To celebrate today’s release of their live album, Jon Anderson and The Band Geeks announce the second leg of their 2025 U.S tour. The 11-show tour commences June 15th at the Warner Theater in Washington D.C and ends July 13th at The Factory in St. Louis, Missouri. These shows follow the previously announced 18 show leg that starts April 1st in Tucson, Arizona. Both legs of the tour will feature an evening of YES classics as well as tracks from their critically acclaimed debut album TRUE released August 2024.
Premiering today is a video for the YES classic Roundabout, taken from the CD/DVD/Blu-ray “Jon Anderson and The Band Geeks Live- Perpetual Change”. The video can be seen here:
Dates for the 2025 tour are below:
April 1-Tucson AZ –The Rialto Theater April 3-Anaheim CA-The Grove of Anaheim April 5-Las Vegas NV-The Theater at Virgin Hotels Las Vegas April 8-Oakland CA-Fox Theater April 11-Sacramento CA- SAFE Credit Union Performing Arts Center April 14-Seattle WA- Moore Theater April 19-Rockford IL-Coronado Pac April 23-Milwaukee WI-Pabst Theater April 25-Des Plaines IL-Des Plaines Theater April 27-St. Charles IL-The Arcada Theater April 30-North Tonawanda NY-Riviera Theater May 2-Cleveland OH-The Agora May 4-Lancaster PA-American Music Theater May 7-Wilmington DE-The Grand Opera House May 10-Ridgefield CT –The Ridgefield Playhouse May 12-Ridgefield CT-The Ridgefield Playhouse May 16-Westbury NY-Flagstar at Westbury Music Fair May 18-Carteret NJ- Carteret Performing Arts Center
June 15-Washington DC-Warner Theatre June 18-Ocala FL-Circle Square Cultural Center June 20-Clearwater FL-Ruth Eckerd Hall June 23-Dallas TX-Moody Performance Hall June 25-Austin TX-Paramount June 27-San Antonio TX-Tobin Center July 01-Macon GA-Auditorium July 05-Farmington PA-Timber Rock Amphitheatre July 07-Ocean City NJ-Ocean City Music Pier July 11-Nashville IN-Brown County Music Center July 13-St. Louis MO-The Factory
Big Big Train’s The Likes Of Us In North America tour commences on 2nd April and runs until 19th April, with 10 shows in the United States and Canada as well as a co-headlining appearance on board Cruise To The Edge. The band then co-headlines the Gouveia Art Rock festival in Portugal at the beginning of May.
Today the band is announcing the support acts for the North America tour. District 97, The Twenty Committee and IZZ will each open one show. For the remaining shows a member of Big Big Train will play a solo set.
“On our tour last autumn we chose to have different bands open some shows for us, while keeping other shows ‘in the family’ to help to make each night really special, and the mixed approach worked very well,” lead vocalist Alberto Bravin comments. “We’re looking forward to sharing the stage with District 97, IZZ and The Twenty Committee and really recommend that you get to the show in time to see them.”
“There’s just so much musical talent in Big Big Train,” Alberto continues. “Our keyboardist Oskar Holldorff, violinist Clare Lindley, drummer Nick D’Virgilio and guitarist/keyboardist Rikard Sjöblom all have lots of experience fronting bands outside Big Big Train and singing lead vocals. Their solo sets were very positively received in September and October in the UK and Europe, so we think fans in North America will enjoy them too. It will be a surprise each night which band member – or maybe even band members – are going to open the show.”
