2025
Friday August 15th
!GéRald! - 6:15 pm
France
Behind the exclamation of this first name hides a quintet of four musicians (this is exceptionally rare) who have been part of the French progressive landscape since 2018.
!GeRald! is a French-English experimental rock and visual arts project born in the Deux-Sèvres countryside and has acquired a fierce name as a live performance.
The question that haunts me is why this first name? Would the group be on the road all day long or would it imitate personalities (in one word) or was this premonitory of the career of a fool's guard (we must leave the jumps to the seals).
With intimidating melodies, an uncompromising rhythm section and complex structures, the project has created a surreal landscape subject to shape changes targeting the nervous system.
It all seems extremely confusing, but no, it is with a well-organized verve and fervor that the group will open the weekend of the 25th edition. PM
Teddie Burton : Drum, Noise Box, lead vocal
Marin Michelat : Keyboards, vocal
Quentin Loizeau : Bass, vocal
Thomas Redon : Guitar, vocal
Indrek Patte - 8:00 pm
Estonia
A wind from the Baltic will blow on the Concié with the show of the Estonian Indrek Patte. He grew in a musician's family and was raised by the pioneer prog bands of the 1970s (Yes, Genesis, ELP, Jethro Tull among others).
He was part of several groups in the 1980s, such as Linnu Tee or Ruja. After a sound engineer training, he has recorded, mixed and produced more than 150 works by Estonian artists, in styles ranging from folk to rock, classical or jazz.
In the 1990s, he composed several film scores, for which he was rewarded. In 2011, he released his first solo album "Celebration", followed by "Thank and share" in 2014 and "Cinemanic" in 2017, in which he distils his progressive rock with various influences and messages filled with spirituality. Sometimes rock, sometimes leaning towards metal sounds, we also find omnipresent keyboard parts and beautiful symphonic elements.
His last album, "In" dates from 2023, saw the arrival of Matthieu Spaeter on guitar, already known at Crescendo for playing with Franck Carducci in the past or Hayley Griffiths Band now.
As you can imagine, it's a high-skilled multi-instrumentalist who will come to enchant the Concié on this first day of the festival ! JG
Indrek Patte : Lead vocal, Keyboards
Mathieu Spaeter : Guitars
Andrus Lillepea : Drum
Vladislav Reinfeldt : Bass
Priidik Soon : Keyboards, Flute
Oliver Kilk : Guitars
Beardfish - 10:00 pm
Sweden
Polymixiidae (Polymixiidae in French, species commonly called Beardfish) are a family of ray-finned fish, the only one in the order Polymixiiformes. Thanks a lot Wikipedia, but at Crescendo, we want to hear the one and only BEARDFISH, the Swedish geniuses of Prog !!!
Formed in 2001 in Gävle and led by the prolific Rikard Sjöblom, the group released eight albums from 2003 to 2015 and provided great international tours in the 2000s and 2010s, including a performance at Crescendo France in 2012.
The band then took an eight-year break, giving the members time to focus on their solo projects, including Gungfly (who played at Crescendo in 2012 and 2019 and at Crescendo Guyana in 2018). The band got back together in 2023 and released a new album at the end of 2024, "Songs For Beating Hearts", which still mixes these incredibly fine guitar parts with beautiful layers of 70s-sounding keyboards (Mellotron lovers, you've come to the right place). There are also sharper guitar riffs that will delight metalheads, proof of the openness and mastery of these musicians in mixing genres, while keeping that incomparable 70s touch! And what about Rikard's voice, full of melodies but also harder when necessary.
Beware, strong sensations ahead for the headliner of this first evening !! JG
Rikard Sjöblom : Lead vocal, keyboards
David Zackrinsson : Guitars
Robert Hansen : Bass
Magnus Östgren : Drum
Saturday August 16th
Der Neue Planet - 5:00 pm
Germany
To open the second day of the Festival, we invite you to discover this “New Planet”, which appeared in the skies over Cologne in 2016.
Now visible in the skies over St-Palais, it's inhabited by 4 musicians who come down on stage to play their unique experimental instrumental music fusing different styles.
