Well that was enormous fun! A wonderful weekend of music came and went in a flash. So many new friends and fans, quite a few CDs, T Shirts & badges sold, and so many memories. This was a superbly organised event (take a bow Mark Cunningham), and everyone from the crew, sound, light, video, photography and venue staff were brilliant. The quality of the bands was superb, from the first on stage at noon to the headline acts. And the audience…. ? Appreciative, knowledgeable and enthusiastic to a person. We went down rather well, despite a couple of technical gremlins. I think we've played better, but we haven't had more fun (gremlins aside). And of course, all in aid of brain cancer charities.
Here's what David Edwards of The Progressive Aspect had to say:
I’ve been waiting to see Scottish melodic prog rockers Long Earth come over the border for several years, so I was really pleased to see them at last. Based in Glasgow and formed in 2016, they have two albums under their belt, although it was 2020’s Once Around the Sun that made up the majority of the set. They started off energetically with We Own Tomorrow, followed by an impressive new song entitled Sand – which bodes well for the third album. The contemplative power ballad My Suit of Armour really showed off Martin Haggarty’s expressive vocals, with some stunning guitar from Renaldo McKim. The whole band really excel on Spring/Summer with Mike Baxter’s keyboards adding some lovely proggy texture and David McLachlan and Alex Smith so solid rhythmically. Sadly, a bass guitar technical issue meant no Winter, but a stunning version of the dark A Guy From Down the Road – with Martin’s clear vocals and story-telling skills to the fore – ended a very well-received set of quality melodic rock with prog flourishes. Hopefully more people will discover this friendly, talented, and enthusiastic band soon.
The weekend was boosted even further by the announcement that we are to feature at next June's Soundle festival in Peterborough, alongside some fantastic bands. There will be at least one other high profile gig to be announced once all the formalities are addressed, and we continue to look out for more. Watch this space….
Now we are back to working on album 3, An Ordinary Life.
