Solstice are the warm-hearted outsiders of British neo-prog — a folk-tinged, violin-led band who, from the very start, followed a path all their own. Formed in 1980 and led throughout by guitarist Andy Glass, they swapped the Genesis influence of their peers for something earthier: Celtic folk, new-age serenity and 1970s symphonic warmth, fronted by a series of gifted female singers. After decades of long silences and ever-changing line-ups, they have lately enjoyed an extraordinary late-career renaissance, winning new fans with some of the best music of their lives.

The short version

Solstice are an English neo-prog and folk-rock band formed in the Milton Keynes area in 1980, led from day one by guitarist and songwriter Andy Glass. Part of the early-1980s neo-prog wave that Marillion sparked, they always stood apart — folkier, gentler and more spiritual, built on violin, acoustic textures and female vocals. After their 1984 debut “Silent Dance” the band came and went for decades, before a remarkable recent run — “Sia” (2020) and “Light Up” (2022) among them — saw them voted Best Band in the prog world. The studio albums gathered here trace that long, winding journey.

The folk outsiders of neo-prog

When Marillion sparked the early-1980s neo-prog revival, Solstice were swept up in it — sharing stages with Marillion, IQ and Pallas, playing the Marquee and the 1983 Reading Festival. But they never really belonged to that school. Where their peers looked to Genesis and Yes, Solstice drew on folk and folk-rock, Celtic music, Mike Oldfield-style new-age and the warmth of 70s symphonic prog, all wrapped around Marc Elton’s violin and a female lead voice. With singer Sandy Leigh out front they were, remarkably, the only female-fronted band of the entire neo-prog era — a precedent later picked up by the likes of Mostly Autumn and Iona.

Warm, violin-led prog

Solstice’s music is gentle, melodic and uplifting — about as far from the dark drama of much neo-prog as you can get. Acoustic guitars and Andy Glass’s singing electric leads sit alongside soaring violin and rich female vocals, with lyrics that lean toward the spiritual and the optimistic. There is a hippie warmth and a folk-festival openness to it all, touched by Celtic and world-music colours and the influence of Glass’s years working as a sound engineer for Jethro Tull. It is unmistakably progressive rock, but of a sunlit, pastoral kind that has always been theirs alone.

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From Silent Dance to Clann

Solstice’s story is one of long silences and joyous returns. The cult debut “Silent Dance” (1984) was their only album before the band split, then a 1990s reunion brought “New Life” (1993) and “Circles” (1997) — the latter featuring ex-Jethro Tull drummer Clive Bunker. A remastered back-catalogue and a 2007 reformation led to “Spirit” (2010) and “Prophecy” (2013), before the band’s great late flowering: the “Sia” trilogy of “Sia” (2020), “Light Up” (2022) and “Clann” (2025), powered by singer Jess Holland and even remixed in part by Steven Wilson. After forty years, Solstice were suddenly being voted the best band in prog.

Album by album

A guide to Solstice’s studio albums. Tap any title to explore.

The players

Solstice have always been Andy Glass’s band — founder, guitarist and songwriter, and the one constant across more than forty years and a famously ever-changing cast. Co-founder Marc Elton’s violin defined the early sound until tinnitus forced him out in the 1990s, with Jenny Newman’s Celtic fiddle carrying that role since. The lead microphone has passed through a remarkable line of female singers — among them Sandy Leigh on the debut, Emma Brown across the 2000s, and, since 2020, the acclaimed Jess Holland. Add long-serving players like drummer Pete Hemsley and bassist Robin Phillips, and the result is a true musical collective built around one guiding vision.

Where to start

Start with “Silent Dance” (1984), the cult debut that captures Solstice at their most folky and magical — violin, acoustic warmth and Sandy Leigh’s soaring voice. Then jump to the recent renaissance: “Sia” (2020) is the album that won them a whole new audience, with “Light Up” (2022) continuing the run in glorious form. Together they show a band that sounds, somehow, both timeless and freshly inspired.

Why they still matter

Solstice matter as the great free spirits of British neo-prog — a band who took the genre somewhere warmer, folkier and more hopeful than anyone else, and who kept the faith through decades when giving up would have been easier. Led always by Andy Glass, carried by violin, acoustic textures and a succession of wonderful singers, they have built a body of work that is gentle, uplifting and quietly unique. That their finest hour has come more than forty years in only makes the story sweeter. For anyone who likes their prog with sunlight in it, Solstice are essential.

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