First Band Announcements for ProgDay 2025!

(June 6, 2025)

We’re very happy to reveal the first three confirmed acts for ProgDay 2025, marking three decades of the world's longest-running progressive rock festival. Join us August 30-31, 2025, at the serene Storybook Farm in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, for a weekend of mind-expanding music beneath the summer sky.

Mono Means One

This explosive instrumental psychedelic prog trio was founded by bassist and composer John Ferrara, who is also known as the bass player and co-founder of the world fusion band "Consider the Source." The band includes John Ferrara on bass, Isaac Young on keyboards, and Rob Madore (also of PX3) on drums. They created their debut album, "Listless Playthings of Enormous Forces," by transforming a yurt into a fully functional recording studio, where they recorded eight tracks over two days. The music is a ferocious blend of technical math-rock, post-metal intensity, and jazz-informed improvisation. Since their formation in 2016, they've developed a reputation for visceral live performances that balance careful composition with raw, spontaneous energy.

The Twenty Committee

Carrying the torch for neo-classic progressive rock, the ensemble is influenced by music theater, Steven Wilson, Chick Corea, Neal Morse, Stephen Sondheim, and Isaac Asimov. The band released its debut, A Lifeblood Psalm, in 2014 featuring 23-minute epics, lush vocal harmonies, and rich symphonic keyboard textures. After a decade-long hiatus, their 2024 comeback The Cycle Undone signaled a triumphant return with even richer arrangements and lyrical depth, channeling the storytelling prowess of Big Big Train with the instrumental ambition of early Spock's Beard.

Inner Ear Brigade

This avant-garde collective creates some of the most joyously bizarre music in modern progressive circles. Their 2005 EP, Belly Brain, cites influences such as Magma, Sun Ra, and Frank Zappa. Their 2023 album Dromology was called "a carnival of the absurd meets conservatory-level virtuosity" (Avant Music News), featuring everything from complex odd-meter horn lines to theremin solos over math-rock grooves. Imagine if Frank Zappa, Henry Cow, and Sleepytime Gorilla Museum formed a supergroup with a New Orleans brass section. Led by composer/multi-instrumentalist Bill Wolter, their live shows are equal parts progressive metal intensity, jazz-club sophistication, and circus-like theatricality. Their most recent recording, Perkunas, continues their boundary-expanding explorations. Fans of Canterbury and jazz-rock won’t want to miss this one.