Coming to The Musician in May 2022

In over a quarter century of touring, multi-award winner Ian Siegal’s mission statement has barely changed: songs that are real, shows that resonate, vocals served raw. Today he is considered by many to be the most compelling British blues artiste since the sixties. Classic Rock tags Siegal “a national treasure” and MOJO magazine ranks him “the cleverest writer and most magnetic blues performer in the UK.” He has performed in some 50 countries and amassed a trophy haul that includes two UK Blues Awards, 10 British Blues Awards, four European Blues Awards, two Mojo Blues Albums of the Year and three US Blues Music Awards nominations.

They say you can’t sing the Blues until you’ve lived the life and when Siegal steps up to the mic, you can hear the slings and arrows. He commands the stage in a way few artists alive today can, with sweat, passion, humour, incendiary slide guitar and a soul-infused voice big enough to fell trees. Each year his influence spreads further, but what sticks most in Ian’s mind is his guest appearance at London’s Jazz Café with 92-year old Pinetop Perkins and other remaining members of Muddy Waters’ band. These legends of post-war Blues later spontaneously joined Ian on stage for what turned into a memorable hour-long festival set in Norway.

Paul Menel And The Essentials are a progressive Rock Band formed by the former vocalist from IQ between 1985 and 1989. Paul featured on the most successful IQ albums namely Nomzamo and Are You Sitting Comfortably?
2022 is the 35 anniversary of the release of Nomzamo
Paul and his band will be performing songs from their latest album Spares Parts For Broken Hearts along with the whole of Nomzamo on the current tour along with selected IQ Classics.
Vocals
Paul Menel
(ex IQ 1985 -1989/Great Outdoors/PMB)
Drums;
Fudge Smith
(ex Pendragon)
Bass:
Jordan Brown
(ex Hayley Griffiths Band, Rube Goldberg Machine)
Guitar:
Gareth Cole
(Fractal Mirror, Bardic Depths, Drifiting Sun)
Guitar
Marcella Arganse
(Mr Punch, Ubi Maior
Keys;
Rob McDowall.
Support comes from local Leicester Electronic pop artist Caroline McLavy.

Charm of Finches from Melbourne, Australia, make intricate, dreamy indie folk with many stringed things, awash with seamless blood harmonies traversing melancholy and wonder in equal measure. The sister duo, Mabel and Ivy Windred-Wornes, grew up busking old time tunes and singing on festival stages around Australia.

Their 2019 sophomore album Your Company won the 2020 Independent Music Awards' Best Folk/Singer-Songwriter Album and was nominated for the 2020 Music Victoria Best Folk Album Award and 2020 Australian Music Prize.

Their music has featured on ABC TV, ABC RN, Triple J, Double J and championed by community radio stations around Australia. They recorded their third full length album "Wonderful Oblivion" at home while working remotely with acclaimed Canadian producer Daniel Ledwell. It will be released 22nd October through New York-based label AntiFragile Music.

“folk purity...affecting and emotional” The Music

“Melbourne sister duo Charm of Finches radiates an otherworldly temperament. It’s as if their music and words bear ancient fruits of wisdom from the past, present and future all delicately intertwined to create timeless and masterful compositions that touch the depths of your soul” Earmilk

The three gentle giants of the Leicester acoustic scene return to The Musician nearly 5 years on from their last stunning concert here. Each play a set, each with their own individually honed style of magical songs to warm the heart and lift the spirit.

chrisconway.org

andygriffiths.bandcamp.com

steveparkermusic.bandcamp.com

.

Three parts English, one part Orkney, Looma play acoustic roots and folk music from the swamps of Louisiana to the Swedish midnight sun, and everywhere in between. Bringing together folk, blues, cajun, bluegrass and country traditions, as well as original songs, Looma mix driving energy with strong vocals and foot-tapping tunes.

Liz Logie (piano/ accordion/percussion) is an Orcadian who has played the accordion since she was ten, being inspired by her father who was a well-known Orkney accordion player.

Mark Theobald (harmonica/ukelele/vocals) was a National Harmonica League 'Player of the Year' in 2013 and 2014, playing Irish and blues music.

Bob Gilmour-Evans (guitar/vocals) has been performing and writing songs since he was a teenager, recording his own album and guesting on many others.

