Official ROSfest Review Thread

[TheLongshot]

While Laudio's negative review doesn't reflect my own sentiment, I can certainly understand where he's coming from. I don't think this was one of Rosfest's best lineups by any stretch, from my subjective point of view. The past 3 years all were more rewarding for me, particularly 2010 with Renaissance, Magic Pie and Pendragon headlining along with nearly every other band being excellent (if Unitopia had actually shown up, that year would have been impossible to beat).

All I have to say is that some people like to remain in their comfortable corner of the prog world and anything outside of it just doesn't fit for them. Nothing wrong with that per se, but Progressive cuts a wide swath. Personally, this was a very strong lineup for me, and probably stronger than your "best ever" lineup. Then again, I'm a regular attendee of ProgPower.

The main difference to me this year was that it was NOT a symphonic prog lineup, which truly IS a change for Rosfest. While Rosfest has had maybe one or two non-symphonic bands every year, some more edgy than others, this year it seemed like TFK was the only purely symphonic band on the roster. Some may be happy about that, others not so, but I do think it should be acknowledged that this year was different. And I guess more people are happy about that than not...it was the highest attendance yet. I don't know how much the absence of Nearfest played in to a higher attendance, or perhaps even into George's decision to diversify the bands more this year. I guess we'll find out next year when we see who gets booked as to whether it returns to predominantly symphonic prog. I, for one, hope that it does.

I'd argue that Asturias is certainly symphonic, but what was the best of NEARFest, and what in general made it a better festival than RoSFest, was the variety. I don't think restricting the lineup to one subsection of prog is really a recipe for success. Personally, if it weren't for bands like PoS, Jolly and Riverside being in the lineup, I'm not sure I would have been half as excited to go.

[Digital_Man]

I disagree with ScottAm that TFK were the only symph prog band this year. Believe were definitely symph prog and you might make a case for one or two others particularly Riverside. Other than that I would agree that this was pretty eclectic for Rosfest and pretty light on symph prog.


Regarding Rosfest's ostensible foray into more diversified territories let me just say that a few years ago a little birdy told me that RF does indeed plan on becoming more eclectic and having more than just symph and neo prog. The festival has gradually become more diverse but George seems to be careful(and who can blame him)with how he goes about it so he does not lose the core RF fanbase while at the same time bringing in prog fans new to the festival.

[Mt. Pleasant Farm]

George said after Shadow Gallery that he could not announce any bands yet for next year but he did say it would be the first weekend of May. It's always nice to plan ahead for travel, hotels, etc. I am assuming it will continue at The Majestic Theater.

[SteveSly]

Threads like this one illustrate how difficult it is to put together a lineup for a prog festival. Everyone has a different idea of what “prog” is, and there are many within the prog community who only listen to small subsets of the whole genre. One person’s favorite band is another person’s crap. In the case of ROSfest, the fact that this was the largest crowd in the festival’s history adds evidence to the theory that more variety adds more people. Compared to some of the other festivals ROSfest is still pretty mainstream, but I think there is little doubt that adding bands like Moe Tar, Asturias, and even Shadow Gallery brought in some people who may not have attended in the past. With the gap left by the departure of NEARfest George would be crazy to not try to take advantage of some of this audience, by adding a band or two outside of the festival’s traditional presentation. Personally I like to have some variety, and sometimes being exposed to music that may be out of my personal comfort zone from time to time. The bottom line is that everyone has their own ideas on what a perfect prog festival lineup should be, and there is no way to make everyone happy.

Steve Sly

[Mt. Pleasant Farm]

^ What he said!

[DaleGtr]

Well stated Steve! I am grateful for having seen bands I would never otherwise have caught- even if I did not like them (Magma and Sleepy Time Gorilla Museum pop to mind).

[ScottAM]

Believe were definitely symph prog and you might make a case for one or two others particularly Riverside. Other than that I would agree that this was pretty eclectic for Rosfest and pretty light on symph prog.

Yes, you're absolutely right. After I wrote my post I realized I could have included Believe. Still, there's no denying this was the least symph prog year ever. That was my only point.

