New England Art (Progressive) Rock Society - New England's Ear on Progressive (Prog) Rock Music
What is NewEARS? A not-for-profit organization of progressive music lovers. The primary goal of NewEARS is to create a community of music enthusiasts dedicated to sharing and promoting progressive rock in the New England area.

Please see the About page for more information about our goals and history, as well as contact information.

NewEARS Album Of The Month

Arjen Anthony Lucassen -
Songs No One Will Hear

"Whether it's with his solo work, his main project (Ayreon), or his other projects (such as Star One, The Gentle Storm, and Guilt Machine), Arjen Anthony Lucassen has continuously proven to be a top-tier musical craftsman. Seriously, virtually no one else fuses exceptional songwriting with equally imaginative, vibrant, complex, and dynamic instrumentation as distinctively and distinguishably as him, and just as importantly, he regularly finds the best performers in the progressive rock /metal world to bring his creations to life.

Nevertheless, Songs No One Will Hear is another excellent entry into Lucassen's catalog that - for better or worse - contains precisely what fans want and expect from such a unique and consistent artist. There's certainly a lot to discover and applaud with what he's doing differently, and even at its most conventional and recognizable, it can't help but appeal simply because Lucassen is so damn good at what he does. In other words, Lucassen's latest LP won't blow you away with its freshness or unpredictability, but it absolutely will deliver a trademark batch of stellar songs that everyone should hear." JB-TPR

"Now, in 2025, Lucassen has returned back to the solo world once again on the InsideOut label, this time tackling the themes about the end of the world with humanity on the brink of collapse for a nuclear war that's about to happen. Chaos, humour, and raw emotion, its all there in this guitar-driven, prog-rock, and in your face attitude that'll make you buckle your seat belts and prepare for the end to occur.

With fellow maestros such as Joost van den Broek, the Jansen sisters (Irene and Floor), Stream of Passion's Marcela Bovio, Patty Gurdy on Hurdy Gurdy, Plan Nine's Robert Soeterboek, and Kaleidoscope / Fairfield Parlour's Peter Daltrey to name a few, this is an out of this world album Lucassen has unleashed for 2025 so far." ZN-EAD



Essential Track: Finally (pun intended), we come to "Our Final Song." Maybe this is what Arjen is strumming on acoustic guitar on a beach with his faithful Papillion. It's a 15-minute beast of a track. While much of this album is "Diet Ayreon," this last track is fully switched on. No, it does not have 10 different vocalists, or Akerfeldt growls or Hevy-Devy screams, but all the other trappings are there. The rising and falling action, the elaborate arrangements, the bombastic keys, the slamming guitar chords. It's all there." ES-SP
 


Read the full reviews on The Prog Report , and echoes and dust.

Listen and watch the videos on the artist YouTube Channel.

Buy the Album from InsideOut Music, or wherever great Prog music is sold.
 
NewEARS Art Rock Series

There are no NewEARS show announcements at this time


Click on the following link for a complete list of bands that have played for the NewEARS Art Rock Series
 

New England Events

10/16/25King's X Space Ballroom - Hamden, CT
10/17/25King's X Tupelo Music Hall - Derry, NH
10/17/25The Slambovian Circus of Dreams- as part of The Vagabond Ball Colonial Theatre - Pittsfield, MA
10/18/25King's X Aura - Portland, ME
10/22/25Dream Theater - "An Evening With" - Playing Parasomnia in Full Veterans Memorial Auditorium - Providence, RI
10/23/25Steve Morse Band - The Triangulation Tour Somerville Theatre - Somerville, MA
10/24/25MACALAS - The Music of ELP & Beyond Seven Angels Theatre - Waterbury, CT
10/25/25Claudio Simonetti's Goblin - performs DEEP RED 50th Anniversary Tour Stone Church - Brattleboro, VT
10/26/25Steve Morse Band - The Triangulation Tour Ridgefield Playhouse - Ridgefield, CT
10/26/25Floydian Trip - New England's #1 Pink Floyd Experience St. Kieran Community Center - Berlin, NH
10/29/25Claudio Simonetti's Goblin - performs DEEP RED 50th Anniversary Tour City Winery - Boston, MA
11/01/25Claudio Simonetti's Goblin - performs DEEP RED 50th Anniversary Tour City Winery - Boston, MA
11/01/25Floydian Trip - New England's #1 Pink Floyd Experience Bijou Theatre - Bridgeport, CT
11/07/25The Mars Volta State Theatre - Portland, ME
11/08/25The Mars Volta House of Blues - Boston, MA
11/15/25Echoes of Floyd - New England's premier Floyd tribute! Angel City Music Hall - Manchester, NH

NewEARS Featured Shows:

10/23 - Somerville Theatre, MA
10/26 - Ridgefield Playhouse, CT



10/25 - Stone Church, VT
10/29 & 11/1 - Boston City Winery, MA





Latest New England Prog News:

Coming to Boston's Orpheum Theater February 6th:





Coming Back To New England in November: 11/28 - SNHU, Manchester NH ; 11/29 - DCU Center, Worcester MA ; 11/30 - Mohegan Sun, Uncasville, CT