A year go to the day, I posted a news item that Asia would be releasing a new album this year with their new line up -- John Mitchell (guitar, vocals), Virgil Donati (drums), Henry Whitley (bass, lead vocals), and mainstay/founder Geoff Downes (keyboards, vocals). The new album has almost arrived, as foretold. Come November 6, 2026, Frontiers will release Indigo on CD and as well as a deluxe CD plus Blu-Ray edition. You can pre-order it here.

I post to news infrequent* but this week I learned two things, that I thought I'd share. One isn't news exactly, thought it was news to me. There exists a SiriumXM channel that plays Progressive Rock! If you have the SiriusXM app, you can tune in. Here is the link, which wasn't really easy to find on SiriusXM: https://www.siriusxm.com/blog/tag/prog-rock-radio. Further, Steven Wilson - he of Porcupine Tree fame (among others) - hosts a show on Deep Tracks, channel 308 or in the app as well.

So, this is not new news, but it is at least from this year! As I was posting the Yes item last month, I was also planning to post some news about Asia. Not the landmass, of course, but the supergroup who I last reviewed back in -- oh my, 2009! There've been 5 CDs released since then! (Though I could have sworn I reviewed XXX...*). Well, as with sooo many other artists here, I've a lot of catching up to do. And in part, that includes noting how the Asia lineup has shifted. Still with Asia is founding member Geoff Downes, of course, but he is now joined by John Mitchell on guitar (Lonely Robot, Frost*, It Bites, Arena... among others), Virgil Donati on drums (Planet X, Steve Vai, Erik Norlander,... the list goes on) and Harry Whitley on vocals and bass (from YouTube postings of his Asia covers, he was invited to cover vocals for a John Wetton charity tribute concert, and from there... he's here).

On June 10 Yes announced "The Fragile Tour 2025, The Album Series" with a series of stops throughout the United States. Yes these days are Steve Howe (guitars, vocals), Geoff Downes (keyboards), Jon Davison (vocals, acoustic guitar), Billy Sherwood (bass, vocals) and Jay Schellen (drums). The first date of the tour is on October 1 at the Toyota Oakdale Theater in Wallingford, CT; the last date is November 16 at The Grand Sierra Resort in Reno, NV.

The entire Fragile album will be performed live plus some of their other classics. While I don't need the press release to tell you this, it says: "The multi-platinum album features their signature songs 'Roundabout,' 'Long Distance Runaround,' and 'Heart Of The Sunrise."

Because I've been out of the loop... sorta... I just learned that this had been reissued (Nov 22, 2024) in a remixed edition. So, I'm listening to the remixed single "Man Of A Thousand Faces" and I have to say it sounds great! Granted I am listening to it via Spotify, not the disc itself (or vinyl)... and while I did invest in some new quality computer speakers a year or two ago, this caveat is that I can imagine how it would sound on the "higher end" system -- fantastic. I am hearing details that I don't recall from before (though it's probably been a good... 20 years since I last played it*). That is, with a clarity I didn't hear before. Here's my review of the original 1997 release in case you missed it: This Strange Engine....

Coming out today, coincidentally, is the live release Live - Perpetual Change (Frontiers) by Jon Anderson & The Band Geeks. I say coincidentally because I am flipping through emails from the end of January and happened upon this item in (another) Louder/Prog Mag news update. That update was about a video released to promote Live - Perpetual Change, featuring the band performing "Your Move - I've Seen All Good People."

As learned from the Louder Sound :: Prog site/posting, Asia will be playing at the Trading Boundaries venue in Sussex on April 10, 11 and 12. These shows will feature the group's first three albums, one each evening.

While I won't turn the news page into an advertisement page, I do want to do something with it.* So... why not start here:

Pink Floyd will release Pink Floyd At Pompeii on April 24 in a newly restored 4K format on May 2, 2025.

I have been working on a refresh of the site (all behind the scenes at present*) and as part of that, updating links.

In doing this search I learned that two of ProgressiveWorld's past contributors have passed away: John "Bobo" Bollenberg in January 2024 and Vitaly Menshikov in July 2017.

Seems this news only gets updated when someone in the prog or nearly-prog... or at least rock realm... has passed. It isn't accidental... news moves so quickly and with so many other sources... this section has fallen by the wayside...

This is, however, one of those types of posts, as we saw the news today that founder and former member of Hawkwind - Nik Turner - passed away in November. The news is probably shared in many places; here is where we noticed: Cleopatra Records.

While Fleetwood Mac were not a prog band, they were and are a band whose music I like, so I was saddened to learn of the passing of Christine McVie earlier this month. Many of their beloved classics were written by McVie. Here's hoping today's generation doesn't recall the band because "Everywhere" is being used for a Chevy commercial* (here in the US at least).