NJ Proghouse 20th-anniversary Hootenanny (June 15-16, 2019)

[AdventAlan]

hope you don't mind another question or two...

how are things like re-entry (if we want to go out to grab food, for example) being handled? i assume outside food is prohibited. if we do leave for food (or maybe just a break - that's a lot of music in one day), is it safe to assume we are surrendering our seats (assuming we have seats)?

thanks again!

Hi Ken,

The plan is to have wristbands for each day, so you'll be able to exit and reenter at will throughout the day without any issue. We don't have any ability to manage seating, so the logistics of attempting to retain seats would be out of our control. (You could certainly ask a neighbor to help out, though.)

You are correct in that there is no outside food or drink allowed. The venue is a bar/restaurant and this is how they make virtually all their money that supports the shows we host there. As such, we'd encourage everyone to support them, as much as possible, in this fashion during the entire event. (That being said, you can certainly go out for a meal and come back without issue.)

Thanks again and look forward to seeing you there,


Alan

[adap2it]

You are correct in that there is no outside food or drink allowed. The venue is a bar/restaurant and this is how they make virtually all their money that supports the shows we host there. As such, we'd encourage everyone to support them, as much as possible, in this fashion during the entire event. (That being said, you can certainly go out for a meal and come back without issue.)


Alan

never had a problem with retaining my seat...food and drinks are reasonable, both price and selection. Regardless, there is not much around the area of the venue in the way of dining, at least, not walking distance, or has that changed?

[AdventAlan]

never had a problem with retaining my seat...food and drinks are reasonable, both price and selection. Regardless, there is not much around the area of the venue in the way of dining, at least, not walking distance, or has that changed?

Thanks for the input, Dave. No, the local restaurants nearby are pretty much the same as before (especially if you're looking at walking).

Cheers,


Alan

[kenschwartz]

OK, one last question (I hope). I notice that Roxy & Duke's website says that for Saturday, doors open at 10, but the site the sells the tickets ( https://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/4261805) says doors open at 10:30.

Which is correct?

thanks!

Ken

[AdventAlan]

OK, one last question (I hope). I notice that Roxy & Duke's website says that for Saturday, doors open at 10, but the site the sells the tickets ( https://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/4261805) says doors open at 10:30.

Which is correct?

thanks!

Ken

Hi Ken,

Sorry for the discrepancy. The official door time is 10:30 AM, though we may start letting people in a tiny bit before that (if things are ready).

Thanks again and look forward to seeing you on Saturday,


Alan

[gpeccary]

Hey Alan, thanks in advance for all the information and answers to all the questions!
I have another one, is the lineup going to appear in order as its listed for Saturday? If yes, I'll sadly miss seeing you perform as I hope to arrive later in the day

[AdventAlan]

Hey Alan, thanks in advance for all the information and answers to all the questions!
I have another one, is the lineup going to appear in order as its listed for Saturday? If yes, I'll sadly miss seeing you perform as I hope to arrive later in the day

Hi again Ken,

My pleasure. Advent does, indeed, kick things off at 11 AM. I hope you can make it it time, but certainly understand if that's not the case.

Since there was one time slot change made since the original festival announcement, please allow me to share the update roster for each day:

SATURDAY, JUNE 15TH (first act starting at 11 AM EDT):

1. Advent
2. Brett Kull & Ray Weston (of echolyn)
3. The Tea Club
4. Randy McStine
5. NDV (Nick D'Virgilio)
6. Rikard Sjöblom's Gungfly

SUNDAY, JUNE 16TH (first act starting at noon EDT):

1. Tammy Scheffer
2. No More Pain
3. IZZ
4. Devil's Staircase

Once again, the direct link for festival info (and tickets):

http://www.njproghouse.com/2019-njpr...ry-hootenanny/

All the best, thanks again, and see you next weekend,


Alan

[AdventAlan]

ADVENT WITHDRAWS FROM NJP "HOOTENANNY" FEST DUE TO FAMILY MEMBER’S PASSING

Due to the recent passing of a close family member, Advent regrets that they will no longer be able to perform at the 20th Anniversary Hootenanny this coming weekend. We are very sorry for this unavoidable change in plans, but already have a special guest lined up to step in (details forthcoming).