I expected a little bashing from people like Longshot implying that I'm not very diverse in my musical tastes. Which is ironic given the truth of what I actually listen to. But the I'm not ashamed to say that yes, I do prefer mostly symphonic prog when I listen to prog, and have loved Rosfest's focus on that genre, along with a little diversity with bands like Lazuli and such, which I've loved. I'm fully aware that more diversity will fill more seats, which is why Nearfest always sold out instantly while Rosfest stayed at 400 - 600 people. Obviously, George had his priorities for the kind of festival he wanted and he chose to keep a relatively focused lineup each year. Now that Nearfest is no more, perhaps he feels more of an obligation to diversify. The fact is that Rosfest has a very consistent history of the kinds of bands who have been invited to play, and it would be appropriate to continue that tradition. If someone else wants to fill Nearfest's gap, that would likely be welcomed by a lot of fans. I hope that Rosfest doesn't feel it is required to meet that need on its own, but that's George's decision.

As Steve stated, there's no way to make everyone happy because we all have our divergent tastes. I'd be happy with more years like this one, which has some really top notch bands and then a lot of wildcards. This year overall the wildcards just didn't light me up to the degree that some other years have, but they were all still good and so no complaints there...some years just end up offering more unexpected gems than others, depending on your tastes. For an example, Moetar was an interesting but annoying wildcard to my ears, but for other people it probably was an undiscovered gem and a highlight of the weekend. I'm happy to roll those dice and take a chance like that on several bands each year, as long as the headliners really consistently deliver. Probably my only issue about this year was Sunday's headliner choice, which seemed like kind of a divisive choice to begin with which only part of the crowd were going to be pleased with. But even there, the rest of the festival had enough winners that there's no need to complain too loudly about that one pick.

I'm happy to say that I've been at 9 Rosfests, and hope the tradition continues! "Prog rock", whatever that term really means these days, continues to flourish with young, new bands coming in all the time, while many of the "old guard" continue to deliver. We are very blessed to have so much great music to enjoy together!

[NogbadTheBad]

So Thinking Plague & Magma for ROSfest next year? Woo Woo!!

[DaleGtr]

So Thinking Plague & Magma for ROSfest next year? Woo Woo!!

What? No Unverse Zero???

[jgprogbear]

Although there were lots of surprises (as in bands I'd never heard before), I can't say I was disappointed. I personally like the variety -- just keep throwing in a familiar name and I'm there. Asturias was definitely the surprise hit for me. As for Bolus, I put them in the category of "not ready for prime time". By comparison, they just couldn't cut it. Have to say that Riverside's show was imho a cut above the Nearfest performance, just so dark and moody and tight! TFK are the consummate professionals, and it showed on Friday. Even a bad TFK performance is better than most band's great ones. (And this one was NOT bad!) As a huge fan of Shadow Gallery, I have to say they not only lived up to my expectations but surpassed them. Can't wait to see them again. And speaking to Daniel of PoS after his show, I don't think he could have been nicer (and I loved how he changed up the tunes from their recorded versions). Maybe not the best Rosfest ever, but not in the least disappointed either. MoeTar were not my cup of tea, but I was duly impressed with Moe's jazzy vocals and the tightness of the band. Personally, I vote for increased subgenres and styles.

[Firth]

I feel sorry for Bolus because the sound guy didn't have ears. The bass was so loud and the mix was so poor, that many didn't get to listen to quality of the band. As far as this ROSfest being more prog-metal oriented, that was fine with me because my taste has expanded in that direction, however I did not appreciate Jolly and Shadow Gallery since they seem like run of the mill heavy metal which is boring to me. The sound was not tolerable for Jolly either. Now some will say that Shadow Gallery is as prog as Dream Theatre, well I don't agree nor do I like DT. Pain of Salvation and Riverside were great, their sound was great too. Riverside seems more diverse in textures than when I saw them at Nearfest.

Moetar - were the most outside of the box and truely prog as referenced to the here and now. The fusion of the Anita O'day scat vocals with modern/symphonic rock is cutting edge and very entertaining for me.

Believe - Wow incredible gumbo of Zappa, metal, symph. Don't understand why there isn't as much appreciation.

