PROGSTOCK 2019 Rahway, NJ's Union County PAC October 11-13 2019

[Dan Roth]

Nice line up. Stratospheerius is one of my favorite bands. Randy McStine is often a touring member of Stratospheerius and Alex Skolnick (who is in Jane Getter’s band) was the original Stratospheerius guitarist (on their first album and early gigs). Looks to be a very solid fest.

[harbinger58]

....and Randy is also in Jane Getter's Band right now and will be performing with them at ProgStock. Randy is going to do a solo set and perhaps a trio set as a late-night artist as was said last night. Another ProgStock artist announcement next week with ticketing info coming in the next few weeks as well. There will still be other announcements regarding late-night artists for each night of the festival as well as a pre-ProgStock party on the Thursday night before the festival. Lots still to come!

[Jimmy Giant]

Holy shite, Salem Hill? Yay! My best memory of them was doing The Robbery of Murder at Progday. Still love that disc alot.

[Wah3]

Any idea who’s on drums for Jane Getters Premonition? I didnt hear Chad Wackermans name. Or Theo Travis for that matter. Randy McStine, Alex Skolnick, Mark Egan on bass and Adam Holzman on keys. Very solid indeed.

[Dan Roth]

Any idea who’s on drums for Jane Getters Premonition? I didnt hear Chad Wackermans name. Or Theo Travis for that matter. Randy McStine, Alex Skolnick, Mark Egan on bass and Adam Holzman on keys. Very solid indeed.

I've seen Jane's band each time they play NYC over the last few years (and have tickets for their upcoming show in April) and I believe the drummer each time has been Rocky Bryant. And sometimes Stu Hamm has been on bass in place of Egan. I started seeing her purely to see Skolnick - I am a big fan of him and his Trio - but her band as a whole kicks ass.

[Wah3]

Thanks for the info. I’ve seen Skolnick with TSO several times, always enjoyable.

Hoping this Friday’s headliner announcement is the reformed Nektar. England would be nice too.

[3RDegree_Robert]

UPDATE

Main Stage Artists:

SAGA (CANADA) in their first US show in 13 years!
Brand X
3.2 featuring Robert Berry, Andrew Colyer, Paul Keller & Jimmy Keegan
Phideaux
Rocket Scientists
IO Earth (UK)
Discipline
Joe Denizon & Statospheerius
The Cyberiam
Jane Getter Premonition
Salem Hill
Rachel Flowers

more TBA

Late Night Bands:

Randy McStine
Melanie Mau & Martin Schnella

more TBA

Go to www.progstock.com for more info

[arturs]

That is a major score that you guys got SAGA! I thought they had quit for good. I will see if I can fit this fest into my schedule and fly out. Congrats.

[kenschwartz]

Well, i understand that signing Saga is a big deal, but, with Sadler headlining last year (and btw, i thought he was great), didn't we pretty much see the same material...or lots of it, anyway?

also, i am disappointed to see that mcstine is now listed as an after-hours band. personally, i find it very tough to make the after-hours shows - it's a full day of music and i'm toast by then. i'd rather see him play than over half the bands on the main stage.

oh well...you can't please all the people all the time. still looking like a fantastic weekend

[harbinger58]

Rachel Flowers will also return.

[Top Cat]

Well, i understand that signing Saga is a big deal, but, with Sadler headlining last year (and btw, i thought he was great), didn't we pretty much see the same material...or lots of it, anyway?

also, i am disappointed to see that mcstine is now listed as an after-hours band. personally, i find it very tough to make the after-hours shows - it's a full day of music and i'm toast by then. i'd rather see him play than over half the bands on the main stage.

oh well...you can't please all the people all the time. still looking like a fantastic weekend

hey Ken, I don't quite understand your comment about Saga. When Michael performed at Progstock it was with a backing band and not the full band Saga. Although I've never seen them perform,I have every concert on DVD they've ever made, and the band is absolutely fantastic live. Plus Saga hasn't performed in the States for decades except for one gig years ago in Niagra Falls NY.

Regarding Randy McStine, I love his work with Dave Kerzner, but he's not exactly a household name, so to have this opportunity, albeit after hours is pretty cool.
I agree with you about the late hour, if we were attending I probably wouldn't make it that late either.

[kenschwartz]

hey Ken, I don't quite understand your comment about Saga. When Michael performed at Progstock it was with a backing band and not the full band Saga. Although I've never seen them perform,I have every concert on DVD they've ever made, and the band is absolutely fantastic live. Plus Saga hasn't performed in the States for decades except for one gig years ago in Niagra Falls NY.

Regarding Randy McStine, I love his work with Dave Kerzner, but he's not exactly a household name, so to have this opportunity, albeit after hours is pretty cool.
I agree with you about the late hour, if we were attending I probably wouldn't make it that late either.

I don't want to ignore your comments, but neither do i want to get into a pissing contest.

