PROG FOR PEART

There's a moment when Forgotten Gods' Mark Cunningham sings Everybody's Hero – written about Neil Peart – and we're reminded that great live music truly transcends the mundane and touches the soul.

- LEO TRIMMING

Prog For Peart raises money for Headcase Cancer Trust, which researches glioblastoma multiforme, the disease the Rush drummer died from in 2020. Cunningham, who also organises the event, has recently had his own experience with cancer and faced it with great stoicism. It's no wonder that today his vocals are soaked through with emotion, underlining the spirit that imbues this friendly annual gathering.

Tavananna warm up an already hot venue with intricate jazzy rock and a lineup that includes Dominic Sanderson Band keyboardist Embiye Adalı. She sings softly the exotic Turkish Tune and they finish with the crunching To The Ground.

Malta's Viper Soup Complex specialise in Grand Guignol-style rock tableaus, horrifying some and mystifying others. (See also the review of their London show on p106.)

The Wood Demons' beguiling mix of rock, folk and psychedelia calms proceedings; they're just as adept at subtle musical brush strokes alongside assertive rock, too. Simon Carbery sings emotively, while Naomi Belshaw's ethereal violin gives a spectral feel to the haunting Trickledown. John Silver's swirling Angels Of Peckham Rye feels like a nailed-on classic and captivates the crowd. They ambitiously finish with Nothing Between Us And Heaven from their latest album In Rabbits And Corners, which skilfully fuses differing strands with evolving psychedelic dynamics. Rick Startin's meditation on Italy and the magic of music gloriously fills 17 minutes.