The New Day Festival returns to the stunning gardens of Mount Ephraim in Kent for another three days of exceptional music spanning prog, rock, blues, and everything in between. Set against the backdrop of one of England’s most beautiful venues, this boutique festival continues to attract both established legends and emerging talent, creating an intimate atmosphere that’s become the event’s trademark.
FRIDAY
Sometimes the best weekends are packed with good times – I was coming straight from a fantastic wedding celebration, which meant I arrived at Mount Ephraim just as Voodoo Lake were closing out their set with a cover of ZZ Top’s ‘Tush’.
The Sacred Geometry Band came on in the glorious mid-afternoon sunshine and, had I been stoned, this set would have elevated me, with its swirling synths and dazzlingly colourful backdrop, plus ‘Angel’ adding exotic dancing with her flying wings. In the sunshine, however, the colours weren’t as effective and, frankly, each of their three lengthy pieces sounded identical, though ‘I’m flying through space’ was recited at some point.
By complete contrast, Tytan were up next, performing on the appropriately named Kev Riddles stage, named after their fallen bandmate, who very sadly lost his battle against cancer earlier in the year. They sounded ‘up’ for it and, as the crowd came back down from wherever the previous band had just taken them, they performed a storming set. Opening with ‘Fight’, the pace rarely dropped with pumped up rockers like ‘Cold Bitch’, ‘Forever Gone’ and ‘Far Side of Destiny’, dedicated to Kev, and closing with ‘Money For Love’.
Sons of Liberty followed. They’d played the nearby Maid of Stone event in 2023 and, today, they sounded so much tighter and played far more confidently, giving the mid-afternoon crowd a splendid injection of good ol’ southern rock, with numbers like ‘Time To Fly’, ‘Light the Fuse’, ‘Turn This Tide’ and ‘What’s a Man Supposed To Do’ from their 2024 Detail is in the Devil album. They rocked hard and got the first real major burst of applause from an appreciative crowd.
Kent’s very own three-piece, Zac Schultze Gang (from just up the road in the Medway), gave the crowd their version of what they call fast bluesy rock. There may well be blues in there, but it’s buried under a layer of ultra-fast rock guitar, as Zac is the son Alvin Lee should have had as he plays lightning fast runs in most songs. They sound like Dr Feelgood on speed with songs like ‘Hole in My Pocket’, ‘High Roller’ and the good Dr’s ‘She Does It Right’, played much faster. They slowed things down with a surprising, though stunning, performance of Pink Floyd’s ‘Breathe’, and a version of Robert Johnson’s ‘Hellhound on my Trail’, which Johnson would never recognise as one of his, before ending with Ian Dury’s ‘Hit Me With Your Rhythm Stick’ and Fleetwood Mac’s ‘Oh Well’. They went down very well indeed in the afternoon sun.
However, the David Cross Band, through no fault of their own, struggled to establish themselves as sound problems meant they started the same song a few times before things finally got going. Their very complex and intense music couldn’t be more different to the previous set as Cross is ex-King Crimson, who don’t exactly play dance music. They performed Crimson’s ‘Red’ and ‘Larks Tongue in Aspic, pt2’, alongside a couple of their own tunes, ‘The World Waits For You’ and ‘Calamity’ and, while the playing was top class, Zac Schultze had given them a hard act to follow.
Then came what was, for many, the day’s surprise package, Lightnin’ Willie, a US blues/boogie band, who got the crowd going with their southern fried boogie shuffle. ‘Can’t Get No More Of That Stuff’ and ‘Eyes In The Back of My Head’ were a superb one-two intro, with blues harpman Giles King playing some glorious licks. The slow, beautiful ‘Tears Falling Down’ and a gorgeous version of Hendrix’s ‘The Wind Cries Mary’ followed, with Willie regaling everyone with stories of when he saw Hendrix performing it as a 15-year-old, before closing a rousing set with ‘Shake My Snake’. I knew the name but hardly anything by him, so this was a lovely intro to his work.
