Stand Out Artists from Hard Rock Hell Prog 14

Last month I was invited to cover the Hard Rock Hell Prog 14 Weekender at Vauxhall in Great Yarmouth. There were bands from the UK and beyond and I had the chance to interview some that really stood out to me.

EBB

To begin, we have EBB who won the ‘Best New Act Embyro’ award at the HRH Prog Awards Ceremony which they "are absolutely chuffed" about. EBB are a six piece female-fronted band with "one token bloken". They met in Alabama but now live in an arts collective in Scotland. They started in 2013 as a pop rock band but quickly realised that Prog Rock was their style, Erin (guitar/leading vocalist) stated they decided to "lets stop writing music for who we think our demographic is and write music that touches us". I loved their performance, especially the incorporation of fairy lights, spoken word poetry, and dancing. Looking to 2025, they are already fully booked which includes sixteen festivals, and headliner gigs, and are organising a Prog Rock festival called 'The Temple of Prog' in Carlisle featuring Crazy World of Arthur Brown, The Emerald Dawn, and three other bands, a "great way to start the year" Erin added. I cannot wait to see what else they do, definitely a band to watch!

Iron Butterfly

Iron Butterfly are a Californian rock band, they formed in 1966 and although the original members have sadly passed, the current members are working hard to "keep the music going and keep the magic in the music" (quote from Eric Barnett, Guitarist and member of Iron Butterfly since 1994). Iron Butterfly are recognised as being instrumental in the creation of hard rock and metal music. In fact, Dave Whiston (Bass Guitar) and Bernie Pershey (Drums) agreed (after some discussion) that Iron Butterfly is the "Godfather of both doom metal and progressive rock". A fun fact, back in 1969, Led Zeppelin opened for Iron Butterfly at a New York concert! the band are actually in the process of "reinventing the band" and working on new music. Iron Butterfly ended the festival with a fantastic set which included many of their most popular hits and were later presented with the HRH ‘Hero Past Present Future’ Award.

The Emerald Dawn

To start with, I love the name of this band! It evokes the image of a beautiful sunrise rising over a forest. They have been together for over fourteen years and are a symphonic progressive rock quartet. I spoke to Tom Jackson (drummer) and it transpires that the name was inspired by Edinburgh due to two band members previously living there and having a strong interest in sustainability along with the dream of a greener future. They have toured extensively across the UK and have already released five albums. They are working on their sixth album, to be released next year. Other plans for next year include countless gigs (including one in Germany) and they will be appearing at 'The Temple of Prog' festival in Carlisle.

One of the band's main influences are Soft Influence and King Crimson (both of whom performed at HRH Prog 14) and Tom said it was "an honour to share the stage with them". I enjoyed their performance which featured beautiful vocals, ethereal vocals, and a marvelous use of instruments.

Argham

My final band are this brilliant trio from East Yorkshire. Argham are a Prog Rock/ Symphonic band. They have been in this "recent reincarnation" of the band for about four years (they have known each other for about sixteen years). They have a new EP called "Between Two Worlds" coming out either at the end of this year or next year! They have plenty of influences, such as classic rock, Crazy Arthur Brown and punk. They were delighted to be at HRH, all agreed it "had a great vibe" and Robb Inman (bass player) added that the festival had "some of the most professional sound people they had ever worked with".

Their set was very enjoyable even when Tom (Keyboard, Synths and bass pedal) managed to hit me in the head with one of their merch hats (to be fair, it was amusing) and I loved the overall sound. There were also some lovely vocals and there was some strong Yorkshire stage banter which the audience were clearly loving. One thing to add, even when the snare drum broke, the show went on and they didn't let it faze them, they continued to entertain the crowd and had it fixed quickly.

Counclusion

To conclude, I had a wonderful time at HRH and was truly impressed by the quality of bands.