NEW Mid Wales alt prog band Light The Beacons will launch their debut album at The Lost ARC venue in Rhayader next Friday, March 27, with two support bands.

The quartet have been playing together since 2019 and are determined to play music that is thoughtful, expressive, and above all, sincere, rather than court current trends.

The band is led by singer-songwriter and master of English Literature Simon Knight, AKA Chef, and his powerful, melodic guitar solos, effortlessly soulful vocals, and introspective lyrics.

He grew up in Herefordshire listening to Queen, Free, Jimi Hendrix, and Peter Gabriel, and studying the works of Shakespeare and his contemporaries at university.

On rhythm guitar is Llandrindod Wells native Shane Healey, a ball of passion, political activism, and chaotic energy, Shane pours crunching riffs, unusual time-signatures, and big ideas into the pot, often coming to interesting conclusions that a more traditional musician would overlook. He is influenced by Red Hot Chili Peppers, Tesseract and Rage Against the Machine.

Fellow Llandodian Dean Morgan is the engine as a highly skilled and explosive drummer inspired by the music of Queens of the Stone Age, Soundgarden, and Nirvana. Such hard-rock influences shine through in his own playing, which is powerful and natural, yet intricate.

Dean is also a visual artist, and his paintings, like his performances, serve as thoughtful and expressive extensions of Chef’s lyrics and the band’s musical vision.

Precision, groove, technical expertise are some of the words associated with the band’s bass player, Matthew Lodge, born and raised in Builth Wells. Lodge is coordinated in his musical assault, always fine-tuning, exploring and improving the band’s sound. Influenced by Prince, Incubus, and Jeff Beck, Lodge adds musicianship, flair, and style, and pushes for a touch more funk wherever appropriate.

Together, Light the Beacons explore the gentle and the heavy, the introspective and explosive. "My Earth" is their debut album, and tickets to the launch night are £5 with the CDs available at half price £5.

A debut single "The Sower" was released on March 6 with an accompanying video. Light the Beacons are currently unsigned and all material has been released by the band themselves.