Tim Garland (cittern/fiddle/vocals) has been performing traditional and self penned material for over thirty years, both as a founder member of radical folk group Fieldwork and with Kasutima Ceilidh band, playing nationally at clubs and festivals. He has also performed regularly as a solo artist and in a duo with Indian percussionist Nitin Odedra.

Following on from last July's sold out 'An evening with' show, legendary Quireboys frontman Spike returns to the Musician accompanied by guitarist Chris Heilmann as part of a new tour showcasing his late night stories and late night songs.

Since 1982, Spike has rocked all over the world bringing his deep boozy bluesy vocals to all manner of parties. Best known as the lead singer with the Quireboys, he tells stories of a life of rock 'n' roll highs and lows. Along with some of your Quireboys favourites, Spike will regale you with songs and stories from his life on the road with the Quireboys, touring the world with the Rolling Stones through to Guns 'N' Roses. Each show is unique and will shine a light will shine a different light on a career which could have burned out with excess yet shines even brighter now than ever.

Over the past decades, Diesel Park West have delighted and confounded their loyal fans and critics alike, converting first-time audiences into avid followers with their dynamic stage presence and electric set lists. For many people the most enigmatic band from the late eighties still performing today, the psychedelic guitar ground they occupied was often dismissed as a throwback to the mid-sixties. The beating heart of rock ‘n’ roll is now far more aware of their real significance and any live performance by the band is an event worth seeing.

It's now 2022 and Diesel Park West are gearing up for album number 10, 'Not Quite The American Dream', released by Texas based label Palo Santo Records. With this wealth of material and the hippest cover versions imaginable, Diesel Park West continue to prove beyond a doubt that they really are the torchbearers for an entire genre.

"How did we ever let this band fall through the cracks?" - Classic Rock Magazine

"If there are any better rock bands than this in Britain today, I'd like to hear them" - London Evening Standard

"Filtering out all the least embarrassing features of West-Coast leaning sixties rock, Diesel Park West harmonise like the Byrds, string the couplets together like Lennon and McCartney" - The Independent

Four of the leading improvisers in the city, Leonie DuBarry-Gurr, Lee Spreadbury, Jim
Tetlow and Kevin Hewick come together in a unique improvised collaboration. It will be a happening! Music to dream by...

True Songs and a Lie: an interactive storytelling concert adventure!

Austin-based troubadour Rebecca Loebe is many things: an award-winning songwriter, a celebrated vocalist, an enthusiastic gardener, a world-traveling performer and, occasionally, a liar.

It started during lockdown when after a decade as a full-time touring songwriter, she saw over 150 concerts canceled in the blink of an eye. “My entire profession disappeared overnight,” she says. So she had to get creative.

Falling back on her university degree in audio engineering, and camera experience she picked up as a contestant on the first season of NBC’s “The Voice,” Loebe outfitted her home office into a broadcast studio and began performing online concerts to her fans around the world.

“Rebecca Loebe has an almost supernatural ability to get the crowd singing along.” - KUTX Austin

“Your voice should be available free on the National Health!” - BBC Devon

"Jerry Joseph is a triple threat — someone who works at the highest levels as a songwriter, singer, and player,” Jason Isbell

"One of the greatest live performers I have ever seen and long one of my favourite songwriters, one of the absolute best of our generation." Patterson Hood (Drive-By Truckers)

“Perfect” Americana Album of the Month 8/10 UNCUT 4/5 Mojo

"Not just a very good album; it is an exceptional one" 9/10 Americana UK

“A Masterpiece, contender for album of the year” Folk Radio UK

'Candidate For Album of the Year' 9/10 God Is In the TV

We welcome Jerry to Leicester on one of his nights off from The Delines tour. He is getting ready for Drive By Truckers shows.

Jerry Joseph is a venerated songwriter Stateside, and yet pretty much unknown here, but that is going to change with this album.

You’ve probably never heard of veteran rocker Jerry Joseph, but across the Atlantic he’s venerated by Drive-By Truckers’ Patterson Hood and his former band mate Jason Isbell as one of best songwriters and live perfumers they’ve ever seen…so who are we to disagree with such good judges?

This is Joseph’s state of the union address, and Days of Heaven has a touch of the Mellencamp about it as he recalls how he wrote it on his brother’s porch with a 45 by his side in case the local drug dealers came a calling.

