Kindred Spirit /EBB / Spriggan Mist 4 Play Prog Reading 2nd November Part Two
Kindred Spirit band/ EBB / Spriggan Mist Review – 4 Play Prog Reading 2nd November 2025
Kindred Spirit Band
Due to my being late leaving my hotel (Travelodge) 6 min ‘s or so away from the Face Bar I missed the initial part of Kindred Spirit's set so missed House Of Mirrors, Into The Woods and Lost, arriving just in time for Rise Again, which again comes from the Journey Within album which they were promoting tonight, this sounded wonderful and was a strong delivery, The next song was The Mountain which had Stevie alice mitchell e playing a stand up electric cello this was visually spectacular and sounded good as well, there was a great fluid guitar solo from Piers Hogg, Suzanne the switched to Saxophone which she again played brilliantly after this She changed to playing the flute, she is a fine multi instrumentalist who bring much to the band and their music. The sound the convey together is very strong com0lex band with lots of melody, Next song was Find My Way this was equally as fine with a great recurring guitar motif this was followed by The Lake, which again featured Piers fine and fluid guitar lines, the last song was The Way Home for which Elaine wore a cape that lights up in a similar style to the one Mary uses for the Franck Carducci shows, except Elaine kept it close to her whereas Mary uses her for her Angel moments, they are joined by 3 of the 5 members of Spriggan Mist for this track as they provided backing vocals fir this excellent final song.
Kindred Spirit Band version of prog is mainly Folk driven but the guitar and keyboards add Progressive elements to their sound.
EBB
EBB ( The Erin Bennett Band) are a very theatrical prog group they always seek to entertain with their stage antics and the always deliver a strong and creative performance, today was no exception, the set starts with a song from their soon to be released album ( due at the end of November) the mirror, This begins with Erin on acoustic guitar before the whole band join in, The song is a good addition to the EBB canon as it is both theatrical and dramatic EBB’s secret weapon is the antics of the utterly unhinged Kitty Biscuits as you never know what’ on her m8nd and so is unpredictable at times.
Next song is No One’s Child which is also from the new album again this is a great example of what makes EBB such a compelling and unique live act.
Next kitty speaks some lines to lead into the next song which is Cuckoo/Take To The Stars
It certainly rocks as kitty wears her head band display to show off her theatrics, this is followed by Day 19 which has an 8nterplay between Kitty and a devil-like creature who is telling kitty off for reasons unknown she rants at rails at kitty wh9 eventually tires of her and sends her packing .
Next song is Cost and Consequences this song has kitty crawling at Erin’s feet in an act of submission it has a real crunch to it and the stagecraft and dynamics are truly excellent to see and experience
EBB are a formidable force live, last song is Geneva and the keyboards take charge with electronics to open the song , Kitty sings I Feel So Angry the s9ng has strong bass and great guitars. That’s it and it’s all 9ver except Baz comes on stage and asks if we want another one? song? Of course we do and EBB return to deliver Nieu.
This is a good encore and everyone is happy with EBB’s set, to be fair it’s an exciting set with strong songs great musicianship great theatrics and is a lot of fun and fine to watch, EBB always make a good impression and this was no exception another excellent band in this fine festival.
Final act of the day are Headliners and Organisers are of course it is Spriggan Mist a band I’ve heard much about as I follow them online but have never actually seen, until today that is.
The band are a five piece of guitarist Neil wighton, Bassist Baz Cilla, Multi-Instrumentalist Maxine Cilla, Drummer Ali Soueidan and Front lady/vocal/guitarist the pagan witch queen herself- Fay Brotherhood.
They commence their set with Ismbard (the mechanical dragon)Ismbard features in a lot of their songs as he is a symbol and figurehead for the band, he is a steam punk dragon
Tonight he opens the set in style, they are going to play several track from their new album officially released today and launching here at this festival although folk have been able to pre order the album and receive the album in advance of today’s release, I received mine last week and as such was able to review it before this show today.
After Ismbard we have the title track from an earlier album Portals,
Spriggan Mist have built their reputation on deliver strong songs with display their Pagan f9lk origins and also the gradual embracing 9f more Progressive elements in their sound.
It is a very compelling mix of sounds and styles, in Fay they have a confident and assured front person who has a great voice and vocal Style, this is all backed a very solid rhythm section in Baz and Ali, further enhanced by the various instrument that Maxine r
Guitar, flute, saxophone and keyboards.
Neil plays a counterpoint guitar to that of Maxine, He is a fine player coming from a rock background he adds the crunch as required, together they all sound splendid, it’s hardly fair to give a song by song breakdown as their show is partly a celebration and a party for the new album although I will say that the new songs sound great live as Spriggan Mist have taken a big positive step-up 8n their game with becom8ng part of Progrock.com and also bad dog promotions artists as both of these companies will only aid their ascen5 into the big leagues.
One song that really did impress me was Lanatores Teresteres it certainly rocked out.
They elected to do an encore of Spriggan Dance to conclude their set
All in all another excellent set that capped what has been a great festival of great bands and music in a comfortable environment. Let’s hope they do it again next year if they do i’ll definitely want to attend.
Great to make new friends and meet some for the first time
It was very well organised and well worth 5he 370-mile round trip to attend.
www.sprigganmist.com
Author John Wenlock-Smith