religion and money! I bring this up because I honestly believe that a lack of community spirit and mutual respect for people of all ages seems to be at an all time low. There is one such community that bucks this trend and in this past year i have seen ageism thrown away like rotten fruit Is that of the Prog community. A community that bridges such divides between the older and younger people in this wonderful club. There is respect for the young and the older members of gig goers and consumers of new music that find refreshing.
It’s been a tonic this year to be playing music by young musicians such as Dominic Sanderson, Emily Francis, Ebb, Emily Buckle and Luke Machin as well as older and well established musicians such as Andy Glass (Solstice) Paul Birchall (Combination Head) Andy Tillison (The Tangent) to name but a few. When ever you are in the company of like minded fans at gigs and gathering there is always a fantastic sense of camaraderie and friendship which I feel very much at home in. Lessons could be learned from politicians and community leaders by attending such events methinks.
2025 has been yet another triumph in music terms with the release of so much fascinating and enjoyable music across so many artists and albums that it helps transcend the doom and gloom for so many of us. Are the majority of us nerds? Absolutely. There’s no harm in that though as it takes all kinds to make a world and even within the prog community there is a diverse culture that escapes much of the media in so many ways. The only downside to being one of the older members of this amazing sect is that many of us are now on a state pension and have to be a little more discerning where our pennies go. I fall into this category and whilst I am better off financially than many I have to cut my cloth. I mention this because it is well known that the North East of the UK where I live and worked for all of my life thus far is renowned for being a Prog desert. Very few bands will play here as they know that attendances will be low. It is only the larger fish in the Prog ponds that agree to play in the North East and by that I mean Newcastle upon Tyne. This may be for many reasons far to ambiguous for me to comprehend, though, very frustrating none the less. Over the years I have spent much of my hard earned cash exposing music fans in the North East to new and vibrant bands of extremely high calibre. The law of diminishing returns springs to mind.
Whilst this has never been a problem to me in the past it is only when your savings start to ebb away that you have to throw your hands in the air and say “I simply can’t sustain the short fall of attendances at such event”.
So, what do I do as The Progmeister? Well, I can either give up promoting new and exciting artists or I need to find another way to fund them in a venue that more people would be more content to travel to. Having said that, it is understandable that fans who live many miles from the venue do not to attend, it is the apathy of those who live within a mile of the venue who don’t attend and then post views on social media that nothing ever happens in their town. Hence the reason venues are closing down and promoters are throwing in the towel. Unlike the tickets recently posted for sale to see Rush, you can see two quality bands for less than the price of three pints of watered down ale! I doth my cap to people like Stephen Lambe, Steve Gould and Bob Cheatham who stage annual Prog events over a few days getting great bands and artists exposure and charging sensible money for doing so.
There is no doubt that the cost of living crisis and that of travel is a large factor behind low attendances but when it is on your doorstep I think you need to shake your head. I recently organised a fantastic gig which I advertised enthusiastically and to which only a few people attended. Thankfully what there was lacking in quantity was made up for in quality. I found it frustrating that there was more comments on social media the days following the gig by people who had read so many positive comments and views that” They really wish they had gone”. Really!!! Despite the reduced numbers of ticket sales across the board, I still feel that this year has been prolific as far as new music by young artists under the Prog banner is concerned. So too is the high standard of recording quality and production throughout the many new releases. As so many of our heroes pass away or retire their Mellotrons and Moogs, we reflect on our own mortality remembering the days when we travelled home with the latest LP by ELP, Genesis, Yes, Pink Floyd et al under our arm and hearing those exciting sounds and long form songs for the very first time. As Bach, Beethoven and The Beatles inspired those bands, they inspired new and upcoming bands that we are hearing now. This makes me smile and it is handing it back to me the feeling I had when I was discovering those ground breaking tunes and for that I doth my cap.
