BIG BIG Update – 21st Nov 2023

OK you wonderful folk, the wait is over. Time for some big news - are you sitting comfortably, then we’ll begin.

A number of things to cover, starting with…….

1) Line-Up Change

If you take a look at the new poster you will notice we have a change of headline act on Sunday March 3rd. The Magnificent Magenta are taking the place of Lifesigns.

Check out below the announcement from John Young:

An announcement from Lifesigns

Due to our late inclusion in the Cruise to the Edge Festival
in the USA we will sadly not be able to attend Fusion Festival 2024.
We would like to thank Steve, Lou and all those involved in the
festival for their understanding and patience.
We are thrilled that our slot at the festival has been taken by the
wonderful Magenta and we hope you all have a fabulous time.

Kindest wishes from us all

Now, you may recall I put out a post last week asking you to pick one from four bands and I realise it was probably a difficult choice as all four bands are absolutely amazing and worthy of a slot at Fusion, but prior to the post, I had already bounced the idea off Rob Reed so the fact that the majority of you went for Magenta was somewhat of an endorsement – and then some !!! We had to thrash out a few minor details before going live with the announcement, but I can well ‘n truly say that it is 100% confirmed that Magenta will be joining the fun on March 3rd next year.

2) Stourport Manor

Over the HRH Prog weekend, I had a number of people say they’d called the hotel only to be told that it’s sold out. This NOT true, BUT……..if you are booking the hotel yourself, you DO need to let them know you are attending the festival as they have blocked out the place for us (and another group) so if a member of the public calls, they will tell them it is sold out. Katie Hughes (Sales And Events Coordinator) has set this up and has given me a code you will need to use when you call so that staff will know you are staying there BECAUSE of the festival. The code is: FUSI010324

Obviously, if you’re staying there as part of our package deal, we will organise your booking reference for you etc. Just to revise the info: We have a special deal - £65 for a single room, £70 for a double/twin with breakfast. This is a significant saving on the standard rate, especially as it incorporates brekkie as well !!

Deluxe package ticket link: (3 nights, two full weekend passes)
https://store.fusionprogfestivals.com/product/fusion-5-deluxe-package-march-1st-to-3rd-2024/

3) Foodies

I may have already mentioned that we have Panda Catering (Chinese street food) joining us along with Calàbbria Pizza and Emma from The Peaky Grinder providing a much needed caffeine fix with her superb range of Coffees. Joining us INSIDE the venue, we have Sam Best from Best's Jamaican Cuisine who will be doing JACKET POTATOES, with a selection of fillings (coz you guys asked for it, we’re providing it LOL – especially after some of you told us how much you loved this years spuds, especially if you have an allergy to flour (we know who you are 😉 😉 )) Let’s just say, if you go thirsty or hungry, you will only have yourself to blame…………

4) Fusion 6: March 7th – 9th 2025 (VIP tickets)

The lineup for 2025 is now FULL – and what a lineup it is !! We don’t usually put the tickets up for sale until the Sunday of the festival, but a number of you have asked about VIP, so we have put VIP up for sale ONLY. There are only 36 places for VIP in total and at this moment in time, we have 22 seats left. Once they are all gone, we will not be putting standard tickets up for sale until the weekend of Fusion 5. We have released a partial line-up to whet your appetite, but once again you’ll have to wait until next March to discover the full line-up, accompanied by a huge fanfare of robotic trumpets, heavenly choirs and massed mellotrons (we wish !!).

Just to remind you: VIP access entitles you to a guaranteed seat at a table, free water and early access. We do NOT provide dancing girls, your own personal magician and exotic fruits, but may be persuaded to hand over a bag of Haribo to share out – 1 per table.

