In the late 1960s, the term ‘progressive’ was used to define music that transcended the commercial ‘pop’ product, and audiences that sought the wide range of hybridized forms that emerged from that time. This blurring of boundaries was enacted by musicians who had experience performing in rock, pop, folk, blues, and soul bands, as well as those with experience or training in orchestral music, jazz, electronic and other genres. Over the past half-century numerous hybrid sub-genres have subsequently emerged; progressive rock is now a global phenomenon with significant bodies of work found on every continent.
This progressive meta-genre has created a rich culture, capable of sustaining a lively discourse both within its own circle, in the wider field of popular music studies, and beyond. The aim of this conference is to explore the discourses, cultures, and geographical particularities of progressive rock since its emergence in 1960s England. Extending from previous conferences held by the Progect Network in France (2014), Scotland (2016), Sweden (2018), and Canada (2021), the 2022 conference will bring together scholars whose work addresses the fifty-plus-year history of progressive rock and the many hybridized genres that are associated with the term.
