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It might not be the most obvious place to associate with a prog rock revival, but Lydney Town Hall in Gloucestershire is gaining a reputation among fans of the genre.

Since taking over as manager of the venue local man and prog rock enthusiast, Huw Lloyd Jones has steadily been booking more progressive rock bands to perform.

So why prog? Huw explains:

"A few years ago I listened to some old Genesis stuff almost by accident and thought actually this is pretty good, and then I started listening to prog again... Over the years it's replaced what else I'm listening to purely because there's so much depth to it."

"Then  10 or 15 years ago I discovered that there's a huge underground prog scene. Ironically prog is actually more punk than punk ever was, because prog is genuinely homemade and genuinely a cottage industry - it's music made by and for prog fans."

Bad Press

But wasn't prog all about 18 minute guitar solos and people dressed as wizards and pixies? Huw admits that the style of music has had a bad press ever since the late 1970s when punk came in:

Huw Lloyd Jones in action in 'Also Eden'

"Part of the problem is because it is such a broad church. The whole lot was swept out with the same broom. For Emerson, Lake and Palmer to have Persian carpet roadies - I can totally see where people were coming from when they said it had gone too far."

"But by the same token there is wonderful music from that period that has survived, and survived better than the punk and new wave that it was replaced with."

Now Huw is helping to pioneer the proggy revival in the Forest of Dean. In his capacity as manager of Lydney Town Hall he's bringing the genre to Gloucestershire.

"The prog scene - true original prog - is a small niche market. We have run the [Summer's End] Festival for the last couple of years in the Midlands. It's coming to Lydney this year cooincidentally because I'm managing Lydney Town Hall, and it's very much easier for me to do the two jobs in one place.

"But also because Lydney Town Hall is a remarkable venue - it's a lovely place. The sound is fantastic, and it's a very warm, pleasant ambience to be in."

Summer's End

If you fancy a fix of prog in 2008 the Summer's End Festival could be right up your street. It takes place between 26-28 September. Another highlight will be the recently reformed legendary rock band 'It Bites' who've built up a huge dedicated fan-base - they'll be in Lydney on 7 October.

And it's not just prog rock that you can experience at Lydney Town Hall - over the coming months acts scheduled to perform include folk legend John Tams, The Joe Loss Orchestra and The Counterfeit Stones. For more details follow the link on the right hand side of this page.

You can also listen to Huw Lloyd Jones' recent interview with John Rockley on Radio Gloucestershire by clicking on the link below.