Advent plans to return to the NJ Proghouse stage later this year, so please stay tuned. Both Advent and the NJ Proghouse thank you for your kindness and understanding.

[AdventAlan]

Hi again,

I wanted to let you know that Rikard Sjöblom will be performing a solo set tomorrow morning, in the slot where I'm afraid Advent had to cancel (as mentioned above). I've never had the pleasure of seeing Rikard in this context before, but I'm told he's really quite a beautiful solo performer and anticipate that it will be a very special set.

As a result of the change, the final lineup will be:

SATURDAY, JUNE 15TH (first act starting at 11 AM EDT):

1. Rikard Sjöblom (special solo set)
2. Brett Kull & Ray Weston (of echolyn)
3. The Tea Club
4. Randy McStine
5. NDV (Nick D'Virgilio)
6. Rikard Sjöblom's Gungfly

SUNDAY, JUNE 16TH (first act starting at noon EDT):

1. Tammy Scheffer
2. No More Pain
3. IZZ
4. Devil's Staircase

Also, please note that, while advance ticket sales have ended, walk-up attendance will remain open at the following prices:

- $145 for the entire weekend (Saturday and Sunday)
- $90 for Saturday only
- $75 for Sunday only

All the best and very much hope to see you there,


Alan

[infandous]

ADVENT WITHDRAWS FROM NJP "HOOTENANNY" FEST DUE TO FAMILY MEMBER’S PASSING

Due to the recent passing of a close family member, Advent regrets that they will no longer be able to perform at the 20th Anniversary Hootenanny this coming weekend. We are very sorry for this unavoidable change in plans, but already have a special guest lined up to step in (details forthcoming).

Advent plans to return to the NJ Proghouse stage later this year, so please stay tuned. Both Advent and the NJ Proghouse thank you for your kindness and understanding.

Very sorry to hear this, but totally understandable. You guys will be missed!

[AdventAlan]

Very sorry to hear this, but totally understandable. You guys will be missed!

Thanks very much. Again, we really hope to be back in action again soon (hopefully with a new NJ Proghouse date as well). All the best!

[Plasmatopia]

Have a great time, everyone. Wish I could be there.

[boilk]

I saw Rikard do a solo set at Progtoberfest last year and it was a very good show, that I'm sure attendees will enjoy. Sorry to hear of the band family issues, Alan.

I hope everyone has a great weekend, and look forward to hearing reports.

neil

[chalkpie]

So how was Rikard/Gungfly?

[Top Cat]

So sorry to hear about the family member passing away.
May family and friends find peace in happy memories of their loved one.

[3RDegree_Robert]

Great weekend. An announcement was made about a future show that I'm not sure we're supposed to divulge yet so I will leave it to Alan to mention it...or not. #tease

[mylard]

So what did everyone think about the show/shows? I personally thought everyone played well and the mix was excellent except for a little feedback here and there. I enjoyed everyone’s set, although I thought a few of the sets could have been a little “proggier”. The Tea Club’s new album sounded awesome and their 26+ minute song was fun and exciting.

All that said, I feel like Rikard Sjoblom stole the show. His first acoustic set was fun and entertaining, and I liked the jam he did with Randy and Nick, but his Gungfly set was maybe the best show I’ve ever seen and I’ve seen a hell of a lot of shows. They played an almost 2 hour set which included Gungfly stuff, solo stuff, and even a Beardfish song which surprised me. It’s incredible how much passion rang out in every note played and every lyric sang. Honestly, that guy is a next level talent, and I honestly get the same feeling watching him that I imagine people felt a generation ago seeing Jimi Hendrix or someone playing. Just that “oh my god, dude...” feeling. Also Gungfly’s bassist (who was also in Beardfish) is super talented as well and has some killer dance moves.

[Plasmatopia]

Also Gungfly’s bassist (who was also in Beardfish) is super talented as well and has some killer dance moves.

Great to read some commentary concerning the weekend's proceedings.

Robert Hansen played bass instead of Rasmus Diamant?

[kenschwartz]

So what did everyone think about the show/shows? I personally thought everyone played well and the mix was excellent except for a little feedback here and there. I enjoyed everyone’s set, although I thought a few of the sets could have been a little “proggier”. The Tea Club’s new album sounded awesome and their 26+ minute song was fun and exciting.