Bone Towers is a mid-tempo brutally honest reflection on a broken relationship before this record lifts off with the epic, visceral Sugar Smacks. Imagine a James Ellroy or Don Winslow novel set to music, and you get near how powerful this song is as Joseph lets rip at our fucked up world, which he has seen for himself as he as toured some of the world’s trouble spot with his charity foundation

It sounds a bit hokey, but it is actually a brilliant offbeat reflection on why monuments to men who thought ‘buying and selling humans was good work if you could get it’ need to be pulled down. The decades long ‘rebel pride’ represented by these bits of metal dissipates as the statue is hauled off to the scrap yard.

You can see why Woody Harrelson is such a big fan as this well crafted and angry record is going to break Jerry Joseph over here, so get down early to next year’s Drive-By Trucker shows in the UK where he is the support.

Virtuoso banjo player and fiddler Aaron Jonah Lewis has been elbow-deep in traditional American music since their first lessons at the age of five with Kentucky native Robert Oppelt. Their concerts take audiences on a journey through the back roads of American old time and folk music, with detours through ragtime and early jazz. Aaron is passionate about sharing early fingerstyle banjo music. They bring light to the fact that classic banjo was the most popular form of music a hundred years ago, though today it’s almost entirely forgotten. They are “trying to keep (classic banjo) alive and spread it around, as it’s a delightful style that brings joy and connects us to the depth of our shared American history.”

Leicester Jazz House Present:
Dominic Ashworth studied guitar at the University of Toronto, Canada, and the Guildhall School of Music and Drama. He is an active freelance player who has worked with Carol Kidd, Jacqui Dankworth, Dave Cliff and Janette Mason. Dominic is also a composer, and has written and recorded many original works for radio and television and performs with orginal guitar trio Digtal Moves. He performs in London with groups such as Julian Stringle’s Pathfinder, the Mick Foster Group, Digby Fairweather’s Half Dozen and Michael Garrick’s Big Band & Quartet.

Lineup
Dominic Ashworth Guitar

Steve Rushton Drums

Alex Keen Bass

Dorian Ford Piano

Boo Hewerdine is a singer-songwriter of considerable repute. Writer of such masterpieces as Patience of Angels (Eddi Reader) and Harvest Gypsies (Kris Drever) as well as songs for the likes of k.d. lang, Chris Difford, Jerry Douglas and Mary Chapin Carpenter, he's been producing great music for more than three decades and his shows feature material from across his career. Wry, funny, a greatly underrated guitar player, his live shows are an absolute joy and not to be missed.

"One of the country’s most consistently admired songwriters" - Folk Radio UK

"If I could write books that sounded like this, I'd be... maybe not happy, but very, very fulfilled" - Nick Hornby, author of Fever Pitch and High Fidelity

HAHHAN BRINE
Originally from Leicester, this is folk-pop singer Hannah Brine’s debut at the Musician.
Likened to artists such as Joni Mitchell, Sara Bareilles and Rumer, Hannah has opened for award-winning Irish folk group Blazin’ Fiddles, has performed with Gary Barlow on Strictly Come Dancing, the Royal Variety Show and the Olivier Awards and provided backing vocals for Danni Nicholls at the Americana Awards.

Hannah writes with No. 1 selling writers both in the UK and in Nashville, and her song ‘You & I’ with Ciaran McAuley & Roger Shah topped the world wide trance charts in April 2022.She also composes for choirs and 'Ray of Sunlight’ was recently performed by the London Symphony Orchestra’s Discovery Youth Choir.



Warming up for Boo, Hannah will perform some of her best-loved singles including ‘Circles’ and ’When You Know You Know’,which have both been BBC Radio Leicester Introducing as Track of the Week.

"Cute band name", you say? Trust us: there’s nothing moth-like about these guys. Expect sharp, chunky modern hard rock all mixed up with the grungy goodness of the 90s which makes you think of Halestorm, Foo Fighters, alongside the femme power of Deap Vally and PJ Harvey. Marisa And The Moths are a new alt-rock band on the scene, supercharged with an outstanding stage presence and filthy, gritty sound.

