Orpheus Nine’s third ProgStock appearance celebrates the long-awaited release of Utopian Gothic, Act 1: Pipe Dreams and Guillotines.
The New Jersey quartet’s debut album, Transcendental Circus, arrived in 2017. “Symphonic American progressive rock rarely sounds as good as this,” wrote Kev Rowland, author of The Progressive Underground. PROG Magazine agreed, declaring that “Orpheus Nine are among the best bands ploughing this ageless furrow.”
Transcendental Circus graced the top 20 on ProgArchives and earned an Independent Prog Award nomination from Friday Night Progressive. Its six-part title suite came alive onstage in its entirety for the first time at ProgStock 2018.
O9 returned to ProgStock in 2022, introducing new music alongside early favorites. The Prog Report deemed their “texturally and narratively colorful” performance “easily among the most enjoyable acts of the festival.”
2023 took the band from Florida’s Prog on the Ranch to England’s Fusion 4. The Progressive Aspect called their latter set “a Prog masterclass” that was “full of complexity but easy on the ear and riveting to watch.”
This year, ProgStock attendees will be the first to hear Orpheus Nine’s brand new album, the first half of an epic prog rock opera. (O9 also promises that you won’t have to wait another eight years for Act 2!)
Band Lineup:
Jason Kresge – keyboards, lead vocals
Matt Ullestad – guitars
Tony Renda – bass, backing vocals
Mark DeGregory – drums, percussion, backing vocals
Discography:
Transcendental Circus (2017)
Utopian Gothic, Act 1: Pipe Dreams and Guillotines (2025)
Links:
Official Website: http://www.orpheusnine.com/
Bandcamp: https://orpheusnine.bandcamp.com/
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/orpheusnine
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/OrpheusNine
Instagram: www.instagram.com/orpheusnineofficial