ROSfest 2016 (US, Gettysburg) May 6.-8.

Riverside!  Is it time for a trip from Colorado to Pennsylvania??!  I've never been to one of these festivals, being in Colorado a.k.a. the-middle-of-nowhere.  Well, I did go on the first Cruise To The Edge, but perhaps its time for another.

RoSfest announces Kinetic Element as the Saturday night after hours party band

One of the popular traditions of RoSfest is the after-party at host hotel Aspire on Friday and Saturday night, and we are happy to announce that US band Kinetic Element will be the Saturday after-party band for 2016. In 2006 composer and keyboardist Mike Visaggio brought the members together to perform his music in a live setting, and they decided to form a band after discovering how much they enjoyed working with each other. Kinetic Element has released two full-length albums following their formation, "Powered By Light" and "Travelog" from 2009 and 2015 respectively. The latter in particular has received liberal amounts of critical acclaim, especially by those fond of the vintage symphonic progressive rock explored by bands such as Yes and ELP in the 1970's. Kinetic Element has been booked for the 2016 edition of the prestigious Terra Incognita festival in Canada on the strengths of this production.

Founder Mike Visaggio has been a regular guest at ROSfest for a number of years, and has frequently performed at the after-parties in more ad hoc band constellations. In 2016 he will be joined by bandmates Todd Russell (guitar), Mark Tupko (bass) and Michael Murray (drums), and Dimetrius LaFavors (Odin's Court) on lead vocals.. This event should be a real treat for those with affection for old school symphonic progressive rock.

US trio ZEBRA has been signed as the Sunday night headliner at RoSfest 2016

We're pleased to announce that veteran US threesome Zebra has been added to the bill of RoSfest 2016 as the Sunday night headliner.

Despite a history going back to the golden decade of the 1970's, Zebra isn't the most high profile name in the music business. Randy Jackson (vocals, guitars), Felix Hanemann (bass, keyboards, vocals) and Guy Gelso (drums, vocals) formed the band in 1975 and the very same musicians are in place some 40 years later, making them one of few bands that have such a long history without line-up alterations. They started out by playing cover songs by bands such as Led Zeppelin, Rush, and The Moody Blues. Although when they released their debut album in 1983 they were indeed often compared to Led Zeppelin, they developed their own trademark, harder edged sound. They continued making music in this vein on three more studio albums, the most recent of these being "IV" from 2003.

While not the most prolific recording unit, Zebra is still an active and tight live band. Their brand of sophisticated hard rock features elements that will sound familiar to listeners of bands such as Rush and Triumph, with occasional nods in the direction of Led Zeppelin tossed in for good measure. With a repertoire of short and vibrant songs, this is a band geared towards providing compelling, energetic live shows. Those who had the pleasure of seeing them perform on Cruise to the Edge in 2013 can testify to their prowess on stage.

Zebra is a band that has primarily been described as a hard rock band over the years, perhaps mainly due to the fact that progressive rock was something of an anathema in music marketing back when Zebra was at their most active as a recording band. We're looking forward to seeing them headline RoSfest, as we believe that a progressive rock festival is a setting where this fine veteran band will truly be at home.

"Zebra is a band that has kept going with the same members for 40 years, making them unsung American pioneers of a harder edged variety of progressive rock. We're extremely pleased to give Zebra this opportunity to shine in a setting where they should find a receptive audience able to appreciate their talents."

Windhawk wrote: Returning after 8 years Electric Strawbs ‘Hero & Heroine Live’ – American Tour Spring 2016

I so want to see this ... now do "Ghosts" for an encore!

moshkito wrote: Windhawk wrote: Returning after 8 years Electric Strawbs ‘Hero & Heroine Live’ – American Tour Spring 2016 I so want to see this ... now do "Ghosts" for an encore!

There tends to be a good crowd of Norwegians present. And some regulars from England.


Edited by Windhawk - February 02 2016 at 13:02

Ah, thank you for your answers Olav and Robert. :) 

Spock's Beard announced as replacement headliners for Saturday May 7th at ROSfest 2016

As many have suspected, the tragic and unexpected passing of Riverside’s Piotr Grudzinski have led to Riverside canceling all their remaining concerts in 2016, including their headliner slot on May 7th at Rosfest. We have the deepest understanding with the good folks in Riverside for making that decision. Again, we offer our condolences and sympathy to them and to the family and friends of the late Piotr Grudzinski.

Knowing that our audience has a desire to know who the replacement headliner will be, we are VERY excited to announce that (thankfully for us), Spock’s Beard was able to rearrange their schedule and become the new Saturday headliner.  While they did in fact headline at ROSfest last year, they have released a new album, “The Oblivion Particle”, to great reviews and will provide us with an original set to enjoy.  We are eternally grateful to them for realigning their plans for this first weekend of May, so that we could provide our audience with a quality headliner band. 

We sincerely hope that our audience will appreciate the efforts that the fine folks in Spock’s Beard need to take to be able to headline on Saturday night and that they will be given cheers and a reception worthy of being, literally, our knights in shining armor on this occasion.  In addition, we are planning to honor Riverside’s Piotr Grudzinski.  Details to follow. PLUS, one of the bands who could not join us this year will be announced as headliners for ROSfest 2017 during this year’s ROSfest weekend.  Look forward to seeing everyone at ROSfest!

Some last minute schedule alterations due to logistics problems for one of the bands.

.....

We have revised the RoSfest lineup for 2016.

Opening the festival on Friday May 6th is Kinetic Element and headlining on Friday is Magic Pie. We have also made changes to the after hour bands on both nights. 3rdegree will now be playing in the Saturday night after-hours spot and Out of the Beardspace will play the Friday night after-hours hootenanny. Saturday lineup stays the same. The lineup for Sunday has been revised to five bands

The new band schedule for Sunday May 8Th is as follows.

The Fringe 11:00 AM to 12:30 PM
Electric Strawbs 1:40 to 2:40 PM
Bent Knee 3:45 to 5 PM
Comedy of Errors 6:30 PM to 8 PM
Zebra 9:30 to 11:00 PM

Been hearing reports that Bent Knee went over very well with two standing ovations, a long line for autographs & selling all their merch though some thought they were too RIO (?), great to hear, makes me happy, great young band, going to see them in Boston on the 19th.