NORTHERN PROG FEST
Meet Gert van Engelenburg, part of a team bringing international progressive sounds to a small Dutch village.
Continuing the legacy of a much-loved event is a tough challenge, but it’s one the organisers of the Northern Prog Festival found themselves facing five years ago. The intimate event, held at De Uthôf in the village of Siegerswoude, builds on the memories of Flamborough Head’s ProgFarm Festival which ran between 1997 and 2011 in nearby Bakkeveen. And just like its predecessor, it’s organised by a local band.
“ProgFarm was dearly missed by fans because it was the only prog event in the northern part of our country, so it seemed like a good idea to give them another opportunity to enjoy progressive rock,” reveals Leap Day keyboard player and NPF band booker Gert van Engelenburg. “The format is pretty much the same, the only difference is the venue and the people involved.”
Van Engelenburg grew up on a healthy diet of Genesis, Yes and King Crimson, and has brought his passion for live music to the festival. It’s down to him and drummer Koen Roozen to decide who’ll fill their compact four-band bill.
“Every year we face the same challenge: will we succeed in organising a financially healthy festival? Because the event is very small, we have a limited amount of money to spend. Of course, we want to have a great headliner and the search for an affordable one can be a real challenge, but I think we’ve managed to do this,” he says. “Sometimes it’s stressful, but it’s also very rewarding. Every year, we make new friends and we get to enjoy the music that we all love so much. We’re not trying to grow bigger and we try to keep the admission fee as low as possible. We just want to keep this festival going.”
Despite its size, the team make sure there’s an international flavour to the festival line-up with previous headliners including Galahad, Italy’s Il Castello Di Atlante and Poland’s Osada Vida. This November, it’s Brits IO Earth’s turn to take centre stage, but ask van Engelenburg what his dream line-up would be and there’s no hesitation.
“The perfect mix of styles for me would be The Flower Kings, Haken, Ozric Tentacles, Echolyn, and Leap Day, of course. Will it ever happen? Not a chance!” NRS
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“Sometimes it’s stressful, but it’s also very rewarding.”