Let's revisit the headliner issue...

[Rider of Theli]

during the 9 years of the fest so far there has been only one time I came specifically for an established headliner. And that was Blind Guardian. The next time I attended for a headliner was for one that was created (sort of) when WOMD played at PP5. And then I was very excited about PP7 because Nevermore was slated to headline... and then it didn't happen. But I was still there.

I have attended every show that has been held in Atlanta except #4 regardless of who played. The under-card is usually what sells me a ticket every year.

 

[BABS]

I agree in some parts. I am totally against a Portnoy drum clinic, though. It's just like a drum solo at a concert, boring even to drummers.

*Gasp*

You're killing me here! I'll let you slide on the drum clinic because hey - it's not everyone's cup a tea. I'm from the era of drum solos at concerts and it's truly a lost art.

Boring even to drummers? Oh why don't you just tell Mr. Peart that (rotfl).

 

[DADRocks]

I say go with a more solid and diverse lineup and bump up the headliners like you did with After Forever. Bringing some of the bands like PC69 might expand the crowd. I don't think the size of the crowd always depends on you headliner as long as the rest of the lineup is solid. Why pay that extra money for a big name headliner when the are playing all over the States. But then again if you bump up some headliners I may have to stay around all night like this year with Andre Matos.

 

[AngraRULES]

*Gasp*

You're killing me here! I'll let you slide on the drum clinic because hey - it's not everyone's cup a tea. I'm from the era of drum solos at concerts and it's truly a lost art.

Boring even to drummers? Oh why don't you just tell Mr. Peart that (rotfl).

I don't know... I honestly don't think Neil Peart enjoys sitting through a drum solo at concerts...

 

[Cheiron]

Well Macaluso's wasn't really a drum clinic once he realized that basically only a handful of people there played drums. It turned more into his thoughts on drumming, Q&A, and some great solos. It was a lot of fun.

 

[Prog_Please]

I guess my viewpoint on the matter is a little warped since I've been stuck in college for 5 years and now just have a job and some extra money to spend on travels, etc, but I'll give my opinion anyways.

1. This year I'm not too thrilled with the headliner. Their back-catalog doesn't thrill me and I would rather see Redemption play. However, the quantity of amazing support bands is what got me going. Booking the not-so-headliner-ish bands are often a plus if they haven't toured in the US that much. Last year at BARFest, it was the first time Darkwater and Sun Caged played here, and they were amazing. I know ProgPower does that too, so I think that really helps.

2. If you can't get any retired bands to reform and headline a show, perhaps a band that hasn't gone on tour in a while would do. I know things are changing in the next year, but having a band like Nevermore or Tool, that haven't put out an album or done an extensive tour in a number of years, might get tons of fans (I don't really know how this forum really feels about tool to begin with). But you get the idea.

3. As someone mentioned earlier, it'd be cool to have a band on tour stop by and do a pre-announced special show / setlist. For example, Dream Theater could play the entire 6 degrees of inner turbulence or get Ayreon to somehow play something with their guest singers (Maynard did something like that with his Puscifer project).

4. This is my personal favorite idea, but I know it'll never fly . Changethe festival to "ProgDeath USA" and book Gojira, Cynic and Opeth!! I mean, if you really want to sell out fast, thats how to do it. And make Opeth play Black Rose Immortal, that would get lots of people to come.

In any case, good luck and I hope the festival makes it through this rough time. Or tell Obama to give ProgPower a stimulus package. If the car companies can, so can we!

 

[King Lek]

Thought being outside the board attendee.....

Saturday: Established headliner.
- while for most here, it not being a big issue, I think it is important.
Friday: A band with a solid following who normally would not headline but certainly is deserving of it. (that's easy right?)
The balance: Your typical solid balanced core which I think you do a great job with....do not see any reason for changing that or second guessing.

WOMD was the only headline that absolutely drew me.
Then again, it is the only one that had to for it got me to finally commit to go to my first PP. Once there, I was blown away by the overall experience.

With that said though, tour or not for the headliners, probably important to have at least one high profile name draw as that is what got me there. While they may hang a tour around it they do not tour all cities and regions (Nightwish) and for many newcomers, just what might be what puts them over the top in making the trip.

Also, this is a semi-unique venue. There is a difference seeing a "headliner" at Jaxx with a few hundred folks, and at center Stage with over a thousand.

 

[FatesFan]

Fuck that!!! Enough of those damn people who sit down all night long and save 5 seats for nobody.

Too true.

 

[metalprof]

I have gone to every ProgPower except one since PP III. At no time was my going or not going based on the headliner. I was drawn to PP initially by the chance to see bands that I would not otherwise get the chance to see. It had nothing to do with the order in which they played, or who was the most famous. And since I didn't start visiting this forum until long after I started attending PP, that can't be attributed to the fact that I'm a forumite.

