We’re happy to announce that individual day tickets have been made available for purchase. Please us the links below if you wish to only purchase tickets for either Friday or Saturday.

FRIDAY ONLY tickets please click here.

SATURDAY ONLY tickets please click here.

And remember, 2 day tickets can still be purchased using this link.

Crimson Glory is pleased to announce that they have confirmed the following special guest vocalists to perform with them during their headlining set at ProgPower USA X:

Wade Black (Crimson Glory/Leatherwolf)
Zak Stevens (Savatage/Circle II Circle)
Lance King (Pyramaze/Balance of Power)
Nils K. Rue (Pagan’s Mind)
Chris Salinas (Zero Hour/Power of Omens)
Ronny Monroe (Metal Church)
Andy B. Franck (Brainstorm/Symphorce/Ivanhoe)
Sean Peck (Cage)
Danilo Herbert (Mindflow)
Joakim Brodén (Sabaton)
Michael Eriksen (Circus Maximus)
David Vanlanding (Crimson Glory/Michael Schenker Group)

Additional guest singers will be announced as they are confirmed.

Also performing alongside the band will be guitarist Matt LaPorte (Jon Oliva’s Pain/Circle II Circle/Midnight) and keyboardist John Zahner (Crimson Glory/Savatage/Circle II Circle/Jon Oliva’s Pain), as well as bassist Nolen Strong and vocalist Danaë Saree.

The response of singers wanting to be a part of this has been nothing short of overwhelming, and we are very pleased with the lineup thus far. Indeed, we are both excited and honored to be sharing the stage with such incredibly talented people; each have made a name for themselves with their individual vocal stylings and we look forward to having them alongside us as we showcase Midnight’s extraordinary career with Crimson Glory.

As this is our only US show date scheduled for 2009, this promises to be a truly memorable show for long-time fans as well as the “new blood” with something for everybody, and we feel that Midnight would be very pleasantly surprised to know that so many gifted singers have stepped up to lend their unique voices to his tribute.

We realize that many ProgPower USA attendees were coming to this year’s fest to see specific bands, the absence of whom have allowed us this great opportunity to perform. It is our sincere hope that the varied lineup of guest performers we have selected will ensure that all who attend this year get something truly personal and special from our show.

Crimson Glory wishes to again extend their sincere thanks and gratitude to founder/promotor Glenn Harveston for offering this great opportunity to celebrate Midnight’s legendary legacy with our band, as well as for working so hard to keep this incredible festival going for ten years strong. We are proud to be a part of ProgPower USA, and we aim to help make this the most memorable and truly special ProgPower event since its inception.

Lastly, to all of our fans both diehard and new, we thank you for your amazing support: it is YOU who make Crimson Glory’s music truly eternal.
We’re looking forward to meeting those of you coming to the fest; we’ll see you in September!

–Jon Drenning, Ben Jackson, Dana Burnell and Wade Black

After nine shows, I think I have earned everyone’s trust and the right to speak brutally honest. In fact, I think this is what most fans want to hear: the truth. Nobody wants to hear another lame two sentence explanation about “visa problems.” I will not hide behind anything.

I have been doing my own visa applications since ProgPower USA IV for 75% of the roster. Hiring a professional company to do the visas for a single performance is prohibitive due to costs. Imagine paying $36,000 just for visas up front before any other expense is incurred. The process has become so convoluted and intricate that it pushes me to insanity’s edge at times. However, I have had no choice but to suck it up and deal with it in order to maintain the festival. I have never had a problem prior to this year with obtaining visas for bands that I have applied for myself. Think of how many bands that is over the last six years. This is the same model used by other successful festivals such as NEARfest. However, this year has left me questioning whether or not to continue with the festival after 2010.

We started the visa application process back in early May. It takes three weeks to obtain approval from AFM (American Federation of Musicians). Once that approval is obtained, you send it in along with your 40+ pages of paperwork for governmental processing. There is a 90 day window for this decision process. I received approval for the majority of the bands in early June. The process was moving regularly. I then received a request for “further information” on the remaining four bands in mid-June. That has happened once before about four years ago and I resolved it quickly. I scrambled and sent in an additional 25 pages of documentation including peer letters, reviews, etc. for each band in order to prove the designation request that I have always used.

I just received notification on Monday that the visa applications for Andre Matos, Vanden Plas, Tomorrow’s Eve, and Power Quest were denied.