BIG BIG TRAIN – LIVE IN ‘25
THE LIKES OF US IN NORTH AMERICA TOUR
Wednesday 2nd April – Sweetwater, Fort Wayne, Indiana, USA – No support Friday 4th – Wednesday 9th April – Cruise To The Edge (Festival shows) Thursday 10th April – Arcada Theatre, St Charles, Illinois, USA – Support: District 97 Friday 11th April – The Token Lounge, Westland, Michigan, USA – Support: BBT solo Sunday 13th AprilElectric City, Buffalo, New York, USA – Support: BBT solo Monday 14th April – Fairmount Theatre, Montreal, Quebec, Canada – Support: BBT solo Tuesday 15th April – Algonquin Theatre, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada – Support: BBT solo Wednesday 16th April – Salle Dina-Bélanger, Quebec City, Quebec, Canada – Support: BBT solo Thursday 17th April – Regent Theatre, Arlington, Massachusetts, USA – Support: BBT solo Friday 18th April – Rivoli Theater at The Williams Center, Rutherford, New Jersey, USA – Support: IZZ Saturday 19th April – Rivoli Theater at The Williams Center, Rutherford, New Jersey, USA – Support: The Twenty Committee
Sunday 4th May -Gouveia Art Rock, Gouveia, Portugal (Festival show)
Tickets for all shows are on sale now via www.bigbigtrain.com/live.
“Performs Days of Future Passed Tour” – Playing the iconic album in its entirely, plus a selection of CLASSIC HITS
John Lodge, legendary bass player, songwriter and vocalist of The Moody Blues, and Rock and Roll Hall of Famer, will be back on the road in February and March with his electrifying ‘Performs Days of Future’ show, featuring a first set of Moody Blues classic hits, and a second set of this iconic album, performed in its entirety.
The tour kicks off on February 19th at the Capitol Theatre in Port Chester, NY, and includes 12 dates in the NE, Midwest and Florida, plus his appearance on the ‘Rock and Romance Cruise’, sailing out of Fort Lauderdale on March 15. Then John will be taking his show to the UK for the very first time – ‘Bringing it Home’!
This is a unique opportunity to hear fan favorites such as ‘Isn’t Life Strange’, ‘Legend of a Mind’, ‘I’m Just a Singer (in a Rock and Roll Band)’ and ‘Ride my See-Saw’, plus this groundbreaking album. John and his band lovingly recreate these classic songs, in full symphonic glory, and together with his tributes to his bandmates, and the mesmerizing video of Graeme Edge reciting his poetry, the audience is truly transported back to Moody Blues concerts of the past.
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Following a stroke at the end of 2023, John has gone from strength to strength, driven by his love for this music, and his deeply held desire to continue to share it with the fans. The critically acclaimed shows in July and November 2024 are testament to his passion and commitment, and as John says, his hope is that people leave with a little bit of joy, and certainly the audience can be seen leaving with Moodies magic around them.
Joining John on stage are his 10,000 Light Years Band featuring Alan Hewitt and Billy Ashbaugh (from the Moody Blues touring band), Duffy King and Jason Charboneau, plus Jon Davison of YES will again be joining John on stage to provide his soaring vocals on ‘Nights in White Satin’ and ‘Tuesday Afternoon’.
“A lot of these places we used to go to as the Moody Blues, and I just want to give the fans a sense of that time again. It may not be a Moody Blues show, but Alan, Billy, Duffy, Jason and, of course Jon, create an incredible energy on stage, and such beautiful music. Then when Graeme appears on screen, and I turn to hear his beautiful words, it all makes me feel part of something very special, and I can feel I share it with the audience. Being on stage with them all, I think we all smile together, all of us on stage, and all of those in the audience. It’s a little moment away from the challenges of life.”
“Days of Future Passed” was released 58 years ago, and was arguably the start of progressive rock. John has surrounded himself with a band who put simply, love performing together, and who appreciate and respect the legacy of the music. The Moodies may not perform any more, and the loss of Graeme, Ray and Mike is felt deeply, but this show honours John’s friends and the music.
The electrifying show will also be in support of John’s new EP “Love Conquers All” out on Feb 14th, and available now for pre-order on Amazon and other online stores. Signed copies are also available including limited edition vinyl. The first single ‘Love Will Conquer All’ is available now on all streaming services and hit the No. 1 spot over New Year on the Fab Chart.
For USA (including the limited edition 180g violet vinyl, hand signed by John):https://shop.johnlodge.com
‘If you love The Moody Blues music, then you really need to check out John live. He and the band put on a great show!’
