Ayreon announced as Saturday headliners for Night Of The Prog

(Image credit: Tim Tronckoe)

Ayreon have been announced as headliners for the Saturday night at next year's Night Of The Prog festival. Arjen Lucassen and keyboardist Joost van den Broek have gathered nearly the entire original cast of Into The Electric Castle and several special guests to perform Ayreon’s space opera in its entirety as a live show.

Visitors can expect a massive, state-of-the-art live production with a unique decor, visuals and stage effects. While the 2017 Ayreon Universe show was a bombastic, full-tilt rock show, musically the Into the Electric Castle show will be more dynamic, atmospheric and versatile, translating the original album in the most authentic way possible.

"I've been a prog lover my entire life, so headlining Night of the Prog festival with Ayreon feels really special," Lucassen tells Prog. "Many of my favourite bands have played there, and it will be an honour for us to perform on the same stage.

"Ayreon very rarely performs live, so this will be an exclusive show -- your only chance to see Ayreon live in 2020. We'll be playing the entire Electric Castle album, like we did in September 2019 in Holland. Plus some extras... if you’re up for it!"

Aryeon join a bill that also includes co-headliners for Saturday, Pendragon as well as Pure Reason Revolution, Kayak, Moon Safari and Cheeto's Magazine. The XV Night Of The Prog Festival will take place from 17 to 19 July 2020 on the festival grounds of the Loreley Amphitheater in St. Goarshausen, Germany, which is part of the UNESCO world heritage.

"It is simply an honor to have Ayreon headlining our festival in 2020," adds festival CEO Winfried Völklein. "When the email came and it looked like they would do a world exclusive show on the Loreley, I was just stunned and speechless. This is what we are looking for: Special performances, exclusive shows and just great bands and projects. Ayreon combine all of this, will leave their mark on the Loreley and raise the bar for future festivals”

Tickets for Night Of The Prog XV are available here. Special Hotel & Shuttle services will be available. See here for more details.

Writer and broadcaster Jerry Ewing is the Editor of Prog Magazine which he founded for Future Publishing in 2009. He grew up in Sydney and began his writing career in London for Metal Forces magazine in 1989. He has since written for Metal Hammer, Maxim, Vox, Stuff and Bizarre magazines, among others. He created and edited Classic Rock Magazine for Dennis Publishing in 1998 and is the author of a variety of books on both music and sport, including Wonderous Stories; A Journey Through The Landscape Of Progressive Rock.