The world’s leading authority on progressive rock music, Prog Magazine, is proud to announce its fourth annual Progressive Music Awards, presented by Orange Amplification and in association with currencies.co.uk. It will be returning to the Underglobe at the Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre for a second year, on Thursday 3 September.

With voting open now at http://www.progmagazine.com/awards, the Progressive Music Awards has established itself as one of the most respected events in the music calendar. In its short but illustrious history, it has honoured and hosted some of the world’s most renowned and respected artists including Peter Gabriel, Rick Wakeman, Ian Anderson, Genesis, and Rush. But this is about more than the old guard. Talent of tomorrow including Syd Arthur and TesseracT have seen their careers go from strength-to-strength since picking up their award.

The same could be said of the genre as a whole and 2015’s nominations show that prog is in incredible shape with some of the greatest artists of last 40 years nominated alongside some of the most lauded new talent around.

Star of Channel 5’s flagship show The Wright Stuff and prog rock fanatic, Matthew Wright, is confirmed as the evenings host. Matthew and prog rock is a deep rooted love. Introduced to Hawkwind in the 1970s (who he has since performed and toured with), he still remains as passionate about the music as ever. He went on to say….

“I was made up to be asked… It was the first time I’d ever met Steve Hillage [at the 2013 awards] – he was one of my heroes from my teenage years.”

“I spent a lot of time listening to his Green album and his stuff with Gong but I never thought I’d meet him. I also met Robert John Godfrey, who I’d seen live many times but had never met before. The experience was only marred by the fact I had to get up at 4am the next morning to do my show, so I think I might take the Friday off this time!”

Pink Floyd’s “The Endless River” album sees them pick up three nominations for Grand Design, Album and Band/Artist of the Year. King Crimson and Steven Wilson are the only other artists with three nominations in the Grand Design and Band/Artist of the Year categories. Wilson is also nominated for Album of the Year with King Crimson getting the nod for of their US Tour for Live Event. Kate Bush’s first live shows in 35 years sees her nominated for Live Event and Artist of the Year, with Steve Hackett, Von Hertzen Brothers, Opeth, Public Service Broadcasting and Flying Colors also nominated for two awards.

Jerry Ewing, Editor of Prog magazine, says, “Prog magazine is currently enjoying its most successful year ever in terms of sales (our current issue is 35% up year on year), and I believe we are starting to see this reflected in the way the genre is interacting with the mainstream and with the commercial successes the front runners of today’s progressive scene are also enjoying. And it’s been another bumper year for the genre and this is a wonderfully diverse spread of artists who find themselves worthy nominees this year, once again showing that the influence of progressive music now spreads far and wide throughout so many areas of music. And of course, the night itself is always such a memorable one. It’s going to be a lot of fun with Matthew hosting for us for the first year.”

The Nominees:

Limelight

A Formal Horse

Bend Sinister

Dream The Electric Sleep

Fuzzy Nautilus

Heights

Maybeshewill

MoeTar

Perfect Beings

Sumer

The Physics House Band

Live Event

Anathema – Cathedral Tour

Cropredy 2014

Devin Townsend – Live at the Royal Albert Hall

Muse – Live At Download

HRH Prog 3

Kate Bush – Before The Dawn Tour

King Crimson – US Tour

Marillion Weekend

RoSFest 2015

The Enid Present: The Bridge

Vangard (Previously known as Breakthrough Artist)

And So I Watch You From Afar

iamthemorning

Lonely Robot

Native Construct

Nordic Giants

Public Service Broadcasting

Purson

Soen

Sólstafir

Trojan Horse

Anthem

Big Big Train – Wassail (from Wassail EP)

Christina Booth – The Light (from The Light)

Dave Kerzner – Stranded (from New World)

John Lodge – In My Mind (from 10,000 Light Years Ago)

Mew – Satellites (from +-)

Public Service Broadcasting – Gagarin (from The Race For Space)

Steve Hackett – Love Song To A Vampire (from Wolflight)

Tin Spirits – Summer Now (from Scorch)

Vennart – Operate (from The Demon Joke)

Von Hertzen Brothers – Hold Me Up (from New Day Rising)

Album of the Year

Amplifier – Mystoria

Beardfish – +4626 comfortzone

Flying Colors – Second Nature

Nightwish – Endless Forms Most Beautiful

Opeth – Pale Communion

Pink Floyd – The Endless River

Periphery – Juggernaut

Steven Wilson – Hand.Cannot.Erase.

Sweet Billy Pilgrim – Motorcade Amnesiacs

The Pineapple Thief – Magnolia

Band/Artist of the Year

Between The Buried & Me

Flying Colors

Kate Bush

King Crimson

Opeth

Pink Floyd

Steve Hackett

Steven Wilson

Threshold

Von Hertzen Brothers

The Storm Thorgerson Grand Design Award

Anthony Phillips – Harvest Of The Heart

Bill Nelson – Noise Candy

Hawkwind – This Is Your Captain Speaking…

Jethro Tull – Minstrel In The Gallery

King Crimson – Starless

Pink Floyd – The Endless River

Rush – R40

Soft Machine – Live In 1970

Steven Wilson – Hand.Cannot.Erase.

Yes – Progeny: Seven Shows From Seventy-Two

The editorially chosen categories are – Visionary, Virtuoso, Guiding Light, Lifetime Achievement, Outer Limits and Prog God.