NEARfest

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The North East Art Rock Festival, or NEARfest for short, is a two-day event celebrating the resurgence of art rock and eclectic music in the United States and around the world. The event is held annually in early summer in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, one hour north of Philadelphia. The festival was founded in the spring of 1998 by Robert LaDuca and Chad Hutchinson, with the first event occurring in 1999. NEARfest has quickly grown to become "the most prestigious progressive music festival in the world."

[edit] List of all festivals and performers

NEARfest 2007 (June 23 & 24, 2007)

Magma, Hawkwind, Pure Reason Revolution, Magenta, La Maschera di Cera, NeBeLNeST, Indukti, IZZ, Robert Rich, and Bob Drake
(Progressive Arts Preshow: Allan Holdsworth, Secret Oyster and One Shot)

NEARfest 2006

Keith Emerson, Ozric Tentacles, Ange, FM, Michael Manring, Richard Leo Johnson, Niacin, Riverside, Guapo, and KBB
(Progressive Arts Preshow: Hatfield and the North and The Tony Levin Band)

NEARfest 2005

Le Orme, IQ, Present, Kenso, Steve Roach, Matthew Parmenter, The Muffins, Frogg Cafe, Wobbler, and Knight Area
(Progressive Arts Preshow: PFM and Proto-Kaw)

NEARfest 2004

Strawbs, Univers Zero, Mike Keneally Band, Planet X, Richard Pinhas, Sean Malone, Metamorfosi, Pallas, Yezda Urfa, and Hidria Spacefolk
(Progressive Arts Preshow: The Musical Box)

NEARfest 2003

Camel, Magma, The Flower Kings, Änglagård, Kraan, Tunnels, Glass Hammer, Alamaailman Vasarat, High Wheel, and Sleepytime Gorilla Museum
(The Laser's Edge/Cuneiform Records Preshow: Miriodor, Woodenhead, and IZZ)

NEARfest 2002

Steve Hackett, Nektar, Echolyn, Caravan, Isildurs Bane, Enchant, Miriodor, Gerard, La Torre dell'Alchimista, and Spaced Out
(The Laser's Edge/Cuneiform Records Preshow: McGill/Manring/Stevens, Dr. Nerve, and Dysrythmia)

NEARfest 2001

Banco del Mutuo Soccorso, Porcupine Tree, Deus Ex Machina, After Crying, White Willow, California Guitar Trio with Tony Levin, Djam Karet, Birdsongs of the Mesozoic, The Underground Railroad, and Under the Sun
(Independently organized preshow: Land of Chocolate, The Red Masque, Electric Sheepdog and Wine of Nails)

NEARfest 2000

Transatlantic, Happy the Man, Anekdoten, Par Lindh Project, Iluvatar, Il Balletto di Bronzo, DFA, Thinking Plague, North Star, and Nexus (Argentina)
(Official Preshow: Echolyn and Priam)

NEARfest 1999

Spock's Beard, IQ, Solaris, Mastermind, Larry Fast, Crucible, Scott McGill's Hand Farm, Ice Age, Alaska, and Nathan Mahl

[edit] Facts & Trivia

To date, all NEARfests have been complete sellouts, some in as short as 30 minutes.

Since 2001, the ever-changing festival logo has been designed by British artist Roger Dean, famous for his work with Yes and Asia. The NEARfest 2000 logo was designed by Paul Whitehead, who is known for his album artwork for Van der Graaf Generator, Genesis, and Italian prog-rock band Le Orme. In addition to Roger Dean, Mark Wilkinson (Marillion and Fish album covers) displayed his art at NEARfest 2006.

NEARfest is held at the Zoellner Arts Center, at Lehigh University in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. The Baker Hall has a capacity of 1,002 seats.

In 2002 and 2003, NEARfest moved to Trenton, New Jersey at the Patriots Theater inside the Trenton War Memorial, which houses 1,850 seats.

Richard Williams, guitar player for Kansas, made a guest appearance at NEARfest 2003 with Glass Hammer and performed the song "Portrait (He Knew)".

Mike Portnoy of Dream Theater appeared at NEARfest 2004 to watch his old band mate Derek Sherinian play with his band Planet X. Mike also introduced the band before their performance.