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2026

64 French bands and 62 international bands applied for the 26th edition.

Here are the ten winners !

Thursday 20

6:15 PM - Chabifönk Expérience

France - Melle

8:00 PM - Edensong

USA - New York

10:00 PM - Liberation Orchestra

Austria - Vienna

https://www.liberationorchestra.com/

Headlining this first evening of the 26th edition is a mini Big Band.

Never before in the rich history of CRESCENDO has such a large group of musicians been programmed to perform on stage.

Based in Vienna, this Austrian nonet was founded in 2019 by composer Ron Oppenheim, who also conducts the band on stage. The same year, a first album was released, followed by a second four years later (available at the dedicated stand).

Ron Oppenheim's music combines different styles ranging from progressive rock to classical, jazz, and world music. Each composition explores different possibilities of blends and combinations, connecting various influences in a unique way and creating an immersive experience.

The aim of the Austrian armada is to demonstrate the beauty and power of transcending boundaries between genres, styles, eras, and cultures (according to its creator).

We bet that this bold new musical territory will win you over.

Gjl

  • Composition, conducting : Ron Oppenheim

  • Lead Vocal : Sandra Kaldma

  • Flute : Raphaela Viehböck

  • Trumpets : Hermann Fiechtl & Lukas Hageneder

  • Alto Sax : Anton Balynski

  • Tenor Sax : Markus Ohler

  • Bass : Thomas Binder

  • Drums : Georg Hinterberger

  • Keyboards : Olga Shevtsova

  • Guitars : Thomas Kramer & Valentin Walch

Friday 21

5:00 PM - Harkus

France - Niort

The Niort-based band HARKUS will open the second day of the festival. ( Niort is a city located 100 km from the festival site )

Having fallen into the cauldron at a very young age, brothers Luca and Théo Forestas composed their first songs when they were barely 10 years old. Luca on drums and Théo on guitar. Their meeting with Corentin Joly in 2018 led to the formation of the band HARKUS (named after a large cloud that heralds a storm, an “arcus,” explains Luca).

Entirely instrumental, their music is “a blend of energy and power inspired by progressive metal, mixed with epic and emotional atmospheres inherited from film scores.”

They were the winners of the Brûlain festival's springboard in 2025, so we're counting on you to help them set the Concié on fire!

LF / MA

  • Luca Forestas : Drums

  • Théo Forestas : Guitar

  • Corentin Joly : Guitar

6:15 PM - La Maschera di Cena

Italy - Genova

La Maschera Di Cera is one of the cornerstone groups for what concerns the rediscovery of the glorious Italian prog sound of the seventies. Active since 2001, the italian band is one of the few to have the ability to fully respect that type of sound. In fact, Italian progressive rock has precise connotations made up of warm and powerful symphonic moods and lyrics in the mother tongue.

Italian progressive rock is pure prog passion, a passion that Maschera Di Cera has been able to re-create and disseminate through six studio albums and a long series of concerts in Italy, Europe, United States, Mexico and Canada.

In 2026 the band returns to the stages all over the world with a celebration tour for the 25 years of activity. The 25 tour will propose an anthological show with all the salient moments of the group and the characteristic sound made of imaginative keyboards, changing rhythms, a plethora of horns, a powerful distorted bass and a versatile and exciting voice.

Fabio Zuffanti

  • Alessandro Corvaglia : vocals, keyboards, acoustic guitar
  • Agostino Macor : keyboards
  • *Fabio Zuffanti : bass, backing vocals, bass pedal
  • Martin Grice : flute, sax
  • Andrea Orlando : drums

8:15 PM - The Emerald Dawn

U.K. - Cornwall

Born in Edinburgh in 2010 and now settled on the windswept shores of Cornwall, The Emerald Dawn has forged a progressive rock identity unlike any other. Across six albums, the quartet has shaped a sound world that is immersive, intricate, and unmistakably their own.

Their long‑form compositions, rich in nuance and emotion, move beyond the familiar language of 70s prog to explore more psychedelic, spiritual, and untamed horizons.

Drawing on rock, classical, jazz, folk, and world music, their symphonic neo‑prog unfolds with a cinematic sense of scale.

Despite their undeniable virtuosity, the musicians never indulge in excess; instead, they craft vivid atmospheres—hypnotic keyboards, glowing saxophone lines, and rhythms tinged with blues—each piece becoming a shifting landscape, a story revealed through texture and mood.

Their music doesn’t merely captivate; it envelops and transports.

It leaves a luminous imprint on the imagination, like the echo of an inner journey from which one never entirely returns.

