NEARFest 20th Anniversary

[tommy_n_chucky]

Please share your stories. We are happy to do the same. Additionally, if anyone has questions about NEARfest that you never got a chance to ask, please do. We are happy to answer them!

Went to the 2001 show, back in the good old days when I was working in the dot-com boom in IT, made $25/hr (up to $34/hr) doing Oracle/C/Unix so I could easily afford to pay for the flight, tickets, hotel room & a pile of CDs.

I still wear the 2001 t-shirt to this day in hopes of meeting a prog rock fan who might recognize it and start up a conversation.

These days I'm taking care of my elderly mother & get Food Stamps and Medicaid. The times changed.

[arabicadabra]

I got to brew espresso (a word with no "x" in it) for someone who could actually discern the quality of the beverage, Mr. Tony Levin, on three separate years at NEARfest. That was a genuine treat.

[Nearfest2]

I was wondering about the availability of any of the filmed and recorded material. I would sure love to hear the version of Shadow Self that had Keneally and D'Virgilio on it.

There is video from 2005 through 2012, and a few recordings from 2002-2004. The problem is that there's not enough of a market to justify the price to producing any of it.

Keneally's "Shadow Self" was from 2004, so there may or may not be video of that. The Studio M guys were big Keneally fans, so there's a chance. The better video of Nick D'Virgilio from that year was from the ballroom afterparty. He had an acoustic guitar and was singing Spock's Beard's "June." but kept forgetting the lyrics.

I was at this one and my company was one of the corporate sponsors.

Surely, you are using the wrong term. We never had any corporate sponsors. We had advertisers. Is that what you mean?

I got to brew espresso (a word with no "x" in it) for someone who could actually discern the quality of the beverage, Mr. Tony Levin, on three separate years at NEARfest. That was a genuine treat.

Annie Haslam always flocked to your coffee. I remember you giving John Wetton a tour of the offerings. The Guatemalan blend woke up Fish from his hangover when he arrived. That's for sure!

[Fracktured]

I'll never forget the guy from Il Balletto di Bronso running around the hall trying to stamp every ones hand. He got my wife's hand but didn't get mine. I don't remember what the stamp was though.

[Yves]

I went in 2004, 2005, 2008, 2012. In those years I probably only saw 3 or 4 headliners , but I saw every band that came on Sunday morning. Those were usually the bands I was there to see. Favorite musical moments for me are Hidria Spacefolk in 2004, and seeing both GBS and Anglagard on the same day in 2012 (and if they were actually on separate days, that just goes to show you the state I was in...)

But NF was about more than the performances, it was about meeting so many of you and getting to hang out. The upstairs parking lot tailgaiting ruled in those early years!

[arturs]

There is video from 2005 through 2012, and a few recordings from 2002-2004. The problem is that there's not enough of a market to justify the price to producing any of it.

Maybe you have considered this already, but...

Would it be worth picking a few of the possibly more popular videos and trying Kickstarters with them? With artist permission of course. I totally agree you shouldn't be risking your own money to bring these performances to market. But you could set an ambitious $ goal that really makes it worth doing. If you don't reach it, you don't reach it. So be it. But you never know, sometimes the Kickstarter campaigns are more successful than you would imagine.

[Sturgeon's Lawyer]

The headliners were what brought me 3000+ miles for the one NF I was able to attend: Hackett, Caravan, and the return of the original Nektar.

[Camelogue]

ahh it's time has passed.

[nosebone]

2003-2005 was the golden run for me.

Magma, Camel, Anglagard, Univers Zero, Present, Kenso, PFM, Banco - all bucket list shows !

Really incredible job guys -eternally grateful!

[infandous]

Went to the 2001 show, back in the good old days when I was working in the dot-com boom in IT, made $25/hr (up to $34/hr) doing Oracle/C/Unix so I could easily afford to pay for the flight, tickets, hotel room & a pile of CDs.

I still wear the 2001 t-shirt to this day in hopes of meeting a prog rock fan who might recognize it and start up a conversation.

These days I'm taking care of my elderly mother & get Food Stamps and Medicaid. The times changed.

Still have my 2001 T-shirt as well! I rarely wear it though, to keep it in good shape. I usually wore it to all the Nearfest's I went to after that, but also occasionally to other concerts for the same reason as you.......to see if I run into any fellow Prog fans

[Guitarplyrjvb]

Surely, you are using the wrong term. We never had any corporate sponsors. We had advertisers. Is that what you mean?

...ok. Advertiser. We weren’t selling anything and were just trying to support the festival as a service to the community, the same way we would support the regional symphony or the county library. Sorry to imply that an evil company would look to fleece the burgeoning profits available from the prog community!

[Buddhabreath]

Maybe you have considered this already, but...

Would it be worth picking a few of the possibly more popular videos and trying Kickstarters with them? With artist permission of course. I totally agree you shouldn't be risking your own money to bring these performances to market. But you could set an ambitious $ goal that really makes it worth doing. If you don't reach it, you don't reach it. So be it. But you never know, sometimes the Kickstarter campaigns are more successful than you would imagine.

... or even a "highlights" video by year as has been done with other festivals. I'd definitly kick-in and if it doesn't work out, nothing really lost.

[simon moon]

...US-friendly countries

Russia?

[Nearfest2]

Maybe you have considered this already, but...