Since their debut in 2019 with Skin, they've already rapidly garnered a following which continues to grow at pace. Formed by Marisa Rodriguez and based in Reading, The Moths have been on Kerrang ‘Fresh Blood’ as Artist of the Week, have had a feature in Classic Rock Magazine 269 and even featured on the cover CD. The band have already completed their first two UK headline tours, selling out 100-300 capacity venues across the UK.
Despite adversity, Marisa And The Moths have kept their buzz alive and growing throughout the trials and tribulations of 2020, hosting livestream events, releasing a deluxe edition of their debut self-titled album, multiple music videos, and building hype for their 2nd album in the making.

The Faces of Sarah, Last July, Chaos Bleak, The Glasshouse Museum, Gothzilla and The Vaulted Skies line up for the fantastic All That is Divine Festival II.

Join us for a day of fine Goth/post-punk/Goth metal with these superb six acts.

Legendary Jazz DJ Paul Murphy
“I really dug it… Highly recommended!”

Sarah Evans - Radio Alhara/Gilles Peterson’s Producer
“This. This is where it’s at! Spiritual
Jazz from the East Midlands! Big up Leicester! This record in incredible!”

Javi Bayo at Feten Radio “What an amazing record… such a beautiful piece of music.”

Twisted Soul Music
“An incredible LP… Seven tracks of uniquely original music… Album Of
The Week - A fascinating listen from start to finish.”

UK Vibe
“Eclectic, eccentric, sometimes beautiful, sometimes bewildering but always totally engrossing…Ancient Tribal Hearts is an upbeat and life-affirming experience… My favourite album of the year so far”.

Dublab
“The record EVERYONE is talking about”

Justin Turford Truth and Lies
“A remarkable record really. A ‘concept’ with heart and beauty at
its core, delivered with belief, imagination and joyful energy.” 10/10

Ka Safar is a 13-piece world jazz band based in Leicester, UK. With compositions and direction by bandleader Lee Boyd Allatson, improvisation is core to the group’s aesthetic whilst drawing on inspiration from all corners of music’s geography and history, including free jazz,
Afrofuturism, ancient Greek and Roman musics, Latin American styles, fused with funk, Indian
and Japanese influences. Their performances include theatrical outfits, psychedelic lighting and dance to augment the music, along with spoken word and lyrical narratives of inclusivity, spiritualism, love and humanity.

The name Ka Safar is derived from two origins: ‘Ka’ is the ancient Egyptian God of ‘the vital spark of the spirit’ and ‘Safar’ is Arabic for ‘journey’. Ka Safar = ‘spirit journey’.

Formed by Allatson in 2017, early repertoire included tunes by Alice Coltrane, Joe Henderson,
Pharaoh Sanders, Mulatu Astatke and Johnny Dyani. The band quickly began to develop their own sound, built around Allatson’s compositions and tailored approaches to improvisation. Ka
Safar’s first releases were through Bandcamp, gaining airplay on BBC3 and various internet
stations. Live performances have included UK jazz clubs, festivals and hosting their own regular monthly club night, ‘CASBAH!’.

In 2021, Allatson was approached by Spanish label 2 Headed Deer to produce a full length Ka
Safar album: ‘Ancient Tribal Hearts’ was released worldwide in January 2022 on vinyl, CD and digital download, bringing the band international press and radio attention.

Led by Lee Allatson (drum set) with regular collective members: Mellow Baku (vocals), Kulvir Bhambra (percussion), Miranda Booth (harp), Tony Booth (narration), Benjamin Dady (sax), Satya-Sara Khachik (dance), Shiven Limbachia (violin), Tony Looby (flute), Fino Lopes (bass), Dana Morgan (flute), Jonathan Read (trumpet), Gary Reader (sax), Khia Spencer (dance), Alan Tang (violin) and Hari Trivedi (tabla).

Ka Safar members have worked with the likes of: Jazz Warriors, Bill Drummond, David Murray, The Specials, George Martin, Paul Dunmall, Prince Buster, Dandy Warhols, Uptown Ska Collective, Alan Wilkinson, Laurel Aitken, Gomez, Derrick Morgan and Dawn Penn.

Leicester is the UK’s most multicultural city and the band reflects this with members’ heritage from Antigua, China, England, Gujarat, Inuvialuit Region, Iran, Portugal, Scotland and Trinidad.

