Hawkwind: masters at work.

VENUE INDIGO AT O2, LONDON

DATE 22/04/2023-23/04/2023

Now in its fourth year, Prognosis festival has finally made it to the UK for its inaugural event at the spacious surroundings of the Indigo venue at the O2 arena complex in London’s Greenwich. On paper, at least, it seems like the UK version hasn’t had the easiest of gestations. A number of noise and metal bands appearing on the bill, admittedly low down, possibly put off a section of the UK prog community, who showed scant interest from that point on, even when most of those bands then disappeared off the bill. The Dutch companion event in Eindhoven last weekend saw fit to decide Zeal & Ardor were an ideal headliner for a progressive music festival, and reportedly ticket sales suffered there as well.

It’s these kinds of missteps that can kill an event stone dead before it’s even got off the ground, especially when dealing with a fanbase that can be both picky and unforgiving. And yet, even though both Fakeyourdeath and Ithaca aren’t the right fit this weekend, especially when so many better-suited prog acts could have been on the bill, London’s Prognosis has a lot going for it.

Although a way off being sold-out, keeping the balcony open instead of herding everyone downstairs to make the event look more full is a nice touch, and there are plenty of seated areas on all floors, with lifts providing stair-free access. Likewise, drinks offers go some way to ease the hefty bar prices many venues charge these days, and ticket prices are more than reasonable. It’s nice to see a UK promoter at a major venue showing that level of care for their crowd.