PM

Tree Stewart : Keyboards, flute, acoustic guitar, percussions, vocal

Ally Carter : Guitar, sax, keyboards, vocal

David Greenaway _:  Bass & fretless bass

Tom Jackson :  Drum

10:15 PM - Discipline

USA - Detroit

Saturday 22

5:30 PM - Oddleaf

France - Lyon

After 10 years in the world of medieval music, Carina and Mathieu created Oddleaf in early 2020 in the Lyon region.

The duo became a quintet in 2021 and, after releasing their first demos, the band successfully played their first concerts on the Lyon region between 2023 and 2024, as the opening act for Franck Carducci, Lazuli, well known at Crescendo, and Gabriel Keller.

With their first studio album, " Where Ideal and Denial Collide ", released in 2023, Oddleaf made a remarkable entry into the French progressive scene with a timeless medieval symphonic style, both inherited from the giants of the 1970s (Camel, King Crimson, Yes) and nourished by influences from the contemporary scene (Wobbler, Big Big Train).

The magic of vintage Mellotron keyboards and Hammond organ, electronic and acoustic flutes, the breadth of four-part vocal harmonies, and the power and refinement of Adeline's singing offer us, for the opening of this third day of concerts, a true French Touch with a promising future and make us want to continue listening with the album available at the festival stand.

JmP

  • Adeline Gurtner : Lead Vocal

  • Carina Taurer : Composition, Keyboards, Backing Vocals

  • Mathieu Rossi : Electronic and Acoustic Flutes, Backing Vocals

  • Olivier Orlando : Bass, Guitar, Backing Vocals

  • Clément Curaudeau : Drum

7:00 PM - Half Past Four

Canada - Toronto

Half Past Four hails from Toronto and its story spans more than two decades of musical exploration and creation. Through several albums and hundreds of concerts across Canada, the United States, the United Kingdom, and beyond, the band has developed a distinctive musical voice, where progressive rock freely converses with jazz, classical, folk, and a strong theatrical sensibility.

Their music moves between familiar structures and unexpected detours, blending virtuosity, emotion, and storytelling — an approach in which each piece becomes a world of its own. Their latest album, Finding Time (released May 30, 2025), was born during the darkest years of the pandemic: a record shaped by adversity, yet carried by renewed creative energy, emotional depth, and a reawakened desire to create.

A few words from Kyree : It is with great joy and deep emotion that Half Past Four performs for the first time at the Crescendo Festival. Bringing our music from Toronto to Saint-Palais-sur-Mer, sharing this journey with European audiences, and joining the lineup of a festival we admire is a true honour.

The Concié will be rocking with the penultimate concert of this wonderful 26th edition!

KV / JmP

  • Kyree Vibrant : Lead Vocal

  • Boris Kalantyr : guitars, back vocals

  • Igor Kurtzman : keyboards, back vocals

  • Roberto Bitti : drums, back vocals

  • Dmitry Lesov : bass guitar, stick Chapman, back vocals

9:00 PM - Smokemaster

Germany - Köln

If you're nostalgic for the hippie years of the California coast, The Doors and Jefferson Airplane, the late sixties and early seventies, Jimi Hendrix and Pink Floyd (the Meddle period), then the final concert of this 26th edition is sure to delight you.

Originally from Köln, this young German quintet produces a melting pot of styles that fuel their inspiration.

These range from German Krautrock to psychedelic rock with a touch of stoner, blues, hard rock, and even jazzy vibes. All this allows them to claim “intuitive and danceable compositions” (according to the band).

The combo was founded in the spring of 2018 by its rhythm section: drummer-percussionist Lukas BÖNSCHEN and bassist Tobias TOBMASTER.

A self-titled debut album was released two years later. “Cosmic Connector” followed in 2023 (available at the merch stand). Both albums feature tracks that draw their energy from the past, blending the sounds of yesterday (Hammond organ) with those of today.

These two hours of entertainment will smell of incense and patchouli. Flowery “Peace and Love” tunics are welcome in these war-torn times!

Gjl.

  • Lukas “BABY” BÖNSCHEN: Drums, Percussion, Backing Vocals.

  • Jérôme “JAY” HOLZ: Guitars.

  • Patrick ROSE: Vocals & Guitar.

  • Tobias TACK: Organ & Keyboards.

  • Tobias TOBMASTER: Bass.

11:15 PM - Happy Ending

Texts written by : JmP : Jeanmi Picot - Gjl : Jean-Luc Girault - PM : Patrice Mathias - MA : Michel Andrieu