Solstice announced as extra night headliners as Summer's End celebrates three full-day 20th anniversary

Long-running UK progressive rock festival Summer's End celebrates its 20th anniversary next year and the festival will tweak its format to mark the occasion.

Summer's End 2025 will take place at the Chepstow Drill Hall from October 2 to 5, and next year will be a full -three-day event, with the usual Thursday pre-party now given over. to a band instead of the usual cover act. UK prog rockers Solstice have been announced as headliners for the Thursday night

“Little did I know, when I took the foolhardy step of organising a one-day event in Gloucester in 2005, that we’d still be here in 2025," laughs co-organiser Huw Lloyd-Jones. "What a ride it’s been! So, to mark the occasion, we’ve decided to extend the festival to three full days from Friday 3^rd to Sunday 5. That’s 15 bands across those three days. Furthermore, rather than have our usual tribute band on Thursday 2^nd, we’re thrilled to say that the mighty Solstice will headline that evening. So make sure you all book the extra day off work!"

As well as marking the 20th anniversary, next year's Festival also sees Lloyd-Jones' longstanding co-organiser (and Prog writer) Stephen Lambe stepping down from his role in the event.

“Since I joined Huw in 2006, the festival has consumed a huge amount of time and energy, so I figured that if I was going to retire, the 20^th anniversary would be the perfect time," says Lambe. "Gill and I look forward to our new roles – as crew – so rest assured we’ll still be seeing everyone for a while yet. To mark my last festival, the lineup will contain a mixture of bands playing the festival for the first time and a few old friends.”

With the lineup for the 20^th anniversary already well advanced and which the organisers will announce shortly, early bird tickets for all four days, including the Solstice show, are now available.

Get tickets.

Artists

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.