You'll hear heavy, powerful Stoner riffs contrasting with dreamy, playful, psychedelic Post-Rock and Jazzy melodies.
After a self-titled debut mini-album, “Der Neue Planet”, released in 2016, three more followed from 2018 to 2024, including the latest, the aptly named “Schwerkraft für Anfänger” (“Gravity for Beginners”): quite a program! The German quartet's original, singular and versatile compositions form a broad spectrum of Rock-Prog.
So you should be won over by their otherworldly sound, where the music is never monotonous or predictable thanks to its complex but catchy arrangements. Gjl
Tim Daescher : Guitars
Ramin Mooze : Guitars
Claudius Pleiss : Drums, Percussions
Luca Loeb : Bass
Regna - 6:30 pm
Spain
In recent years, Barcelona has become the cradle of Spanish prog rock.
Indeed, this young combo is the 3rd, from the Catalan capital, to be programmed at the Festival after HARVEST in 2017 and ON THE RAW (2018).
Formed in 2014, they'll be presenting compositions from their new album exclusively, as well as their 1st: “Meridian” (EP) released in 2015 and “Cinéma” (2023).
Nostalgic for the dawn of the 70s, the sextet uses period instruments such as the Hammond B3 organ, the Leslie and the Mellotron to create songs, sung in English, drawing their inspiration from the Jazz-Rock, Folk and Symphonic atmospheres of this highly creative period, subtly fused with its Hispanic roots. Moving from one style to another with masterful consistency, the 2 guitarists play their part to the full.
There's no doubt that this powerful alchemy, fully assumed, will reign its authentic style on your musical sensibility for the duration of this concert. Gjl
Alejandro Dominguez & Xavier Martinez : Guitars
Arturo Garcia : Bass
Miquel Gonzàlez : Keyboards
Marc illa : Lead vocal
Eric Lavado : Drums, Percussions
HiPoKaMP Projekt - 8:15 pm
Poland
The band was founded by Maciej Zamczała, guitarist and composer, and includes Dominika Kapuśniak on violin and vocals, Łukasz Oliwkowski (Maciej Meller Band) on drums, Zbigniew Florek (Quidam, Colin Bass, Maciej Meller Band) on keyboard, Maciej Tonder on bass and Sebastian Niemiec on saxophone.
Hippocampus
This inner poet who tells us about the world we work in. A brain structure that plays a central role in cognition, memory, learning and spatial awareness. Music floats immaterially in the air, flowing in a wave of emotions. But once ordered, it solidifies into a finite form. A mixture of waves that brush our ears, permeate us and animate us. The latest album "Memory implanted" evokes flashbacks. Memories loaded with strong emotions that are markers of what we are. Over time, some of these memories become abstract. What if this blurry spot ended up becoming a memory that never existed? Sounds slide, notes tune in, music forms, marks us with emotions, creates bonds and memories for a lifetime then disperses into the cosmos. Only a few memories persist that will end up never having existed.
Dear festival-goers, listen carefully, let the music enter your hippocampus in order to live a fabulous story that will give you beautiful emotions and memories. SSP
Maciej Zamczała : Guitar & composer
Dominika Kapuśniak : Violin, Lead vocal
Łukasz Oliwkowski : Drum
Zbigniew Florek : Keyboards
Maciej Tonder : Bass
Sebastian Niemiec : Saxophone
Traveler - 10:00 pm
USA - Arizona
That’s a name that encourages travel !
These 4 boys from Arizona offer us an explosive fusion of progressive rock and world music with dramatic and sweet melodies influenced by the ethnic heritages of the whole world.
Traveler’s performance brings to the stage ambiences of the Middle East, India, Gypsies, Celts, Greeks and Turks, combining traditional ethnic instruments with all the power of a rock band.
Scott Jeffers, the band’s creator and composer, traveled extensively to find inspiration for the Traveler project. Known for his passionate and fiery violin, his 4-octave vocal range with Mongolian throat singing techniques shows his dominant presence on stage and brings a unique signature to Traveler in the world of Prog. The band has played a lot at festivals in the USA, Canada, UK, Turkey and now in France!