XTC were always one of the more intelligent pop bands of the late seventies and eighties, producing some very memorable tunes, and their offshoot, EXTC, consisting of ex-members of the band like Terry Chambers, are keeping these songs alive in fine style. From the opening notes of ‘This Is Pop’, they performed hits like ‘Sgt Rock’ and ‘Senses Working Overtime’, a couple of deep cuts, ‘King For a Day’ and ‘Jason & the Argonauts’, closing with ‘Cuba’ and the wonderful ‘Making Plans For Nigel’, with good audience participation. I’d initially wondered whether they should’ve been lower down on the bill, but I’d underestimated XTC’s popularity, so it was lovely seeing their legacy being kept alive.
For quite a few in the crowd, including this writer, the closing pairing of Soft Machine followed by Caravan, a dream ‘Canterbury Scene legends’ bill, evoked memories of the late 60s, when both bands played around the Canterbury area and, considering neither band had played too much of late, both turned in excellent sets.
Soft Machine, being much more jazz inclined, are now far removed from the days of Ayres, Ratledge, Hopper, Allen and Wyatt (Wyatt is now last man standing) though they began with Hugh Hopper’s ‘Facelift’, from the third album, before a couple of their own tunes, ‘Burden of Proof’ and ‘Open Road’. Like David Cross, this music is also quite complex though somehow it feels more accessible. They performed ‘Tales of Taliesin’ from the Softs album and ‘Joy Of A Toy’, by Ayres/Ratledge, before a short intense drum solo, and then the closing number, ‘Hazard Profile’. As musicians, every player is supremely talented and, musically, they were the band of the day.
New Day favourites Caravan headlined and, right from the outset, they looked and sounded like they were having fun. Due to an unfortunate accident which has temporarily sidelined regular bassist Lee Pomeroy, standing in was Jeavon Beaumont, from Arthur Brown’s band and, despite only a very short time to rehearse, he slotted in seamlessly. The bulk of their set was drawn from their classic In The Land Of Grey & Pink album, with the band performing ‘Golf Girl’ and ‘Land of Grey & Pink’. They gave us a new song, ‘Smoking Gun’, before they performed their magnum opus, the twenty-three minute ‘Nine Feet Underground’, which rounded off the opening day’s festivities with some panache.
SATURDAY
Kindred Spirit kicked the afternoon off in some style, playing a few songs from their latest release and showing just how well their new direction, and their own playing, is progressing. They were followed by EBB, now largely a full-on prog band who certainly had the crowd’s attention with songs like ‘Take To The Stars’ and ‘The Mirror’.
Soulweaver showed exactly why they’re beginning to make a name for themselves in rock circles, with a set laced with power and energy, despite it still being early afternoon. They can certainly rock and, with songs like ‘At The End Of The Day’ and ‘Civilisation’, and their new single, ‘Red’, plus ‘Liberty’ from their new album, this augurs well for their future.
If you know The Emerald Dawn, you’ll be aware they don’t play short songs, and their forty-minute set comprised only three pieces of music. They’re a multi-instrumentalist, symphonic prog band whose music is beautifully eclectic, and they absolutely merit the kudos they’ve been getting in the prog world. They performed two pieces from their forthcoming album, ‘Dancing With The Spirits’ and the superb ‘Under Changing Skies’, before they performed one whole side from their last album, In Time, called ‘Out Of Time’. Right the way through their set, the quality of their musicianship was quite outstanding. It’s easy to see why some people don’t ‘get’ what it is they do but, for prog aficionados, they’re some band and they deserve to be bigger.
Up next, hardy perennials The Soho Dukes. They’ve played here before and are easily a festival favourite. Due to a ticketing hassle, however, I could hear them but not intently, but I liked what I heard and the crowd certainly did.