John Lodge is bass guitarist, vocalist, and songwriter for the iconic Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame 2018 inductees, The Moody Blues. Songwriter of such mega Moody Blues hits from ‘Ride My See-Saw’, to ‘I’m Just A Singer (In A Rock and Roll Band)’, ‘Isn’t Life Strange’ and many more. Lodge has been performing and recording with The Moody Blues for more than five decades, selling in excess of 70 million albums, as well as releasing his three solo albums “Natural Avenue”, “10,000 Light Years Ago and B Yond”. Lodge has been voted one of the “10 most influential bass players on the planet,” and has been the recipient of many awards, including ASCAP (American Society of Composers and Publishers), an Ivor Novello Award, a Lifetime Achievement Award from Prog Magazine, to name just a few.
USA Dates Feb 19 Capitol Theatre Port Chester, NY Feb 20 Cary Hall, Lexington, MA Feb 22 Shubert Theater, New Haven, CT Feb 23 The Vogel, Red Bank, NJ Feb 25 Keswick Theatre, Glenside, PA Feb 26 Westbury Music Fair, Westbury, NY Feb 28 Brown County Music Center, Nashville, IL Mar 1 Genesee Theater, Waukegan, IL Mar 3 Orpheum Theatre, Sioux City, IA Mar 5 Pabst Theatre, Milwaukee, WI March 15 – 22 Rock and Romance Cruise March 23 The Villages, FL March 24 The Center of Anna Maria Island, FL
UK Dates April 6 Birmingham Town Hall April 8 Royal Northern College of Music, Manchester April 9 Pavilion Theatre, Glasgow April 11 Union Chapel, London April 14 St George’s, Bristol April 15 G Live, Guildford
Big Big Train’s sound is as tight and lush as ever, but it’s also very much a rock show… There’s an edge to their rich textures. An urgency that keeps even the gentlest moments interesting. Almost everyone has a lead-ready voice… Attributes of a band quietly rewriting the rules for what a rock group ‘should’ be. It’s prog rock in excelsis… but always with a song in its heart, even without words. How cool it is that a group like this exists today.” Prog magazine live review, November 2024 Big Big Train are delighted to announce seven further shows to take place in April 2025 in North America. In addition to returning to the United States (following a successful short run of shows in March this year), the band will also make its debut in Canada, with details of two Canadian shows expected to be announced shortly. The majority of these shows will take place following the band’s co-headlining appearance on board Cruise To The Edge. In addition, Big Big Train will play for the first time in Portugal at the beginning of May at the Gouveia Art Rock festival.
At these performances the seven piece band will be promoting their recent studio and live albums The Likes Of Us and A Flare On The Lens, which were released by InsideOut/Sony in March and September respectively this year to great critical acclaim.
Lead vocalist Alberto Bravin says: “We really enjoyed bringing Big Big Train to the United States for the first time earlier this year and playing to such enthusiastic audiences. We’re excited about returning and playing a mixture of recent and older material. As well as visiting some venues and locations that we played in March this year, we’re also bringing the band to some new areas as we seek to build our profile further. With two nights again in New Jersey, we’ll be varying the set list to some extent as well. Roll on April!”
Drummer Nick D’Virgilio comments: “We had an absolute blast last year playing in the States and on board the Cruise, so we were keen to do a longer run of shows this time around, including venturing north of the border into Canada. We’re taking a step by step approach to North America – if we can make this second run of shows successful, then the next step would be to get further west and south.”
Violinist Clare Lindley continues: “I’m looking forward not only to Big Big Train’s return to North America but also to the band playing for the first time ever in Portugal at Gouveia Art Rock. The festival has a great reputation and we relish the opportunity to add to the list of great bands that have played there over the years.”
Bassist Gregory Spawton says: “Over the last couple of years Big Big Train has really matured as a live band. Since September 2022 we’ve played almost 50 live shows and I think audiences have been able to see and hear how strongly we’ve gelled. This line-up works so well together, both musically and socially, and we’re keen to build on our current momentum.”
Keyboardist Oskar Holldorff adds: “On tour in September and October this year it felt as if we grew as a band every night. Alberto, NDV, Greg, Rikard, Clare and I simply love playing together and we feel we’ve found a real gem in Paul Mitchell, who joined us on trumpet in September and October and will be with us again next year.”