You want to dance and travel ? Don’t miss this concert ! JmP
Scott Jeffers: Lead vocal, Violin, Turk Oud, Loutar, Bouzouki
Jason Wiedman : Drums, Percussions ( Duval bulgare, Egyptian Doumbek, Cajun )
Zack Egan : Guitar, Banjitar
Barton Applewite : Bass fretless, Cello
Sunday August 17th
Edenya - 5:30 pm
France
If I told you that there's a style of progressive music that we have never programmed at Crescendo and that is nevertheless an integral part of our preferred style, you would tell me: "impossible...after 25 years we've covered it all!"
Well, I would tell you no because from memory, from the very beginning, I don't remember having a "Folk Prog" group at the festival.
So what is "Folk Prog"? We could tell you that it is a subgenre of progressive rock that is obviously inspired by folk but also by traditional and ethnic music.
We can cite among the most influential groups of this musical movement: "Renaissance", "Gryphon" or "In The Labyrinth".
So it was a nice surprise when we heard the music of Edenya and moreover a French band! We did not hesitate for long to program them for you in order to reveal this music marked by softness and delicate female singing.
Edenya will present their new album "The Secret Destination You Are Looking For" during this concert and will prove that the French scene has expanded considerably over the last ten years for our greatest listening pleasure. SM
Marco L : Guitars, keyboards, piano, programming
Ingrid Denis : Lead vocal, backing vocals
Jean-Paul Cartigny : Bass
Sylvie Sj : Drum
Juliette Carradec : Violin, keyboards
Vecteur K - 7:00 pm
Canada
Aaaaah it's great to welcome some cousins from Quebec !
Vecteur K is a French-speaking progressive rock band from Lanaudière, a beautiful region between the St. Lawrence and the Laurentians, north of Montreal.
Since its creation in 2003 by Marc-André Noël, the band has played hundreds of concerts in Canada and the USA, and is coming to Europe for the first time. After 3 studio albums to their credit, La peur du désert (2009), Incident au Café (2016) and Stratigraphie (2023), the band may be releasing their 1st live album after their concert on the ocean stage, so stay tuned!
With bursting compositions and multi-image lyrics, they establish a style all their own, with no barriers and no limits, on the frontiers of rock and progressive music. A rich, sophisticated sound and French lyrics, combined with arrangements that remain simple despite the complexity of their structures, give Vecteur K's music a special hue that makes them unique. JmP
Marc-André Noel : Guitar, lead vocal
Marc-Antoine Sauvé : Guitar, lapsteel, mandolin
Cédric Charest-Lafond : Keyboards
François Fournier : Bass, keyboards
Alexandre De Sève : Drums
Hayley Griffiths Band - 9:00 pm
England
Hayley is no stranger to the Crescendo audience.
After a first performance in 2017 with Karnataka, she performed in 2018 with Zio and in 2019 with her own band to close the festival's 20th anniversary.
It is with a busy schedule : a Rock album, a Celtic album and the 10th anniversary of Karnataka's highlight album "Secret of Angels" that the band presents itself to you.
The Londoners' shows are rich and intense in emotion, Hayley's stage presence and magical voice, Mathieu Spaeter's guitar solos, George Price's twirling bass, Rob Lindop's captivating keyboards and to boost it all, the showman behind the drums Jimmy Pallagrosi.
So, shake the moths out of your clothes and get ready to dance like crazy because one thing is certain, you are going to experience a high-level show to close the festival. PM
Hayley Griffiths : Lead vocal
Mathieu Spaeter : Guitars
George Price : Bass
Rob Lindop : Keyboards
Jimmy Pallagrosi : Drum Animal
Happy End - 11:15 pm
Unfortunately, all good things must come to an end, and the Happy End is, as the name suggests, the moment when the festival comes to a close.
It's time to jam with members of various bands, celebrate, pay tribute to all the volunteers (photo) and say ..... see you next year ! JmP
Words from : PM : Patrice Mathias - JmP : Jeanmi Picot - Gjl : Jean-Luc Girault - JG : Julien Gandais - SSP : Samuel Pinto Soeiro - SM : Sébastien Monteaud