The Fierce & the Dead followed on. They were a four-piece mainly instrumental band last time I saw them perform, but they’ve now added an extra member and include vocals in their set. They’re still very eclectic and hard to categorise, with their music a mix of stoner rock and psychedelia, and their influences ranging far and wide. They’re tight and powerful onstage and they performed sterling renditions of ‘Golden Thread’, ‘Everything Is Wonderful’, ‘1991’ and ‘What A Time To Be Alive’. A fine set indeed.
Penguin Café, featuring Caravan man Geoffrey Richardson on violin – happily not on spoons – couldn’t be more different. After an early-mid-afternoon of prog rock, the Penguins were a much more smooth operation with their well-played, soft sounding instrumentation to the fore. Tracks like ‘Song Of The Colonies’, ‘Greenfields’ and ‘Dirt’ were well received and the crowd took to them.
Troy Redfern pretty much exploded onto the stage and demonstrated exactly why he’s feted as a blues-based rock guitar man, with a blistering opening of ‘Shake It Up Baby’ and ‘Native’. Like Zac Schultze, he also covered an old blues classic in a way unrecognisable from the original, as he performed Son House’s ‘John the Revelator’, though it’s still a fine version, before rounding off a lively set with ‘Come On’, ‘Sweet Carolina’ and an extended ‘Sanctify’, where he went off into guitar hero mode.
The contrast continued. Lifesigns have always been one of prog rock’s more cerebral pleasures. They’re a class act and their set was sheer delight – for this reviewer one of the best performances of the whole three days. They began with ‘N’ from their debut album and continued with tracks like ‘Impossible’, ‘At The End Of The World’, ‘Shoreline’ and ‘Fortitude’, before concluding with John Young’s ‘Last One Home’. The playing of each musician is exemplary, particularly Dave Bainbridge’s guitar work, and they played a gorgeous set.
And then, similar to Friday, a surprise package, Will Wilde. He and his band played raucous bluesy jazzy rock, with Will blowing a mean blues harp. The track ‘Wild Man’ summed Will up as he prowled the stage playing his harp. They played ‘The Blues Is Still Alive’ and a blistering version of Muddy Waters’ ‘Hoochie Coochie Man’ – one of the best versions I’ve heard – before ‘I Believe I’m In Love With You’, where they rocked out like Status Quo. They concluded with a driving version of Canned Heat’s ‘On The Road Again’, though the drum solo was unnecessary.
Headline act IQ are a prog colossus, one of the best working prog bands on the scene with their powerhouse sound and intense songs. In my perfect world, they’d be up there with Marillion and Porcupine Tree. Their set was drawn from across their 40-year career, and the opening film backdrop and recorded comments about Hiroshima told us they were starting with ‘Frequency’. They performed the title tracks from three other albums ‘Subterranea’ and ‘The Wake’, as well as a powerful rendition of ‘Road Of Bones’. They concluded a great set with ‘Never Land’ and ‘Ten Million Demons’. Same as Lifesigns, IQ are also a class act and, for me, they’re one of the best bands ever to top a bill at New Day.
SUNDAY
Caught up in heavy traffic heading to the coast, I arrived as openers Z Machine were concluding their set and, from what little I heard, they sounded like Van der Graaf Generator.
Splink played ‘no rules’ music, claiming to play ‘whatever feels good.’ They began with an instrumental, ‘Cosmosis’, and continued with the impressive ‘Sea of Iniquities’ and ‘Wandering Jews at Midnight’, before the neo-cowboy waltz, ‘Jeremy’s Been Shot’, concluding with ‘The Key’, which was lengthy and very proggy. They played a fine set indeed.
Doris Brendel followed. She’s been on the scene some time, but never seems to have made the breakthrough. But there’s no denying she has a powerful rock voice and she knows her way around. Tracks like ‘Latest Fantasy’ and ‘Why Are You Still Here’ were well received, as was her mid-set game of ‘Truth or Bollocks’ – she tells the crowd something and, when finished, the crowd have to shout out if it was true or bollocks. What she’d told us was true. She wound up her set with a pumping version of ‘The One’.
