Former Jethro Tull guitarist Martin Barre brings his 50th Anniverdsay of Aqualung show to a new three-day music event, the Soundle Weekend, which will take place between June 17-19 next year.
Barre is joined by fellow proggers Solstice and Karnataka as headliners of the new event, which will take place at The Queen Victoria Hall in Oundle, an ancient market town on the River Nene in North Northamptonshire.
Also announced s far are Stuckfish, Landmarq, Kindred Spirit Band, Reel Thyme, The Curator, Apostle, Grace And Fire and Viper Soup Complex with more acts to be announced over the weekend.
It's the brainchild of music fan Bob Chetaham, who set up VicsGigs when he retired, although he'd only managed to put on four shows, including prog faves Lifesigns, before the pandemic struck.
"There were three major objectives with VicsGigs including being able to showcase local talents giving them a platform, arranging concerts over multiple genres and thirdly trying to provide an environment and facility to the local area's youth as these have been cut so much in the past," Cheatham tells Prog.
"The Soundle Weekend or something similar was in my mind right from before we started off. It all seemed to fall in place naturally even though as said earlier we have not been as successful as we would have liked with making it more multi genre. Saying that, we do believe we will add more artists into the lineup.
"We felt that it would make the days flow better by mixing up the styles. Moving from a hard rock band to a traditional Irish band, next folk and then a prog band. We have achieved this partially to date but still plan to work on the final bill. Like Loreley, one of the best things about a three day festival is the discovery of something new and we hope to achieve this for the audience at The Soundle! We are also looking to combine well known names with lesser known artists including some from the local area."
Cheatham has more one off gigs planned with future appearances from the likes of Pendragon, Karibow, Lifesigns, Karibow, The Blackheart Orchestra and the John Hackett Band. You will find more information at the VicsGigs Facebook page.
Early Bird tickets for Soundle are available at £65 with weekend tickets priced at £75. Tickets for Friday a priced at £25 and for Saturday and Sunday at £30.
"We have to pinch ourselves at times but we actually have our own little three day music festival planned in little Oundle and we therefore are hopeful for the future of The Soundle and for live music," he says. "If it is successful indoors in 2021 we are planning to make it slightly bigger in 2022 and move it outdoors."