Sound - while Bolus', Jolly's and Shadow Gallery's sound were not to my liking, the rest of the festival was simply as good as it gets.

[gryphs also]

As I mentioned earlier, when Bolus took the stage at the Saturday after hours party, they sounded a whole lot better. Their Friday set did suffer from the spound problem as what they did on Saturday was bang on.

[DaleGtr]

I did enjoy hearing Bolus at the after hours party!

Also, kudos to George, Krista and company for the improved light show! Some nice touches!

[ScottAM]

Also, kudos to George, Krista and company for the improved light show! Some nice touches!

Thanks for mentioning that. Yes, the light show was fantastic, and overall the sound was top notch. Really such a treat to experience these bands in such prime conditions...for us AND for them!

[TheLongshot]

I expected a little bashing from people like Longshot implying that I'm not very diverse in my musical tastes.

Note, that statement was more directed at the person you were defending than you. When someone says that TFK were the only progressive band last weekend, it is of someone who has a very narrow definition of "prog".

The fact is that Rosfest has a very consistent history of the kinds of bands who have been invited to play, and it would be appropriate to continue that tradition. If someone else wants to fill Nearfest's gap, that would likely be welcomed by a lot of fans. I hope that Rosfest doesn't feel it is required to meet that need on its own, but that's George's decision.

Well, first, the lineup this year seems to be a success, given attendance. (Tho, seeing some of the empty seats on the second day, I wonder how many were just there for that first day.) Second, I think it is hard to have a long-running festival that is a niche of a niche. The tough part is finding the bands that actually draw people. You can argue if Riverside and Shadow Gallery were fits, but you can't argue that they aren't draws. Riverside has managed to be one of the few bands that can play both NEARFest and ProgPower without anyone batting an eye, so the appeal is diverse. Shadow Gallery's appeal is more in scarcity. I think this was the 3rd show they had performed ever. You also have PoS, who hasn't played a US gig in a long time, and Asturias, who never played in North America, it was a pretty damn attractive lineup.

I guess I can appreciate the, "I know what I'm getting", crowd, but the history of most festivals is that there is going to be a dropoff of the old guard at some point and will need to bring in new blood. At some point, the same formula does go stale. Personally, I've only gone to RoSFest 3 times, 2 of those times in the last three years.

Thanks for mentioning that. Yes, the light show was fantastic, and overall the sound was top notch. Really such a treat to experience these bands in such prime conditions...for us AND for them!

Well, other than the moments when the goal seems to be to blind the audience, but that's a general annoyance with concerts in general. Personally, I'd like to see the band that is playing.

[BEE]

(also posted on Yesfans.com)

Yes... it was an awesome perfect weekend as have been all the Rosfest's that I have attended!
Great town, location, music, food, drink, parties and Progfans everywhere!
I fiqure we had at least 30 Yesfans there this weekend.

I am not going to go into and describe my feelings about every band, but my top favorites each night:

Friday: Flower Kings

Saturday: Riverside and Believe

Sunday: Shadow Gallery and Electric Asturias

Yes, Shadow Gallery started late and then did move things along very quickly,loudly and it took them a bit to get on track...but no train wreck!
I knew little about this band and found out they are at the maximum end of my heavy prog music listening!
They are a very heavy loud band (Dream Theater) that may have been a little too much to take after a long weekend of indulgences of all sorts!
However it did all come together and I felt they put on a stellar performance.
I seldom get it the first time hearing new music..but they were very good and I ended up really enjoying them.
Those of you that left early missed out on what became a real Sunday Night Headliner and ranked right up there with Friday Night Headliner : )

PS: I know many will disagree with my comments, similar to my amazement at those that enjoyed MoeTar!!!!!
"ProgMusic - Something for Everyone"

[Yanks2014]

One thing not mentioned by anyone is the fact that this edition of Rosfest brought a record crowd, and not one band was from the 1970's! If I'm nor mistaken, none were even around in the 80's. This idea that a prog festival NEEDS to have one of the classic dinosaur acts to sell a decent number of tickets simply isn't true. OK, the one day, thousand ticket sellouts of Nearfest are a thing of the past, but I think this year's RF proves the end of prog festivals is NOT imminent. It can be done successfully.