For the balance of 2025, Big Big Train will focus on recording their next studio album, expected to be released by InsideOut/Sony in the first half of 2026.
“We’ve got some great material in progress already for the next Big Big Train studio album,” comments guitarist Rikard Sjöblom. “Everyone has been contributing to the writing process to varying degrees and we’re confident about building on the foundations that we laid with The Likes Of Us.”
The band’s shows in North America and Portugal are likely to be their only appearances in 2025.
BIG BIG TRAIN – LIVE IN ‘25
THE LIKES OF US IN NORTH AMERICA TOUR
Wednesday 2nd April – Sweetwater, Fort Wayne, Indiana, USA Friday 4th– Wednesday 9th April – Cruise To The Edge Thursday 10th April – Des Plaines Theatre, Des Plaines, Illinois, USA Friday 11th April – The Token Lounge, Westland, Michigan, USA Sunday 13th April – Electric City, Buffalo, New York, USA Thursday 17th April – Regent Theatre, Arlington, Massachusetts, USA Friday 18th April – Rivoli Theater at The Williams Center, Rutherford, New Jersey, USA Saturday 19th April – Rivoli Theater at The Williams Center, Rutherford, New Jersey, USA *** Sunday 4th May – Gouveia Art Rock, Gouveia, Portugal
Progressive, psychedelic rock pioneers Gong have announced a new special edition of their highly praised 2023 release Unending Ascending today. The new release, a CD package with an 8-page booklet, includes 6 previously unreleased bonus tracks recorded live from the band’s superb 2024 show at Edinburgh’s Summerhall as part of the ‘Gong + Ozric Tentacles UK Tour’.
The release coincides with Gong’s extensive late-2024 North American & European tour which will see them play shows across the USA, Netherlands, Germany, Denmark, Sweden and Poland, amongst others. “It’s been a long time coming but, following the release of Unending Ascending, Gong are delighted to be playing in the US. No minds left unblown or else” says Kavus Torabi.
“Cosmic rock of the highest order” – PROG
“If Unending Ascending is your first time encountering Gong, this is a spectacular introduction” – LOUDER THAN WAR
GONG UPCOMING SHOWS 15/08 Woodstock Forever ’24, Eisfeld – DE 16/08 The Forum, Tunbridge Wells – UK 17/08 A New Day Festival, Hernhill – UK 24/09 Chapel at Muhlenberg College, Allentown PA – USA 25/09 The Southern Music Hall, Charlottesville VA – USA 26/09 King’s Raleigh, Raleigh NC – USA 27/09 The Grey Eagle, Asheville NC – USA 28/09 Mockingbird Theater, Franklin TN – USA 30/09 The Pyramid Scheme, Grand Rapids MI – USA 01/10 Reggie’s, Chicago IL – USA 02/10 Shank Hall, Milwaukee WI – USA 03/10 Token Lounge, Detroit, Westland MI – USA 04/10 Ludlow Garage, Cincinnati OH – USA 05/10 Irving Theater, Indianapolis IN – USA 06/10 Beachland Ballroom, Cleveland OH – USA 09/10 75 Stutson Street Auditorium Stage, Rochester NY – USA 10/10 Homer Arts Center, Homer NY – USA 14/10 Space Ballroom, Hamden CT – USA 15/10 The Iron Horse, Northampton MA – USA 17/10 The Strand Theater, Hudson Falls NY – USA 19/10 Orion Studios, Baltimore MD – USA 20/10 Progstock Festival @ Williams Center, Rutherford NJ – USA 07/11 O13, Tilburg – NL 08/11 Boerderij, Zoetermeer – NL 10/11 MS Stubnitz, Hamburg – DE 11/11 Hotel Cecil, Copenhagen – DK 12/11 Babel, Malmö – SE 13/11 Musikens Hus, Goteborg – SE 15/11 Debaser, Stockholm – SE 16/11 Rockland, Sala – SE 18/11 Validi Karkia Club, Pori – FI 19/11 Louhisali, Espoo – FI 21/11 Hybrydy, Warsaw – PL 22/11 Kuźnia, Bydgoszcz – PL 23/11 CK Zamek, Poznan – PL 24/11 Rialto, Katowice – PL 26/11 Kofferfabrik, Fürth – DE 27/11 KuBa, Jena – DE 28/11 Akropolis, Prague – CZ 29/11 Kino Ebensee, Ebensee – AT 30/11 Porgy & Bess, Vienna – AT 03/12 Backstage, Munich – DE 04/12 Das Rind, Rüsselsheim – DE 05/12 Jubez, Karlsruhe – DE 06/12 Cafe de la Danse, Paris – FR 07/12 Le Grillen, Colmar – FR 09/12 Harmonie, Bonn – DE
The universe of Gong began in 1969 when visionary Daevid Allen was inspired by a profound psychedelic vision. A founder member of Soft Machine, Allen incorporated his spiritual and metaphysical leanings into an evolving collective. More a mythology than a band in the conventional sense, Gong established itself as one of the most unique, innovative, and experimental rock groups of the seventies, through an exploratory mix of rock, jazz and psychedelia with elements of mysticism and surrealism, unafraid to deliver its messages directly, obliquely or whimsically.
