The Summer's End Festival 2015, Chepstow - 2nd to 4th October 2015
Abel Ganz (UK)
Having enjoyed Abel Ganz at Summer’s End in 2008 ... My tastes have moved on somewhat in recent years and despite a solid performance their acoustic guitar-led music didn't seem to go anywhere for me. They certainly have some nice songs but overall the sound was quite repetitive and one-dimensional despite some very pretty bits...
Dave Bainbridge's Celestial Fire (UK)
An immediately impressive set of Celestial Fire mixed with Iona classics, Dave Bainbridge’s endearing personality shining through with the talents of the musicians gathered to perform the complex music ... and altogether this was a fabulously entertaining set...
The Fierce & The Dead (UK)
... a powerfully energetic set of TFATD classics and newbies. The band have developed a lot and are tight, well drilled and crammed with energy...
Light Damage (LUX)
One of the best things about Summer’s End is that it gives the opportunity for the UK audience to see bands who would otherwise not be able to get to play here ... I enjoyed it but other than the delightful cover of Steve Hackett’s Shadow Of The Hierophant it didn’t quite connect with me and at the end I was still wondering quite what they were about ... Certainly worthy of further investigation.
3RDegree (USA)
... a band I’ve enjoyed for several years now and it was great to see them in the flesh ... The set was fun, interesting and rewarding and 3RDegree went down very well in the hall.
Discipline (USA)
... band of the weekend for me, from the start they were enigmatic and breathtakingly powerful putting on a quintessential performance topped off with the quite wonderfully visceral vocals of Matthew Parmenter who lived every word he sang whilst channelling his inner Peter Hammill ... a stunning experience to see this band in full flow and they didn’t disappoint in any way ...
Pallas (UK)
... they opened with some new stuff that I was unfamiliar with and didn’t grab me ... It had been a long day and I decided to call it a night.
The Gift (UK)
... Mike Morton is a great front man, engaging and with a fine voice ... The songs are lovely, crammed with emotion and very personal, but they didn’t fully speak to me today...
Introitus (S)
... This Swedish band, centred around the family of keyboardist Hans Bender, delivered to a very positive reaction from the crowd, the warm voice of Hans’ wife Anna cutting through as the music frequently utilised the sounds of Swedish folk, accentuated by the instrumental additions ... It was a gracious performance, unusual and inspiring, that worked well on the Sunday afternoon slot and they certainly made a lot of friends.
Credo (UK)
... The music certainly had its moments but I just find it a little samey these days. It is certainly emotional but doesn’t feature enough in the way of dynamics and invention to really draw me in ...
Simon Godfrey (UK)
... The sparkling wit and endearing personality of ex-Tinyfish man Simon Godfrey excelled and it was a fun half hour, Simon accompanied by Rob Ramsey making for a surrealist double act of true quality. Great songs delivered with passion and a large helping of laughs. Lovely.
Mystery (CAN)
.. the mighty Mystery flew in from Canada and delivered a bang on high energy set of powerful prog ... the sound was much riffier than I expected ... a memorable set from a highly skilled and capable band. Recommended.
The Enid (UK)
... if you’re going to get a last minute band to close a festival such as this you wouldn’t believe your luck if you managed to get The Enid ... Just brilliant and completely unique, The Enid reach parts that other bands just cannot reach ... this is a sound like no other band ... Barking. Bonkers. Unique. Quintessentially British and prog the way it should be.