Here’s the link: https://store.fusionprogfestivals.com/product/fusion-6-7th-to-9th-march-2025-vip-pre-order-limited-offer/

5) Booked seats

If you have paid for a reserved seat (£5 supplement) can you please make sure you let us know via email (steve@fusionprogfestivals.com) where you want/need to sit (near the toilets, by a radiator, at the front etc) so we can ensure your seat is suitably labelled and allocated prior to your arrival. This will be your seat for the entire weekend. If you’ve already paid for a standard ticket (basically, you sit or stand where you can) and decide you would prefer your own seat for the entire weekend, there is an option to purchase a reserved seat on our ticket page - https://store.fusionprogfestivals.com/product/fusion5tickets/

6) Sound and Light

Giglight joined us for the very first time this year and will be returning next year along with their incredible video wall, but this time – they’re bringing LASERS !! Al Dawkins from Cannock Sound Hire and his bunch of tech wizards will be handing the sound and doing a wonderful job as ever.

7) After Gig Party

I think I may have already mentioned this, but once again we will be descending on Worleys at The Swan at the top of Stourport High Street for the Friday and Saturday evening, after the last band have done their thing. This year, the place was heaving, both nights. It will be opened exclusively for us, so on arrival simply flash your wrist band and in you go. License is until 2.00am and we will be asking HC Transfers to be available for ferrying you lot back to your accom, in exchange for a few shekels !!

8) GigJuice - Live music platform

This is a platform we have been working on the past few years and it it grows substantially every week. I realise there are customers out there who DON'T use Facebook, so we will be putting out ALL our updates on both Facebook AND Gigjuice. I'd be grateful if you could put the word out there. It's totally FREE to join and there are no adverts - HAPPY DAYS !! A one-stop shop for bands, venues, promotors, punters to sell, buy, post, and share - music, videos, tour information, album releases - you name it !!!

Here's the link: www.gigjuice.com


That's about it for now folks. Not long to go now, have and amazing rest of the year and any further changes or updates - you'll hear it here first. Wishing you all a VERY Merry Progmas and a Happy New Year.

Much love, Steve & Lou (and the rest of the team) xxx

Good morning all. BIG update on the way at 6.00pm TODAY (21st) - Stay tuned.
www.fusionprogfestivals.com

STOP PRESS !!

Spock’s Beard announce UK tour dates & MidWinter Prog Festival headline appearance

Legendary US progressive rockers Spock’s Beard are pleased to announce they will return to the UK in early 2024 for a run of headline shows. These shows will coincide with their appearance headlining Midwinter Prog Festival in Utrecht, Netherlands on the 3rd February 2024.

The band had this to say: “Spock's Beard is super stoked to announce our upcoming UK tour and NL show! It's been wayyy too long, we can't wait to see our UK and NL friends again!

These dates are firm, we WILL be there. Hope you will be too, we must ROCK!”

The full list of shows can be found below, tickets on sale now.

26/01 - UK Milton Keynes, Crauford Arms

27/01 - UK Glasgow, Classic Grand

28/01 - UK Leeds, Brudenell Social Club

30/01 - UK Bristol, Thekla

31/01 - UK Nottingham, Rescue Rooms

01/02 - UK London, 229

03/02 – NL Utrecht, Midwinter Prog Festival – Tivoli

BIG NEWS coming soon regarding next year's Fusion 5 event folks. Stay tuned, stay proggy. Steve & Lou xx

This weekend (November 9th - 12th) we'll be down in Great Yarmouth for HRH Prog 12 with an incredible line-up. Delayed from April 2022 and victim of a vast number of band drop-outs, there's still a healthy line up worth checking out including Tangerine Dream as one of the headliners, in a rare live performance. Look forward to seeing some of you there x

Hey guys, you SO need to check out the upcoming gig from Tim Bowness at 45 Live on 20th January 2024. Featuring the legends Andy Edwards (Rain, Magenta, Frost*, IQ, Robert Plant etc), John Jowitt (Rain, IQ, Arena, Frost*, Uriah Heep and so on), Matt Stevens (Fierce & The Dead), Rob Groucutt (Rain - son of Kelly Groucutt from ELO) and of course the mighty TIM BOWNESS (No Man). These guys are blowing the rooves off every gig they play and have a sold out gig at Hope and Anchor in London on January 27th.

You'd be a fool to miss this.................