Having had to cancel her appearance last summer, this time around The KT Bush Band were here but KT herself was delayed, caught up in traffic (it wasn’t just me!). The band started without her, playing ‘Moving’, before KT (Sally Anne Hurst) finally arrived, and started with the gorgeous ‘Wow’. KT has really got Kate’s vocal style down tight and she gave us ‘Hounds of Love’, ‘Babooshka’ and ‘Strange Phenomena’ before concluding with THAT song.
Coming onstage looking like a gang from out of Peaky Blinders, Albion initially sounded like Jethro Tull, until I remembered Tull’s former guitarist Joe Parrish-James, and current guitarist Jack Clarke are both in the line-up. They’re a formidable mix of traditional folk and powerful hard rock. Their performance of a Sabbath medley, which included ‘Sabbath Bloody Sabbath’ and ‘War Pigs’, with Ozzy represented by the flute, was excellent, as were tracks like ‘Tahitian Xmas’ and ‘Pagan Spirit’. They concluded with a medley from Irish folk band Planxty, with the ‘Raggle Taggle Gypsy-O’ quite prominent.
Following Albion would have posed problems for many bands but The Members tried valiantly, offering us reminders of the punk days of the late 70s, and they concluded their set with the obligatory ‘Sound of The Suburbs’.
Then it was time to go ‘Down to The Doctors.’ Dr Feelgood may have no original members, but they have the Feelgood’s swagger down to a T and, from ‘She Does It Right’, they gave us some of the Doctor’s best known tunes – ‘Down By The Jetty’, ‘I Can Tell’, ‘Going Back Home’, ‘Back in The Night’ and ‘Roxette’, and they played them well. A fine top heavy rhythm and blues set.
What a delight it was to see Man play ‘live’ again. They were at one time Britain’s answer to The Grateful Dead as they played lengthy, often stoned, sets. The only original member now is bassist Martin Ace, who led the band through a series of classic Man tunes, like ‘Spunk Rock’, ‘C’mon’, ‘Manillo’, ‘Many Are Called (but few get up)’ before winding up with ‘Bananas’. They’ve caught the spirit of seventies Man in some style and, if you closed your eyes, it could’ve been Mickey Jones and Deke Leonard playing onstage. The opening line to ‘Many Are Called’ – ‘look at this green fly, crawling ‘cross my page’ – is based on a true story!
Mostly Autumn followed. They’re a band who release consistently good albums but who never seem to get the acclaim they deserve, though not being signed to a major label probably doesn’t help. But, they’re a damn good ‘live’ band and, in Olivia Sparnenn, they possess one of prog’s finest female vocal talents, a lady with a golden voice and very easy on the eye. They’ve performed at New Day before and, from the reception they got, they’re clearly amongst friends. They played several well received pieces, including ‘Into The Stars’, ‘Western Skies’ and ‘Night Sky’ and finished with ‘When Tomorrow Dies’ and ‘Heroes Never Die’.
One of the original, and finest, purveyors of Jazz rock, Colosseum has had a chequered existence. Jon Hiseman and Dick Heckstall-Smith are sadly no longer with us, and Dave Greenslade has stepped back but, with Clempson, Farlowe and Clarke from the original band, they’re still a force onstage possessing some outstanding musicianship, which they demonstrated on lengthy pieces like ‘Lost Angeles’.
An extremely enjoyable weekend was concluded by the sonic assassins, Hawkwind. Their set was a mix of newer songs – ‘Changes (Burning suns and frozen waste)’, ‘Arrival in Utopia’, ‘There is Still Danger Here’ and ‘Underwater City’ – and much older songs – ‘Paradox’, ‘Assault and Battery’ and ‘Days of The Underground’, concluding with the follow up single to ‘Silver Machine’, ‘Urban Guerilla’, banned by the BBC in 1973 due to the ongoing terrorist situation of the time. Their set was accompanied by a dazzling array of colourful backdrops and a light show which illuminated the night sky wonderfully.
And then the festival ended. It’s the sheer diversity of music on offer which is what makes New Day such an amazing and special event – long may it continue.