What I was trying to say is, that as a non-Saga enthusiast, to me, see Salder perform with Enchant backing him or with the rest of Saga backing him up, is not that big a deal. They played pretty much all the "big" songs - and they will again this year, I'm sure. I know that there are a lot of Saga fans, and i DO think the signing is a big deal - but in my opinion it would have been a bigger deal had Sadler not headlined last year. I'm sure there are many that disagree. And that's fine. And like I said, last year, I quite enjoyed his set. He was actually the most pleasant surprise for me for the weekend.

As for McStine - in case it came off this way - in no way was I suggesting that it was a situation of having Saga perform *instead* of McStine. In fact, it is clear from earlier posts that McStine was scheduled after hours from the start. It was a purely personal opinion thing - my tastes veer a bit to the non-traditional side of prog (RIO/Zhuel/etc), and some of McStine's more experimental stuff, for me, would be a great change of pace during a weekend of music that, in my opinion, could push the envelope a bit more. I would expect to enjoy that more than I would expect to enjoy a number of other bands appearing that I am somewhat familiar with, doing a similar style of music, but not quite as good. (I will NOT name names.)


Hope this clears up any confusion...

Looking forward to this years event.

Ken

[kenschwartz]

There will only be 4 bands on Saturday and Sunday this year and 3 on Friday.

Which adds up to 11 bands.

3rdegreeRobert's last edit, adding Rachel Flowers, brings the current number to 12. And it says "More TBA". I'm getting concerned that they didn't learn from last year.... (Note: this is not a knock on Rachel Flowers - she was excellent, and I would enjoy seeing her perform again.)
To restate my concern from an earlier post:
imo, the amount of bands last year was overkill. it lead to burn out, as well as exacerbating the issue with bands starting late. it should also be kept in mind, that for many, part of the attraction is hanging out and catching up with folk they don't see too often.

[Top Cat]

I don't want to ignore your comments, but neither do i want to get into a pissing contest.

What I was trying to say is, that as a non-Saga enthusiast, to me, see Salder perform with Enchant backing him or with the rest of Saga backing him up, is not that big a deal. They played pretty much all the "big" songs - and they will again this year, I'm sure. I know that there are a lot of Saga fans, and i DO think the signing is a big deal - but in my opinion it would have been a bigger deal had Sadler not headlined last year. I'm sure there are many that disagree. And that's fine. And like I said, last year, I quite enjoyed his set. He was actually the most pleasant surprise for me for the weekend.

As for McStine - in case it came off this way - in no way was I suggesting that it was a situation of having Saga perform *instead* of McStine. In fact, it is clear from earlier posts that McStine was scheduled after hours from the start. It was a purely personal opinion thing - my tastes veer a bit to the non-traditional side of prog (RIO/Zhuel/etc), and some of McStine's more experimental stuff, for me, would be a great change of pace during a weekend of music that, in my opinion, could push the envelope a bit more. I would expect to enjoy that more than I would expect to enjoy a number of other bands appearing that I am somewhat familiar with, doing a similar style of music, but not quite as good. (I will NOT name names.)


Hope this clears up any confusion...

Looking forward to this years event.

Ken

I'm too old for pissing contests and that was far from my intent . As a die hard long time fan of Saga, I just feel in my opinion to see Saga the band play is a rare and wonderful treat and I can see them being a big draw due to their absence in touring the US for decades.
I was in no way disparaging anything you wrote either about Saga or Randy McStine and I'm sorry if the way I expressed myself was misinterpreted..it's all good bro.

[kenschwartz]

I'm too old for pissing contests and that was far from my intent . As a die hard long time fan of Saga, I just feel in my opinion to see Saga the band play is a rare and wonderful treat and I can see them being a big draw due to their absence in touring the US for decades.
I was in no way disparaging anything you wrote either about Saga or Randy McStine and I'm sorry if the way I expressed myself was misinterpreted..it's all good bro.

No worries...we're all good. the pissing contest remark was pretty much self-directed, in case anything i wrote came off too snarky. (i can get that way without intending to)

[3RDegree_Robert]

I don't want to ignore your comments, but neither do i want to get into a pissing contest.

What I was trying to say is, that as a non-Saga enthusiast, to me, see Salder perform with Enchant backing him or with the rest of Saga backing him up, is not that big a deal. They played pretty much all the "big" songs - and they will again this year, I'm sure. I know that there are a lot of Saga fans, and i DO think the signing is a big deal - but in my opinion it would have been a bigger deal had Sadler not headlined last year. I'm sure there are many that disagree. And that's fine. And like I said, last year, I quite enjoyed his set. He was actually the most pleasant surprise for me for the weekend.

As for McStine - in case it came off this way - in no way was I suggesting that it was a situation of having Saga perform *instead* of McStine. In fact, it is clear from earlier posts that McStine was scheduled after hours from the start. It was a purely personal opinion thing - my tastes veer a bit to the non-traditional side of prog (RIO/Zhuel/etc), and some of McStine's more experimental stuff, for me, would be a great change of pace during a weekend of music that, in my opinion, could push the envelope a bit more. I would expect to enjoy that more than I would expect to enjoy a number of other bands appearing that I am somewhat familiar with, doing a similar style of music, but not quite as good. (I will NOT name names.)