The London-based trio Trident Waters are one of the rising stars of the New Wave Of Classic Rock scene. Trident Waters despatch an engrossing classic-rock sound that is underpinned by edgy blues rock. In the over-saturated ‘Rock World’ there are not many bands have the capability and musicianship to stand out from the crowd. Trident Waters achieve this very feat. Playing passionate, powerful hook laden tracks, blazing a trail ahead of many of their contemporaries.

Trident Waters 2021 debut album, Opus Armada, was released 15th October 2021. The album was recorded at Brighton Electric, engineered by George Donoghue (Water Bear College, Sonic Workshops) mixed by Kevin Shirley (Joe Bonamassa, Iron Maiden, Rush, Led Zeppelin) and mastered by Peter Maher (Rolling Stones, U2, Katy Perry).

“Should put a smile on the face of anyone who appreciates Rival Sons at their dirtiest or Joe Bonamassa at his most fierce” — Wyatt Wendels, Planet Rock

Award winning Scottish singer songwriter Dean Owens is one of UK’s finest troubadours, with fans including authors Irvine Welsh and Ian Rankin, and BBC legend Bob Harris.

Hard to pin down to a particular genre, his music is a unique blend of Scottish roots and Americana – the unfettered enthusiasm of a rock n roller coupled with the sympathetic delivery of folk’s best storytellers. A compelling performer, with a searingly soulful voice that is warm, subtle and powerful.

He’s joined by regular collaborator, guitar maestro Jim Maving (Case Hardin, Don Gallardo), on electric, delta slide and mandolin. Two outstanding live performers, their gigs are marked by a joyous onstage chemistry, and exuberant standing ovations.

Dean’s music has taken him all over the world, particularly across the USA, where he has made most of his 8 solo albums, including the celebrated Sinner’s Shrine (2022), recorded with “desert noir” legends Calexico, adding some Latin/mariachi tones to his musical palette.

the pulse of all our lives… Irvine Welsh

Best UK Act of 2021 – Americana UK Readers Poll

UK Song of the Year Award 2019 - UK Americana Music Association

Terry Slesser, one of the country’s finest rock and blues vocalists, performing in tribute to his bandmate and friend the late, great Paul Kossoff - one of the greatest rock blues guitarists of all time. Celebrating Paul Kossoff’s entire career, the show features songs from his early days in FREE (including rock classics ALL RIGHT NOW, WISHING WELL, FIRE AND WATER etc.) through to songs from BACK STREET CRAWLER, the band Kossoff formed alongside Terry Slesser. Terry Slesser remains both a star and a master craftsman. As Paul Kossoff’s close friend and vocalist of choice, he has every right to sing every song performed by this band. Terry has assembled a great team of musicians to willingly assist him in keeping alive the memory of Paul Kossoff.

The band also features: John ‘Rhino’ Edwards, bassist with the world-famous Status Quo, Judie Tzuke, Dexy’s and Peter Green. Drummer Clive Edwards, whose resumé includes UFO, Wild Horses, Uli Jon Roth, Pat Travers. Guitarist John Buckton is relatively unknown in comparison to his band mates, but was recently reviewed as "one of the very best guitarists in British rock blues today, with a style that’s tasteful and subtle, yet which wails with true blues aggression". SIMON KIRKE himself has already said that were FREE ever to reform, John would be his choice. This is no two-bit collection of raggle-taggle pub-rock wannabes playing cover versions. This an authentic supergroup, and to all intents and purposes a direct continuation of BACK STREET CRAWLER.

Willy Porter has been turning first time listeners into die hard fans for more than two decades, blurring the line between indie-folk and rock with his searing signature finger-picking guitar sound, absorbing lyrics, and playful, high-energy live performance style. He has shared world stages with music icons Jeff Beck, Tori Amos & Paul Simon, carving out a successful solo career as an artist who makes music that resonates long after the last guitar chord fades.

Equally accomplished as a guitarist, singer, and songwriter, his songs weave a universal perspective about the questions, struggles and triumphs of human existence. His live shows are guitar-driven events - equal parts grit, soul and muscle - that are electrifying, dynamic and wholly original in the way that Willy’s voice blends and fuses with his virtuoso fret work.

"Porter is a dazzling acoustic guitarist with a moody baritone…" — The Washington Post

"Porter accentuates well – rendered tales with spit – fire – percussive acoustic guitar strumming and fiery color – chord picking." — Billboard

Ultimate Leppard are the U.K’s truest tribute to Def Leppard. Based in Leppard’s hometown of Sheffield, they re-create the most authentic sound yet, providing audiences with the ultimate Def Leppard experience. The band focuses primarily on the band's most successful era the 80’s and 90’s, playing songs from High 'N' Dry through to Adrenalize.

