YOU WONT BELIEVE: Thijs van leer - You Need To See This

“He’s very underrated. If you asked David Gilmour, he’d probably say, ‘Yeah, he’s my idol!’” Opeth’s Mikael Åkerfeldt names prog’s great unsung guitar hero

This 1970s player is an influence to many, he says, but doesn’t get the credit he deserves

Guitar World · Mar 19

Rick Wakeman, Steve Hackett, Asia, Caravan, Focus and more lined up for huge new prog cruise taking place this summer

Prog-friendly venue Trading Boundaries announces a new prog cruise venture up and down the Rhine for July

Louder · Jan 9

“It’s heraldic. It’s funny. It’s virtuoso and also really stupid! I wouldn’t change a note”: Simple ideas and happy accidents propelled a Dutch band’s second album to the pinnacle of prog. And yodelling.

Master craftsmen’s 1971 release was a unique fusion of ingenuity, passion and febrile chemistry – plus some tension – and they never looked back

Louder · Oct 14, 2025

Focus share music video for Fjord Focus, the first new music from upcoming album Focus 12

Dutch prog legends Focus will release the cunningly titled Focus 12, their 12th studio album, in July

Louder · May 28, 2024

"Somebody has to be the kind of songwriter who doesn’t give a shit if he gets called pretentious." Ian Anderson on the inspiration behind Jethro Tull's RökFlöte

After a gap of more than 20 years, Jethro Tull returned with their second album of new material this decade. RökFlöte finds the band exploring Norse mythology with a harder edge than last year’s The Zealot Gene

Louder · Apr 21, 2024

"One minute they were a band you'd never heard of, then the next you couldn't get into the gigs": In 1972 the then-unknown Focus appeared on UK TV. Within a year, their guitarist was voted best player on the planet

Powered by Jan Akkerman's guitar and Thijs van Leer's Hammond organ, Sylvia helped pave the way for the rapid rise to fame of Dutch proggers Focus

Louder · Jan 4, 2024

“We discovered we had an audience out there and it numbered in millions”: How Focus secured TV music show The Old Grey Whistle Test’s future

Revered music series ran for nearly two decades after Thijs van Leer’s band played two-song set during its first year

Louder · Jul 18, 2023