The siren towers majestically on the rock. There, where the Rhine meanders through lush grapevines, Loreley, who, according to legend, once guided passing boatmen into the afterlife, hypnotized by her mystical songs, cast a spell over 4000 progressive fans for a weekend.
Many here are die-hard followers, having traveled all the way from the UK, USA or Sweden to enjoy the somewhat outdated and timeless genre of music that flourished in the late 70’s and 80’s with bands like Pink Floyd, Emerson Lake & Palmer and Genesis had his creative big bang to celebrate.
The journey is inward
In addition to relaxed old-hippie tie-dye hemp looks, their band shirts tell stories of decadent prog rock cruises in the Caribbean (Cruise to the Edge). In front of the stage in the distance a lone headbanger can be seen shaking his sweaty hair. The predominantly academic audience (professors!) on the slope has brought mats with cushions, a retired police officer leans back in a camp chair and enjoys puffing on a joint. The journey here is more inward.
Prog rock, an eclectic genre mix of psych rock, classical, jazz, folk, electro and metal, follows its own laws and tempts you to think deeply and drift off into all corners of the psyche. Beyond all logic, you ask yourself not only once, how on earth do they just do it musically on stage and how it feels on top of mind-expanding substances, if it’s already incredibly trippy. Sweltering heat, which is at times mind-boggling and gives a kind of Alice in Wonderland experience, certainly plays its part. Peacefully grinning faces in every corner.
In the sound worlds of the French band Lazuli, it only becomes clear when approaching the stage and depending on the wind direction that the long-maned singer has no additional background singer, his voice sounds so strangely beautiful and feminine. Renaissance’s Annie Haslam and Pure Reason Revolution’s Chloë Alper also lend their beguiling female expression to the Loreley this weekend.
Highlight: Steve Hackett
For the finale on Saturday night, the long-awaited headliner and ex-guitar legend of Genesis, Steve Hackett (now 72 years old), in a gigantic two-hour symphonic journey through time, apart from the two solo intros “Every Day” and “Shadow of the Hierophant”, simply blasts the entire Genesis album “Seconds Out” out!
The best proof that rock simply ages well. Supported by his six-piece band ensemble, consisting of vampiric singer Nad Sylvan, Amanda Lehman, who plays guitar and partly sings like Kate Bush, Roger King (keyboards), Rob Townsend (saxophone and flute), Craig Blundell (ex-Pendragon, too Steven Wilson’s drummer), Jonas Reingold (bass and guitar, also with The Flower Kings) some tracks are updated and given the special Hacket Band spin. Especially on ‘I Know What I Like’ which has a wild jazz fusion middle section and ‘Los Endos¶’ with its now signature ‘WigOut’.
A magical weekend out of time.
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