Experience an engaging and authentic musical feast featuring awesome vocal abilities, monster guitar riffs and a sound akin to the real thing. Costumes, mannerisms and the Def Leppard look are all re-created, although you won’t find any comedy wigs or gimmicks. These guys go all the way and guarantee the audience always get rocked!

Ultimate Leppard deliver atmosphere and authenticity in spades making this a show fans of the band won't want to miss.

This show has been rescheduled from 23/11/21 and all tickets for the original date remain valid.

Emily Duff’s small batch brand of Sweet & Sour Rock & Roll with a great big hit of Country Soul, digs deep, weaving a patchwork of sin, tragedy, romance and regret. A humble servant of song as well as a dark optimist, Emily is a prolific and unique voice at a crazy & crucial time. Born in Flushing Queens, NYC and raised by a pack of cigarettes, her Mama taught her four perfect chords and then ran off, leaving Emily to figure the rest out on her own.

Emily has recorded and released 5 records in the past 6 years. Two at FAME, the legendary Muscle Shoals, Alabama studio, one at NY Noise and two with producer, Eric “Roscoe” Ambel at his Brooklyn studio, Cowboy Technical Services. Her most recent record, “Razor Blade Smile” (July 23, 2021) produced by Eric “Roscoe” Ambel (Joan Jett, Blue Mountain, The Bottle Rockets, Del Lords) takes Emily back to her NYC Street-Punk-Rock-Roots, proving that great songwriting defies genres and transcends playlists.

“Songs of hard times and tough love. Heart and Soul. Honest and forthright.” - Lonesome Highway

“A roadhouse punk rocker — The Clash meets Jerry Lee Lewis” - No Depression

Ellie Gowers has been making an impression wherever she lands. Her music embeds a fierce energy that echoes the 60’s folk revival scene and she is known to hold pride of place on stage with her strong and lucent vocals. Her songs are built from a childhood love of literature and traditional folk song, but also discuss the more modern narratives of the present day. These influences fuse together to create a sound that has been deemed unique and incomparable.

In the last two years, Ellie has released the EP From Here on Outand followed that with her latest single Against the Tide which earned her a TedX talk. Both of these were welcomed with a good reception from listeners. These songs have been toured widely, both in headline shows and support slots for critically acclaimed artists, up and down the UK.

"A strong, crystal clear voice... an act to watch" - Bristol 24/7

"The absolute control and delicacy of her performance was amazing to watch" - Visit Coventry

"One young woman made a big impression on us this year. Ellie Gowers’ exquisite voice and unique vocal style was absolutely mesmerising. She’s one to watch." - Love Shrewsbury on Shrewsbury Folk Festival

Italian band Mr. Punch perform Fish era classics during the Marillion weekender.

Please note this is not part of the official Marillion event.

Prior to this, the launch of her debut album 'TIME', Leicester based solo artist and singer-songwriter Amy Dx has been busy. Releasing 3 singles last year and performing live and online during lockdown, she has had considerable time to reflect and focus her creative energy on her love for writing and playing music. In early 2020, Amy started to build an online presence posting audio and video of her creations and further collaborations with David Masson productions in late 2020 helped Amy further develop her sound. This culminated in her single 'I Wanted To' receiving considerable praise and positive feedback following airtime on Dean Jackson's BBC Introducing radio show.

Influenced by a wide range of indie/rock and grunge bands, Amy's debut album draws upon her influences creating a unique blend of ethereal vocals with an alternative rock sound. Joining Amy for tonight’s launch is Liverpool based singer-songwriter David Masson.

"I Wanted To is a brilliant new track by Amy Daniels, how have I never heard of her, remarkable!” - Dean Jackson, BBC Introducing

“Amy's sound resembles celtic vocals like Dolores O'Riordan with predominantly piano lead songs and sweet harmonies” - We Want Woman CIC, Liverpool

Italian band Mr. Punch perform Fish era classics during the Marillion weekender.

Please note this is not part of the official Marillion event.

Italian band Mr Punch perform Fish era classics during the Marillion weekender.

Please note this is not part of the official Marillion event.