The current incarnation, who were put together by Daevid for his swansong album with Gong, I See You, honour his intention that Gong do not die with him, urging the band to “carry it on into new unknown heights and depths far beyond anything I could ever imagine myself”.
Photo credit – Layla Burrows
The current lineup of Kavus Torabi, Dave Sturt, Fabio Golfetti, Ian East and Cheb Nettles is the most stable in Gong’s illustrious history, having written, recorded and toured together for eight years since Allen’s passing. A dynamic, powerful and explosive live band, their music draws from the credo of the original Gong while remaining committed to pushing the composition, performances and message into new realms, paying no mind to nostalgia.
The Unending AscendingSpecial Edition will be released on Kscope on 27th September on digipak CD with an 8-page booklet. Pre-order:https://gong.lnk.to/UA_special_edition
We are pleased to announce support acts for our forthcoming UK/European tour. The tour kicks off on Monday 16th September 2024 at Thornden Hall, Eastleigh, UK. Following shows around the UK, in Germany, The Netherlands, Norway and Denmark, it concludes at Cadogan Hall, London, UK on Saturday 5th October.
This tour will promote ‘The Likes Of Us’, our recently released first studio album for InsideOut/Sony, as well as ‘A Flare On The Lens’, a live concert film Blu-ray/3CD/2LP recorded at our shows at the prestigious Cadogan Hall last September. ‘A Flare On The Lens’ will be released by InsideOut/Sony on the eve of the tour on 13th September 2024.
Bassist Gregory Spawton says: “In the very early days of Big Big Train many years ago, various more established bands gave us an invaluable opportunity to support them. Now that we’re more established ourselves, I feel that it’s important for us to offer the same opportunity whenever we can. So I’m really pleased that League Of Lights and Haunt The Woods will support us at a couple of UK shows each, with Pete Jones, Stuckfish and Storm Deva each playing one show with us.”
Drummer Nick D’Virgilio adds: “For the shows in continental Europe we’re going to mix things up too. We’ve got our very own Rikard Sjöblom opening the show in Norway with his awesome band Beardfish, while Melanie Mau & Martin Schnella will be doing a very cool acoustic set in Germany.”
Keyboardist Oskar Holldorff comments: “Last year I did double duty on BBT’s tour, opening the show with my other band Dim Gray. We received a wonderful response from the Big Big Train fans, who I hope will enjoy the various acts we’ve lined up to play alongside us this year and give them a similarly warm reaction.”
Lead vocalist Alberto Bravin adds: “For the other shows on this tour we decided to have some fun ourselves and keep the support side of things ‘in-house’. So one or maybe two members of the band will do a solo opening performance to start the shows in Copenhagen, Zoetermeer and London. You’ll find out on the night who is playing the opening set!”
The ‘A Flare On The Lens’ concert film package includes every song we performed over the two evenings on tour last September in London and is available as a Limited 3CD+Blu-ray digipak in slipcase, with the concert film audio mixed in 5.1 surround sound and stereo. A gatefold 180g 2LP vinyl version is also available, which features a carefully selected range of material from the Cadogan Hall shows.
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