All that said, I feel like Rikard Sjoblom stole the show. His first acoustic set was fun and entertaining, and I liked the jam he did with Randy and Nick, but his Gungfly set was maybe the best show I’ve ever seen and I’ve seen a hell of a lot of shows. They played an almost 2 hour set which included Gungfly stuff, solo stuff, and even a Beardfish song which surprised me. It’s incredible how much passion rang out in every note played and every lyric sang. Honestly, that guy is a next level talent, and I honestly get the same feeling watching him that I imagine people felt a generation ago seeing Jimi Hendrix or someone playing. Just that “oh my god, dude...” feeling. Also Gungfly’s bassist (who was also in Beardfish) is super talented as well and has some killer dance moves.

I was only there on Saturday, but I have to agree with the majority of what was said above. I also thought McStine's set was a killer. I couldn't really get into the first 30 minutes or so of NDV's set - just something about playing along to pre-recorded material that doesn't do it for me. But once that was done, and he was joined onstage by Sjoblom and McStine, that shone.

As for Gungfly's bassist, yes, it was Robert Hansen (who I think must have been standing on a slip and slide) filling in for their regular bassist, who Sjoblom mentioned could not make the show due to having a new baby. I didn't get the impression that this was a permanent thing.

For whoever was there: how was Sunday?

[AdventAlan]

I saw Rikard do a solo set at Progtoberfest last year and it was a very good show, that I'm sure attendees will enjoy. Sorry to hear of the band family issues, Alan.

I hope everyone has a great weekend, and look forward to hearing reports.

neil

Thanks very much for your kind note. In spite of not being able to perform with Advent (this time around)--and having been so busy with the production/technical/sound aspects of the festival that I spent very little time outside of "work mode" for the whole weekend--I think the entire festival was really quite incredible. All the musical performances were top-notch and, in my (perhaps not totally unbiased) opinion, with world-class creative musical talent throughout. The vibe was great and just about everyone--audience and performers alike--seemed very happy and, quite often, rather emotionally engaged.

So how was Rikard/Gungfly?

Again, it's not easy to be unbiased, I think both sets were really amazing (and quite different from one another, as you might expect).

All the best,


Alan

[AdventAlan]

So sorry to hear about the family member passing away.
May family and friends find peace in happy memories of their loved one.

Thank you very much.

[AdventAlan]

Great weekend. An announcement was made about a future show that I'm not sure we're supposed to divulge yet so I will leave it to Alan to mention it...or not. #tease

Thanks a lot, Robert! Appreciate your deferring to me regarding the sharing of the announcement in question--and I'm happy to share the details. We're very happy to share that, with the combination of NJ Proghouse alumni talent and the response to this past weekend's festival, the NJ Proghouse will be hosting our "20th Anniversary Hootenanny part 2" festival on the weekend of November 9-10. Confirmed artists at this time, as I recall from announcements over the weekend (in alphabetical order):

1. Advent
2. Discipline
3. Frogg Café
4. iNFiNiEN
5. Valdez
6. 3RDegree

On a personal note, it's really wonderful that Advent has been given another opportunity to perform in this capacity again--especially given the fact that we had to withdraw from this past Saturday's performance (due to the aforementioned personal circumstances).

Given everything that went into the first "Hootenanny" this weekend, it may be a little while before we get the NJ Proghouse site updated, but please mark your calendars. I sincerely hope you'll join us for what I'm confident will be another incredible weekend of live music from NJ Proghouse alumni performers.

P.S. Please note that Discipline is also performing at the ProgStock festival, in nearby Rahway (NJ), during the weekend of October 11-13, and we hope you'll enjoy seeing their wonderful live set at both festivals--and I'm really looking forward to seeing them twice again this fall.

P.P.S. I wasn't sure if Robert wanted to announce 3RDegree himself, so I'd initially omitted them from the list.

[Jimmy Giant]

Christ what a great weekend. We enjoyed it all. Not to take from anyone else, but Rikard is an amazing force to be reckoned with. So damn good on every level. He can even do a great JT and Springsteen (believe it or not!).
And Mattias beat the living shit out of that drum kit with The Devils Staircase. Holy crap! What the hell is in the water in Sweden???
Thanks again to Jim, Alan and everyone else involved in this weekends production. Really a great time.
Looking forward to part 2!