Each individual case is reviewed by one person at the visa processing center. Evidently, if you get the right person, you have no problems. You get the wrong person and you get rejected. It’s as simple as that. There is no possible way to speak to any officer directly involved with your case to clarify, ask questions, etc. There is absolutely no method to the madness. How else can you explain how the remaining bands were approved with the standard documentation compared to the other bands that with more that failed? How else can you explain that I have never had a problem in the past using the exact same process and documentation? I have even had a situation in the past with half of a band approved (different nationality/consul) and the other half rejected initially based on the exact SAME documentation. Yes, you read that correctly. That proves that no two screeners follow the same reviewing standards.

Recently, there have been numerous articles on this same problem that all promoters are experiencing. I invite you to read the following article that describes this nightmare process:

http://thephoenix.com/Boston/News/63473-Immigrant-song/?page=2

I could appeal the cases. That costs an additional $700 per case and has a 30-60 day time frame for a decision. That would probably be money wasted as it is too close to the festival date with absolute no guarantees. In the case of Matos & Vanden Plas, I did seek out a professional consultation and was willing to pay the additional costs to get the processing completed within 30 days. They would seek out the a different designation that is used in all touring situations. I was going to do whatever it took to get them here. However, I just heard back from them and they do not believe it would be a quick and easy case based on the previous denial of the designation that I have been using for the past six years! The visa consultants told me I have been “lucky.” Evidently, I have been lucky for six years straight? If someone would have failed me previously, I would have done things a different way this year. I had no reason to believe otherwise. Even if the band was approved, there is no guarantee the visas would be received until mid-August. That would leave the bands only 2-3 weeks to complete their interview processes in their own country. In most countries, you must have the approval in hand before you even schedule your interviews. Once again, there would be no guarantees even if I spent an additional $5,000 per band on every possible last ditch attempt.

These bands did nothing wrong. I attempted to play by the rules and the government’s process failed me. A quick google search will find that I am not alone. I cannot wait until the last minute to fix this and risk further cancellations; nor will I do anything illegal to get a band in the country. That is not fair to the bands or to the fans. Each of these bands will be brought back in the future using a different process and designation. That is the only fair thing to do. I do not see this as a problem for the bands in the future. We are simply out of time for this year.

I take pride in my work. I take pride in doing things the right way. I take pride in this festival. I take pride in being honest with the fans who are family to me. This situation has hit me hard and caused me many sleepless nights. I sincerely apologize to everyone. All I can say is that I promise to do my best in the future to prevent this from happening again. I will make a decision on continuing the festival in 2011 based on how smoothly 2010 goes. I simply cannot have this happen again.

That said, the show must go on…

Crimson Glory has been selected as the new headliner for Friday night. This will be the band’s tribute show to honor and commemorate the musical legacy left behind by their recently departed brethren, Midnight. Wade Black, along with several guest vocalists, will join the band on stage to perform classics from the band’s entire career. The band promises to make this a once in a lifetime show.

Brazil’s MindFlow (with approved visas!) will take over the second slot on the first night of the show. The critically acclaimed progressive metal band will be debuting material from their upcoming release at the show.

American power metallers, Cage, will bring their crushing style of metal to the opening slot of the festival. Their most recent album, “Science of Annhilation,” continues to draw rave reviews from media all over the world.

Please note, the site will be updated over the next couple days to reflect the new lineup.

We’re pleased to announce that tickets for ProgPower USA X are now available!

You may purchase your tickets by clicking here (please use our link as it helps to support our show, thanks!)

We look forward to seeing you all in September!

It is with great pleasure that we announce the bands for ProgPower USA X, our 10th anniversary show.

This years event will be a mix of New Blood, and Returning Heroes.

Friday Night Lineup:
Andre Matos
Royal Hunt
Sabaton
Diablo Swing Orchestra
Tomorrow’s Eve
Power Quest

Saturday Night Lineup:
Fates Warning
Brainstorm
Pagan’s Mind
Orphaned Land
Circus Maximus

Full event details can be found in our event section. See you all in September!

The video will be shown on FRIDAY NIGHT immediately following the Amorphis set. Don’t miss out!

Thanks to everyone who purchased a ticket! If you were snoozing and didn’t make it in time to get your tickets, watch the forum for a “for sale” thread to pop up.

Don’t forget tickets are still available for the Hellish Rock Tour featuring Helloween, Gamma Ray and Manticora. There are also tickets available for Wednesday night’s show with Circle II Circle, Midnight (Ex-Crimson Glory) and Eclipsed By Sanity.

Visit the event section for ticket links and more info.

Once again, thank you everyone!