Suppose for an instant that the roster of PP 12 was going to be simply Symphony X, Edguy, Iced Earth, Nightwish, Kamelot, and, oh, Opeth (why not). These are all "headliners", but I would be less likely to go all the way to Atlanta for that line-up since appearances by these bands are not hard to come by. I'm sure that show would sell out, but I'll bet the audience would be much more predominantly local.

On the other hand, I would take seriously drastic measures to come see a line-up of Cloudscape, Edenbridge, Mob Rules, Nocturnal Rites, Dark Moor, and Lanfear, although none of them are "headliners". Maybe this wouldn't sell out, or would take longer to sell out, but it's the kind of line up that drew me to the fest to begin with, and that I would pay more to see. (Compared to travel and lodging expenses, the ticket / badge itself is small beans.)

It's the bands with less chance of supporting their own tour that I get the most excited about. ProgPower provides an economy of scale for special bands like this.

Also, there's something to be said for having a rotation of "familiars", like Pagan's Mind and Circus Maximus are getting to be, like Brainstorm might be, and as Evergrey has been, which bubble up in rotation every once in a while. Each of them are in the "ProgPower farm system", and have been climbing the ladder in terms of prestige at the festival based on past performance at the festival.

To me, there is a difference between a "ProgPower headliner" and a generic headliner. A ProgPower headliner is a band that has prestige within the genre, and epitomizes what the festival is about, not just a big name band who happens to be contracted to play at the festival. For example, Sonata Arctica could have been the former, but acted like they were the latter, and so their appearance was a disappointment.

My wish is that you get headliners as you can, especially those who will be true "ProgPower headliners", but more importantly keep using the ProgPower farm system and a rotation of regulars to allow bands to elevate themselves to headliner status within the fest, and keep drawing from the continuing pool of up and coming bands who would not play here on their own. If the availability of special headliners (who were never the draw for me personally) is dwindling and/or becoming cost prohibitive, then we'll be finding out pretty quickly if the rest of this plan is economically viable. I don't know if there is a past case to draw a conclusion from. Is it possible for a festival to have continued success based on its consistency, adherence to its own identity, and loyalty from previous attendees without reliance on splashy main events? We'll find out!

Man, that's quite a ramble.

Ken

 

[Tungarknivor]

Get an ARK reunion for next years show and i'm there .

 

[Kaosaur]

Get an ARK reunion for next years show and i'm there .

Strongly doubt this would ever happen but I would kill to see this.

Literally kill.

 

[Midihell]

This will be the 7th year that the wife and I will be attending Progpower. To us, this is our yearly vacation. Through the year both of us save money into a special PP account and we use that to pay for everything with cash and nothing on plastic. We attend simply due to the fact that we get to see bands that seldom tour through our area. We don't base whether or not we're going to attend based on "bigname" headliners. Or even the lower tier bands for that matter.

We take it as a whole. Sure there might be a band or two that we're not fans of in the lineup. Or bands we haven't heard of(a good thing actually). But that's not enough to deter us from attending. We enjoy the bands, the people, the intimacy of the facilities, the vendors, hell, the feeling of this festival being like one big family.

It would truly be sad day if PP were to end in the near future. I personally expect at least a dozen more years or so I may be old, but I'll never be too old to enjoy some tasty/hard/crunchy/LOUD music.

Given the economic circumstances and the fact that everything is going up in cost. A roster without a true big name headliner wouldn't be a bad thing. If anything it might take some creative net-vertising or more word of mouth to sell out the festival, but I think it could be done. I'd like to think there would be more than enough of us who'd be more than willing to help in any way we can to make it a success.

Ok, enough rambling from me.

And now for something completely different..... "The Larch"

 

[Diamond45]

It's difficult to say which is best... go out on top... fade away... or repeat some killer headliners of past PPs.....

I know you had that "Band A vs. Band B" thread here a few days ago, and wondering which is best.

How popular is PP USA outside of our small circle? I know that this is the "premier metal fest" for the prog & power genres, but I wonder if some publicity could help sell tickets?

I know you already get some corporate sponsorship, but would you be open to having even more sponsorship? That's how some large well known bands are able to tour.

Just some food for thought...

 

[eppst1]

Well Macaluso's wasn't really a drum clinic once he realized that basically only a handful of people there played drums. It turned more into his thoughts on drumming, Q&A, and some great solos. It was a lot of fun.

It *was* a ton of fun.

 

[zinescene]

The under-card is usually what sells me a ticket every year.

I Second that. I usually base my decision on the strength of the whole schedule and have in fact come despite the headline being someone I wasn't totally into (though it's often worked out that I liked one of 2 headliners). If there were a PP11 or 12 I would strongly consider going even if there were no true headliners...but I would want a strong 3 or 4 slot type band and not something I've seen 3 times already.