Hope this clears up any confusion...

Looking forward to this years event.

Ken

Actually since we're a "new" fest, you may not have Saga playing this year had Sadler not "tested the waters" last year. He REALLY got a good vibe and familial feeling from his experience last year and to be honest-my opinion-he's paying us back in a way by having a proper Saga show. It adds to our cache having a band like that "pick us". I'm actually a new convert and am looking forward to the "real" Saga show which I assume will include a few of the songs he did with Enchant last year but since he wasn't with his band his set list actually did veer toward songs he doesn't usually do with Saga like the late 80's stuff that was done without the drummer and keyboardist.

A bit of history, McStine was slated to "operate" the Kevin Gilbert tribute in year one (2017) so he's sort of been meaning to come back.

Which adds up to 11 bands.

3rdegreeRobert's last edit, adding Rachel Flowers, brings the current number to 12. And it says "More TBA". I'm getting concerned that they didn't learn from last year.... (Note: this is not a knock on Rachel Flowers - she was excellent, and I would enjoy seeing her perform again.)
To restate my concern from an earlier post:
imo, the amount of bands last year was overkill. it lead to burn out, as well as exacerbating the issue with bands starting late. it should also be kept in mind, that for many, part of the attraction is hanging out and catching up with folk they don't see too often.

A lot of people were saying this last year and it was chock full and probably by too much with everything going so late but please keep in mind, some of these names are not 2 hour blocks but special guests who will pop in and out of different sets. Despite her putting out original albums, Rachel has never fielded a full band to play her stuff at ProgStock. As for the catching up, a lot of that can be done "off campus" or in the rooms near live music that you may not be into seeing anyway. A lot of people pop their heads in and end up going back to shooting the breeze at a distance where you can hear people better.

FYI, I think only one more main stage act is yet to be announced and maybe one or two for the Progressive Coffee House. Also, I'm yet to hear about a Thursday night "pre show" which we played last year.

[Garyhead]

For all of you heading to Progstock 2019...... I can recommend the Watt Hotel for lodging. Just completed a three-night stay here in May.

Plusses- NJ Transit station across the street....a short jaunt to Newark Airport.
garage parking.....it is $12.00 per day tho....
MANY restaurants in walking distance.....all good....
bar in the hotel lobby
A 5 minute walk to the venue.
Post office (to mail junk home) across the street.
A 40 minute train ride into NYC.. $9.25

Minus - They cater the breakfast and run out of food early.....
You have to stay on housekeeping to get your room clean.....

I'm planning to use this place in the future for excursions into NYC.......Maybe even Progstock again if they get a lineup to justify a 3,000 mile plane ride to NJ,

[3RDegree_Robert]

There is only one more week to support ProgStock Festival and get ahead of the crowd by purchasing your Prog-Ducer 3-day passes. We have an awesome line-up for 2019

Go to http://www.progstock.com/2019/artist.../2019-artists/ to see our fantastic slate of artists

The price of a ProgStock Prog-Ducer Pass is $345 USD. These passes will be available until Tuesday, June 11, 2019...but Prog-Ducer ticket holders will have a head-start on everyone else to choose their favorite seat, so act quickly!

On June 11, the floodgates open and the best seats remaining in the house will go fast!

Do you just want to make sure you get a seat before we sell out? We are currently selling mezzanine seats (except the front row) at the regular 3-day pass price of $195 US.

Go to: http://www.progstock.com/2019/tickets-donations/ for all of your ProgStock ticketing needs


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[Jimmy Giant]

Is there a PS deal set up with the Watt hotel yet?
This hotel worked out well for us last year, though it wasn't the cheapest choice in the area.

[Dan Roth]

Do you just want to make sure you get a seat before we sell out?

Has either of the past two Progstock weekends sold out?

[harbinger58]

NP

[harbinger58]

Is there a PS deal set up with the Watt hotel yet?
This hotel worked out well for us last year, though it wasn't the cheapest choice in the area.

There is a special price...yes. Please follow the directions on our web page to get that price....only a few rooms left when last checked....so hurry!!!

[3RDegree_Robert]

Is there a PS deal set up with the Watt hotel yet?
This hotel worked out well for us last year, though it wasn't the cheapest choice in the area.

Yes Watt and other hotel info is on the website. Watt is the closest and is the “in town” hotel as well as walking distance although the others are no more than a mile either.


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[3RDegree_Robert]

Has either of the past two Progstock weekends sold out?

I would generally say it’s a venue that doesn’t have to sell out for it to be called a success but year two doubled attendance over year one and year three will hopefully do that again. You’ll also notice the roster gets a bit more “prestigious” as years go on and I say that at my own expense! So, it’s headed in the right direction...and needs to. Not every endeavor such as this has someone hiding in the shadows to save the day.


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[Jimmy Giant]

The Watt Hotel isn't taking reservations directly for Progstock. You have to call Hilton Reservations at 877-214-6722.
Got our reservations today.