After opening for the prog rock band, Long Earth, at The Glad Cafe in Glasgow in May 2023, the band’s bass player, David, put an unexpected request to me in the summer of 2024 – if I’d be interested to step in as the band’s singer for their Autumn dates! Their singer wasn’t able to commit and they just had a new album out. I didn’t have to think about it for long – and said yes, of course!
There was a lot to do – the band’s set was an hour and the lyrics are elaborate, so there was a lot to memorise. On top of that, the band’s singer was a man, so I had to change some of the melodies to be able to sing them. I put in a lot of hours practising and enjoyed having to sing so regularly.
Lockerbie
Our first gig was at a hotel-turned-venue that’s home to the prog band, EBB, in Lockerbie on Friday 13 September. The venue is filled with strange artefacts and objects, and would be worth a visit just to have a look around. We were welcomed with dinner and cake. The stage was cosy, to say the least – I had to duck from the neck of the bass guitar a few times – and it was hard to hear myself through the monitor amidst all the other sound – I had forgotten that about being in a loud band! – but somehow managed to sing in tune according to the people in the room and we got really nice feedback. And thanks to my cheat sheets on the floor, I managed to remember all the lyrics. EBB themselves were very cool. Great to see and hear so many women rocking out and they certainly have a flair for performance!
Kirkaldy
Two weeks later, I hitched a ride with David to Kirkaldy, on the Scottish coast in Fife, where we played a gig alongside the Wizards of Prog and the Black Sails Collective. The venue was King’s Theatre, on the waterfront. After the soundcheck, I felt a bit out of place walking into town in my brown boots, long orange dress and matching eye shadow, but I really needed a cup of coffee! We were on second that evening. The sound was amazing, on stage and in the room, and all the positive feedback really made my day. The other bands sounded great too.
Summer’s End Progressive Rock Festival
These gigs led up to a performance at Summer’s End Progressive Rock Festival in Chepstow, South Wales – just over the bridge from Bristol – on Sunday 6 October. Who knew that this town, which I had visited twice before to explore its castle, ruined abbey and woods, was a centre of prog? We travelled down from Glasgow in a van the day before and arrived in time to watch some of the bands on Saturday night. We were one of the first bands to perform on Sunday afternoon, so we had to be at the venue early in the morning to soundcheck – in my case, aided by another cup of coffee. Before our performance, we were briefly whisked away to a cottage in town to record a fun podcast with Béla Alabástrom for DPRP.net.
We played our set as the venue was rapidly warming up under the hot stage lights. Our performance was captured by a small army of photographers, and enthusiastically received by the crowd. I was happy for the band that they sold many copies of their new album, An Ordinary Life, and was pleasantly surprised by the audience members purchasing my albums and EPs as well, even though we didn’t play any of my solo material.
We stayed around to see the other bands on Sunday. I loved seeing Hayley Griffiths and her band give a stellar performance, as well as Norwegian headliners Magic Pie, who are amazing musicians with a charismatic singer.
Still buzzing, the next morning I caught a bus to Bristol to see family and friends, while the guys headed back up to Glasgow.
A permanent position
In the following weeks, I was again happily surprised to hear my music on prog radio shows – both my new Dora Lachaise single, Red Door, and tracks from my albums. I was blown away by how welcoming the prog community is! We also got a great review in none other than Prog magazine.
Then, Long Earth’s singer announced his departure, and after some deliberation, the remaining members asked me to join – an offer too good to refuse! So that’s where we are now, writing new material and looking forward to gigs in 2025.
Darren Walker of The Progressive Aspect asked me for an interview – you can read it on their website.