In 2014 Magenta vocalist Christina Booth was diagnosed with breast cancer and, spearheaded by Touchstone’s Adam Hodgson and The Reasoning bassist Matt Cohen, the world of prog banded together to create something special. A charity all-dayer was held at The Assembly in Leamington Spa, where a staggering £9,000 was raised for a trio of cancer charities.
In 2017, Trinity Live returns having had a turbulent interim since that successful maiden voyage. Sobering tragedies in the prog community have both prevented Trinity Live from returning and injected further poignancy and importance to its cause.
“We were planning to do it with Asia at one point, but then John Wetton was diagnosed with colon cancer [something he sadly died from earlier this year]. We’ve always wanted to do it again, especially after people like Chris Squire leaving us but it always fell through, until now.”
Indeed, while Hodgson is clear that he doesn’t wish to “use people’s demise to get people to the gig” it does underline just how important these charity events can be. Cancer, of course, is still a terrifying illness that has no certain cure. “Ultimately,” he continues, “we are doing this for a really great cause and we’re hoping people will really rally together. We’re not doing this to line our own pockets.
“My main memory from 2014 is the reaction from people, all the smiling faces, the sense of giving from everyone and the buzz around the place. Can we beat it? I don’t know, but it’s a fantastic bill. We’re really happy with it. John Mitchell played with Arena at the first Trinity, but we’ve loved Lonely Robot since the first album so we knew he’d be the perfect headliner.
“Matt Cohen is back again with Ghost Community which is great because they are a little less prog and a little more heavy, so they are different.
“Obviously Kim is back too and having her debut her solo material at Trinity is brilliant. I’ve heard some of the album and it’s really good; it’s fun and fresh.
“I’ve always loved Dec Burke’s playing so he is a great addition and A Formal Horse are quite a new band for me but they’re really out there with the fairies so I’m looking forward to seeing them play. We wanted to bring in a band that no one really knows much about. We all need that break.
“The one thing I’m really looking forward to about the day is that every band is very different from the rest. It’s back to the days of lots of different and refreshing, original music.”
Line-up aside, the jewel in Trintiy’s crown is the auction, with some of the scene’s biggest names offering unique items for the event.
“It’s been incredible so far and there are still things coming in,” Hodgson enthuses. “We’ve had some amazing stuff from Yes, Asia and Marillion. Steven Wilson has been really generous, giving us some unique, money can’t buy items like the gold disc he got for selling out Hammersmith Odeon and some Porcupine Tree gold discs. It’s been unbelievable.”
And then, when the bands finish, the prog disco can begin: “We’ll go down to The Zephyr Lounge and party till late in the morning listening to Jerry Ewing do a prog disco DJ set. I can’t wait to hear what his playlist is. Hopefully all the songs won’t be 82 minutes though…”
WIN ONE OF FOUR PAIRS OF TICKETS FOR THIS YEAR’S TRINITY LIVE…
We’ve got four pairs of tickets for this year’s event up for grabs. To win, answer the following question:
What year did the first Trinity Live take place?
E-mail your answers titled ‘Trinity Live’ here. Winners will be notified on Monday 22 May.
About Trinity Live:
The idea for Trinity Live came about in 2014. It was originally planned as a triple-headliner tour for Magenta, Touchstone and The Reasoning but was rescheduled as a one-day fundraiser when Magenta vocalist Christina Booth was diagnosed with breast cancer. The original event raised £12,000 for Cancer Research UK, Macmillan and Teenage Cancer Trust.
Lonely Robot tops the bill with Touchstone, Ghost Community & more also performing. This year’s event includes a prog auction and an aftershow party at The Zephyr Longue with a DJ set from Prog Editor Jerry Ewing and a surprise acoustic act being announced nearer the time.
Tickets for Trinity II are available here. More information can be found here.