Would it be worth picking a few of the possibly more popular videos and trying Kickstarters with them? With artist permission of course. I totally agree you shouldn't be risking your own money to bring these performances to market. But you could set an ambitious $ goal that really makes it worth doing. If you don't reach it, you don't reach it. So be it. But you never know, sometimes the Kickstarter campaigns are more successful than you would imagine.

Of course I have. It's a lovely idea and if I had the skills myself, I would do it. Since it would require others to edit the video and mix the audio, that would cost money... Then tack on royalties (and for video it can get much more expensive). I can't lock others into putting in time and effort to do this work if they may never get paid.

...if it doesn't work out, nothing really lost.

See above.

[Nearfest2]

...ok. Advertiser. We weren’t selling anything and were just trying to support the festival as a service to the community, the same way we would support the regional symphony or the county library. Sorry to imply that an evil company would look to fleece the burgeoning profits available from the prog community!

Nah. That's okay. But to your point, we were very careful not to ever have corporate sponsors. It felt dirty for what we were trying to do.

[tommy_n_chucky]

Chad has a nice big backyard. Just sayin’...

Party @ Chad's!!

BYOB (or MJ)

[oilersfan]

My first NEARfest was 2001 and I went to each of them from that point forward. Just tons and tons of memories from all of those years. Most of them are grounded in music but many others have to do with just hanging out around the venue, especially up on Pork Chop Hill in Bethlehem. Given how much beer was being consumed as well as 'other consumables', it's an absolute miracle that things very rarely got out of hand up there.

[Buddhabreath]

Of course I have. It's a lovely idea and if I had the skills myself, I would do it. Since it would require others to edit the video and mix the audio, that would cost money... Then tack on royalties (and for video it can get much more expensive). I can't lock others into putting in time and effort to do this work if they may never get paid.



See above.

You don't have to start the work if the kickstarter does not raise the targeted funds I believe. There may be fans out there that have Avid or some other editing facility that would do the work gratis. You never know tilly you try.

[progholio]

I always envied those of you who lived close enough to drive to NEARfest. My buddy and I drove to the first one from Michigan. It took us close to 12 hours if I remember right, (Pennsylvania is a damn long state). The drive back was the killer though, after partying all weekend, we got stuck in a traffic jam due to an accident where the traffic on the highway was stopped for two hours. That was a long ass drive home. I flew to all of them after that.

We had a very similar drive, one of my most miserable memories was driving back the monday after the '04 late night party with Mr Keneally entertaining a bunch of us in the ballroom. Torrential downpour all the way down that long stretch of turnpike (after maybe 4hrs sleep). Took up flying to festivals after that one.

I've been to damn near all of them with 2001 being one of my favorites (the whole lineup really clicked for me that year)
The final curtain in 2012 was fantastic too! and a whole lot of great memories in between .
I really miss Sal's Brick Oven Pizza.

[Yves]

Party @ Chad's!!

BYOB (or MJ)

Ha! I can just imagine a small group of friends getting together at Chad's on the anniversary of NF, each bringing beers from their region and adopting an open cooler policy, while throwing together a pot luck buffet of hot and cold food! Preposterous!

[JKL2000]

A couple of times I stayed at that hotel across the bridge over by Moravian College. One time I walked across the bridge in the morning (not the shortest walk) and as I got to the end of the bridge, realized I'd forgotten my ticket! It only cost me some time in the dealers' room, but was a d'oh moment for sure.

Another time - forget which hotel I was at - my wake-up call didn't happen, and I missed the first 30 minutes or so of Astra. I might have been relying on the alarm clock in the room and set it wrong. Oh well.

[Lino]

Best fest i ever had the pleasure of attending. My first was 2001 and after that I got to them all except the year FM played as I had a minor injury that fucked me up for the long drive.

Nothing will ever top NF for me musically. A lifetime of concert dreams were fulfilled in a span of 10 years or so. I can't put in to words how much it meant to me to see bands I'd loved since back in the day.
Some we have been able to see subsequently like Magma, PFM, Nektar, VDGG, Banco, etc. ... but at the time, they were truly dreams come true. Thanks Rob, Chad, Kevin and the entire team for the truly amazing experiences.

Picking hilights is just a ridiculous excerise, but lets just say maybe surprise blow me away shows... Present was out of this world.

Best year is super tough as well, but based on my own personal tastes and bands that were in my wheelhouse, fans of all since my teens... I have to say the year we saw Hillage, VDGG, Gong and PFM in the same weekend...incredible.

The two best shows were Banco's first and Magma's first.

[Nearfest2]

Ha! I can just imagine a small group of friends getting together at Chad's on the anniversary of NF, each bringing beers from their region and adopting an open cooler policy, while throwing together a pot luck buffet of hot and cold food! Preposterous!

Worth considering, I guess.

[Yves]

It would never work, better option may be a tour around several Canadian breweries followed by a house party.

I know a guy just crazy enough to host such an event!

[ronmac]

You don't have to start the work if the kickstarter does not raise the targeted funds I believe. There may be fans out there that have Avid or some other editing facility that would do the work gratis. You never know tilly you try.

It's always easy for those who suggest it. it's a monumental headache for those who attempt it. It's a nightmare for those who manage it. And it would have to be a labor of love, not one of profit.