That being said, who do you bring in? There's a lot of good bands but there's no Gamma Ray, Blind Guardian, Kamelot type bands to carry on the ProgPower Torch that haven't already played ProgPower or in the US. I would love to see Within Temptation if they played or a Katatonia though they likely wouldnt' fit with this festival. How about a Steven Wilson Project type band, doing some Porcupine Tree, Blackfield and other songs from bands he's written with? Personally one thing that does weigh strongly in my decision to attend is, has the band played PP already? I'm more likely to attend if it's a band I haven't seen once or twice. (Goes bad to economics and having to make that hard earned dollar stretch).

I'll be honest, it will be a sad day when PP does cease and desist but I can certainly understand Glenns reasons. Best to go out while on top.

 

[OrbWeaver]

I can honestly say that I would go to ProgPower, even if I didn't know one single band on the roster. I know I would see one of these theoretically unknown to me bands, and fall in love. I also have a great time interacting with the people, and I seem to make new friends each time. Furthermore, it's a lot of fun to run into musicians who are just there to enjoy the fest.

ProgPower is a fun time all around, and with solid bands that do not fail to please, even if one isn't familiar with them. That's why I keep coming back.

There are plenty of bands I'd love to see as headliners. I'll spare you my opinions on that, we don't need another "X band for ProgPower!!!" topic. I'll just state that maybe branching into established touring bands might be the way to go. Sure, they might build a tour around it, but I am pretty certain that no one here would be any less happy than they would otherwise, even if it's not a suprise.

 

[urinalcakemix]

No.

When times get tough and uncertain, you go for the throat. You book the 1 headliner that you said you never could get, that no one thinks you have the ability to pull it off, and you Make it work. Thats the spirit of the festival isnt it? To be premier, to take risks, and trust that it will come through. I think NOW is when you put the most effort possible to book this headliner, and make it work. Because Glenn, you KNOW if you pull it off, you would raise ticket prices, and it wouldn't even matter. Guaranteed sell out in the first 72 hours, if not the first 24. 18 months is plenty of time to put it together right?

 

[PurpleCrayonWriter]

So what do you do? Do you continue to pay for the big headliner that has either been here before or is touring in order to "hopefully" sell tickets to a concentrated fanbase? Do you elevate headliners, save a bit of money, and then build a stronger undercard that doesn't necessarily have the name with the regular attendees outside of this forum? Keep in mind that this forum is the exception to the attendee rule, not the norm.

Others have mentioned this point. But I'd like to echo my agreement with it: I'm not usually attracted to ProgPower USA because of the headliners. For me, the draw is the undercard.

And by undercard, I mean the quality and diversity of all the bands on the bill, from the opening bands to the performers scheduled just before the headliners.

I can see headliners anywhere. But I can't see bands put together the way you do anywhere else on earth. It's your ability to select fascinating bands that makes ProgPower USA what it is.

If you need headliners (big names) to attract audiences, go for it. I seriously doubt anyone who loves PPUSA will bolt because one or both headliners are considered "too commercial" or "too well known" for their tastes. Your core audience is there because of the undercard and the atmosphere. The headliners are usually just icing on the cake.

There are only a couple of bands I wouldn't cross the street to see. If you had an entire festival of those bands, I wouldn't go. One or two? No problem.

For Elisabeth and I, the issue is money. Can we afford the $1,200 it'll take to attend? No amount of killer headliners will get us there if we can't afford it.

So, the question is more for you to answer: Are they bands that fit the ProgPower USA mold? And are they good/fun/easy to work with? If so, established touring bands are yours for the taking. If not, then it'll be a nightmare for you, and a drag for us.

Bill

 

[bwrightson]

I honestly attend PP each and every year because of the undercard, and not because of the headliners. Bands like Threshold, Circus Maximus, Brainstorm, Redemption, Freak Kitchen, etc... are what keep me coming back. I often leave early and don't see the headliner unless its someone like Angra or Symphony X.

I was intrigued by PP1 when it was announced, but it was Superior at PP2 that brought me to the festival before I even knew who the headliners were that year. And this was before I understood how cool the event was and what the environment was like throughout the weekend.

Thanks,
Bill

 

[Dave@BEC]

...On the other hand, I would take seriously drastic measures to come see a line-up of Cloudscape, Edenbridge, Mob Rules, Nocturnal Rites, Dark Moor, and Lanfear, although none of them are "headliners"...

...My wish is that you get headliners as you can, especially those who will be true "ProgPower headliners", but more importantly keep using the ProgPower farm system and a rotation of regulars to allow bands to elevate themselves to headliner status within the fest, and keep drawing from the continuing pool of up and coming bands who would not play here on their own...Ken

+1 on the above statements!