[3RDegree_Robert]

So what did everyone think about the show/shows? I personally thought everyone played well and the mix was excellent except for a little feedback here and there. I enjoyed everyone’s set, although I thought a few of the sets could have been a little “proggier”. The Tea Club’s new album sounded awesome and their 26+ minute song was fun and exciting.

All that said, I feel like Rikard Sjoblom stole the show. His first acoustic set was fun and entertaining, and I liked the jam he did with Randy and Nick, but his Gungfly set was maybe the best show I’ve ever seen and I’ve seen a hell of a lot of shows. They played an almost 2 hour set which included Gungfly stuff, solo stuff, and even a Beardfish song which surprised me. It’s incredible how much passion rang out in every note played and every lyric sang. Honestly, that guy is a next level talent, and I honestly get the same feeling watching him that I imagine people felt a generation ago seeing Jimi Hendrix or someone playing. Just that “oh my god, dude...” feeling. Also Gungfly’s bassist (who was also in Beardfish) is super talented as well and has some killer dance moves.

I think day one did indeed have less "proggy" acts if only because of their most recent material going a bit more straight ahead-The Tea Club & Brett/Ray in particular. I don't think Brett & Ray did any Echolyn which was pretty ballsy due to them being described as Brett & Ray from Echolyn, etc. Didn't seem to bother anyone though. The Tea Club's last album was really...dense (mega proggy IMHO) so the new songs-with the exception of the epic-are just really solid, melodic, memorable songs. And of course with the acoustic opening, and Nick being closer to AOR than prog some of the time I hear you.

I think the thing to "remember" with the Hootenanny 20th Anniversary is that it is celebrating the 16 or so acts that have played NJ Proghouse a lot-that is to say a lot of it is the acts that have been most popular and/or played NJP often and/or are personal favs of Jim & crew. In other words, NJP has its own touch on curating the prog bands that play on that stage from time to time and besides celebrating Jim's recent recovery we were celebrating 20 years of that curating. There was no shortage of thank yous and "I love you man" going around.

Thanks a lot, Robert! Appreciate your deferring to me regarding the sharing of the announcement in question--and I'm happy to share the details. We're very happy to share that, with the combination of NJ Proghouse alumni talent and the response to this past weekend's festival, the NJ Proghouse will be hosting our "20th Anniversary Hootenanny part 2" festival on the weekend of November 9-10. Confirmed artists at this time, as I recall from announcements over the weekend (in alphabetical order):

1. Advent
2. Discipline
3. Frogg Café
4. iNFiNiEN
5. Valdez
6. 3RDegree

On a personal note, it's really wonderful that Advent has been given another opportunity to perform in this capacity again--especially given the fact that we had to withdraw from this past Saturday's performance (due to the aforementioned personal circumstances).

Given everything that went into the first "Hootenanny" this weekend, it may be a little while before we get the NJ Proghouse site updated, but please mark your calendars. I sincerely hope you'll join us for what I'm confident will be another incredible weekend of live music from NJ Proghouse alumni performers.

P.S. Please note that Discipline is also performing at the ProgStock festival, in nearby Rahway (NJ), during the weekend of October 11-13, and we hope you'll enjoy seeing their wonderful live set at both festivals--and I'm really looking forward to seeing them twice again this fall.

P.P.S. I wasn't sure if Robert wanted to announce 3RDegree himself, so I'd initially omitted them from the list.

Glad you announced. I didn't have to. BTW, isn't Orpheus Nine also playing?

[AdventAlan]

Glad you announced. I didn't have to. BTW, isn't Orpheus Nine also playing?

Sorry about that, Robert. Yes, I believe they were just added over the weekend. So I believe the complete list is now:

1. Advent
2. Discipline
3. Frogg Café
4. iNFiNiEN
5. Orpheus Nine
6. Valdez
7. 3RDegree

For some reason, I had the idea of five bands being booked before Orpheus Nine was added. Also, I have to say that this is looking like another incredibly exciting lineup!

Thanks very much for keeping me straight (especially as I'm still recovering from the intensity of running all the production/tech and some mixing as well over the weekend)--as well as sharing your insights on our first "Hoot."

All the best and looking most forward to November,


Alan