[Yanks2014]

So I'll ask again, any attendance figures for this? I can't help it, I'm a stats guy with sports and just about anything really.

[moecurlythanu]

If I'm nor mistaken, none were even around in the 80's. .

Mistaken. Asturias formed & had releases in the 80s.

[MoZo]

Ok, time to throw in my two bits. Yanks, sorry you were not there this year, as I was looking forward to meeting you. While I do not know attendance figures, I did read in another place that they were about 50 or so seats away from being a sell out. I read on this forum, and in other places about the 'more metal' makeup of this festival this year, or the fact that RoSFest tends to be more 'conservative' and not booking any progressive bands that are not on the edge.....um....hello? Anyone home? What then was MoeTar? Probably the most 'out there' band thus year at least.

All the bands worked for me this year. I am not a metal person, but the performances of Pain of Salvation and Shadow Gallery were excellent. You cannot say they did not bring their 'A' game. Whether you like their music in particular, or the metal genre' as a whole, I do not think you can say these bands were not tight, and spot on in their performances.

I thought Bolus and Dream the Electric Sleep were great, given they are younger and up and coming bands. As I said a couple of years ago with regards to District 97, I will say here with regards to Bolus and Dream the Electric Sleep: if this is the future of progressive rock, then the future is going to be just fine. Jolly is another younger band, who impressed me very much. I have been a Believe fan for a while, they they were great. And, of course The Flower Kings and Riverside put on the shows they are very capable of. As stated by a number of people here, Asturias was the surprise of the festival (at least to my ears). Just great fusion jazz!

BEE, why are you amazed that there were those who liked MoeTar? I have seen them twice now live, and they are fricking incredible. Five incredibly talented musicians (and yes, I include Moe as a musician, as her voice is used as a fifth instrument, as opposed to just singing). They make 'pop' music, infused with elements of jazz and avant, and rock and R & B, pushing boundaries of the standard three to four minute pop song.

Anyway, my two bits. I cannot wait for the 2014 festival to get here.

[NorCalKurt]

Friday. Flower Kings
Saturday. PoS and Riverside
Sunday. MoeTar and Electric Asturius

Btw. Moe can sing for me anytime, Laudio.

[DaleGtr]

GREG!!! How the hell did we miss each other???

[ScottAM]

I guess I can appreciate the, "I know what I'm getting", crowd, but the history of most festivals is that there is going to be a dropoff of the old guard at some point and will need to bring in new blood. At some point, the same formula does go stale. Personally, I've only gone to RoSFest 3 times, 2 of those times in the last three years.

Yes, all good points, though virtually every Rosfest fan I've talked to has said that they loved discovering new bands, so I don't think too many people just want "I know what I'm getting", even if they aren't really looking for other more extreme genres of prog. If every band sounded like IQ the whole weekend, that would indeed be stale. Fortunately Rosfest has always been broader than that, while indeed maintaining a relatively focused portion of what "prog music" could be considered. Then again, some older bands like Pendragon actually have changed with the times and gotten a good deal more edgy themselves.

While we've all been pointing out that Rosfest had its biggest attendance this year, I'd also like to say that it's been growing nearly every year for the past few years already. This year may have been 50 - 75 more than last year? So, it's good increase, but not like 300 additional people showed up this year because it was more diverse. Indeed, the higher numbers could be attributed just to NEARfest not happening this year.

But what also is clear is that Rosfest is getting very CLOSE to a sellout, so in future years we may all just get used to it selling out!

[Camelogue]

Maybe more later, but a quick ranking and few comments
1. Electric Asturias - Wow, Pontyesque at times, always on, Saw acoustic version some years ago at Baja. Jerk in crowd who kept yelling "Domo arigato.Mr. Roboto" what an ass.
2. Riverside - professional song and tune writers, again another wow.
3. Moetar - great voice and instrumentalists

[Digital_Man]

Thomas, I would say all but about 100 seats were full so around 720-750 but that's just a guess. It was definitely the most full I've ever seen it for this this festival.