NIAMH THE PROG NERD
This YouTuber’s passion for prog is opening new ears to music that most 19-year-olds might ignore.
When 19-year-old prog fan Niamh Burnett decided to share her passion for prog on YouTube, she wasn’t sure what to expect. Within days it was clear that her approach had an audience, and three months in she’d secured nearly 13,000 subscribers.
After starting her musical journey with heavy metal, she found herself “blown away” by Rush’s 2112. “I was used to short tracks, then I heard Rush open their album with a 20-minute track,” she recalls. “It really grabbed me – there was so much to break down!”
Partly through lockdown boredom, she decided to launch a YouTube channel in December. “I called myself ‘The Prog Nerd’ because that’s what I am,” she explains. “I woke up the next morning and I already had people asking about the music and asking about me, and it was really cool to see.”
Even interactions with a few angry “gatekeepers” – claiming prog isn’t for people like her – has had a positive spin. “It’s so stupid I just laugh,” she says. “And I’ve actually bonded with other people over the hate.”
Seeing a modern teenager’s wall adorned with posters of artists who have graced the cover of this magazine turns thoughts towards the well-known meme, “We might be old but we saw all the best bands.”
For Burnett, pride of place, both on her wall and the list of groups she’d loved to have seen live, goes to ELP. “I love the music, but also that they can create that big sound even though they’re a three-piece band,” she says before pausing to reconsider. “Either ELP or Genesis with Peter Gabriel.”
Young she may be, but her early-era interest is emphasised when she describes Dream Theater and Tool as “new” bands on the rise. “I’m still stuck in the 70s,” she admits, “but with new bands coming up all the time, it’ll help with my output. I review albums every Wednesday; people can go and research and listen, and that helps the bands.”
She adds of her online experience: “It’s so cool to see young people like myself liking the genre, and older people welcoming them in. I didn’t think anyone my age liked prog – all my friends hate it, although they’re very supportive of the channel.”
So maybe there’s hope for them yet!
“I didn’t think anyone my age liked prog – all my friends hate it.”