Solstice

Solstice isn’t a ‘Planet Zyz Production’, it’s very much an ‘Andy Glass Production’. Andy is a brilliant guitarist, composer and producer, and Solstice is definitely his 'baby'. But all the resources and philosophy of Planet Zyz (so that’s me and all my gear, musical and creative ability, studio, vehicle, collaborative intent, etc etc) is brought to bear on this incredible project.

 

It is one of the greatest honours of my life to be a part of this band, because it is so uniquely special. Solstice is a rare thing indeed.

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Solstice has been described as a Progressive-Folk-Rock band which, unless you are a prog fan, might immediately put you off. That’s why I distrust genre descriptions because I don’t know anyone who hasn’t been completely blown away and spiritually uplifted after experiencing a Solstice performance, and I know many of them are hardly prog-rock fans.

 

Solstice started in 1980 in Milton Keynes, when Progressive Rock was already anachronistic. It collected many fans in those early years, including myself - I remember seeing them back then and being deeply impressed and inspired.  Early Solstice ended a few years later but then Andy Glass created a resurgence in around '96. At the time I was playing my old Fender Rhodes electric piano in a blues band (Rare Footage) and we went into the Madcap Studio in Milton Keynes to record. The usual engineer (who happened to be Guy Jones, later the Lark bass player) was sick and Andy was called to record us instead. While we sound-checked he heard me playing the Rhodes and immediately asked me, “Would you like to join a band?’”

 

Suddenly I was thrown into this beautiful situation with extraordinary players (including the legendary Jethro Tull drummer Clive Bunker) performing exquisite and complex music to an already thriving fan-base, in Britain and Europe. We met Fairport Convention, who invited us to play the Cropredy Festival, to 15,000 people! Seminal and exciting times.

 

At the time I joined the band, so did Jenny Newman on violin, Robin Phillips on bass and Emma Brown on vocals. Jenny and Andy later got married and now they have three adult children! Robin, Emma and myself later got together with others we knew to create a funky covers band (St Anthony’s Child) which turned me into a Professional Musician, doing weddings and corporate events for proper money! And cementing deep and lasting friendships all round. Solstice led me to working with a whole range of people in music, and that led me running that very Madcap Studio where that blues band had been originally recorded. Which enabled the early Planet Zyz to flourish.

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So, I blame Solstice for EVERYTHING!

 

Solstice was less active in the early years of the New Century, but in 2006 Andy ignited a new resurgence, welcoming drummer Peter Hemsley  into the band. In the following 14 or so years the band created a handful of great albums and DVDs and did a few beautiful gigs each year. Solstice gently ebbed and flowed, as an ever inspiring presence.

 

Then the covid lockdown of 2020 coincided with the 40th anniversary of Solstice’s birth, and Andy grabbed the opportunity. The extraordinarily talented Jess Holland, only 26 at the time, came in on vocals and breathed new life into the band, and the album Sia was created, without us even meeting up! This album raised the game considerably and was extremely well received. Three young backing singers were brought in to reproduce Jess's lush harmonies on the album, and suddenly we were a nine-piece with an age range of 40 years between the youngest and the eldest (me) - which was fitting! (It’s worth noting that Jess would have been a baby when I joined Solstice!).

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Since then, Solstice has gone from strength to strength, the fan base has massively expanded, and the specialness of this beautiful outfit is being recognised on a much larger scale. We’ve played all over the UK, and in Belguim, Italy, The Netherlands and Norway, done Glastonbury twice, and played again at Cropredy, this time to 25,000 people! We’ve won Best Band and other accolades in Prog Magazine readers polls (in 2025 I was voted third best keyboard player, above Rick Wakeman!), We’ve also attracted more young and extraordinary talent to the band, with a number of backing singers who are all frankly amazing. We must thank my daughter Cherry, who hassled Andy to book her great friend Ebony Buckle as a support act for us, so she performed (with her husband Nick) in a festival that had been arranged by Solstice. We were all completely blown away by her voice, music, and stage presence, and the next thing I knew, Ebony had joined us as a backing singer (and second keyboard player)! She has opened many shows for us, to great acclaim. In 2025, she was unable to do a tour and called on Lioni Jane Kennedy to sit in for her, and now Lioni is a permanent fixture, often opening for us, and then playing guitars and bass pedals as well as singing backing vocals, often all at the same time! Dyane Crutcher came in as a ‘dep’ too and stayed. All these young women have very serious music careers of their own, and the Solstice fan base has taken them all to their hearts. And full circle, Jess now plays bass in Ebony’s band! Together with our fan base, Solstice is nothing less than a family, a ‘Clann’!

 

Once when we played the 1865 Club in Southhampton, our support was the astonishingly proficient young band Azure, who blew us away with their musical wizardry. But I noticed that they stayed and watched our set, an unusual thing for a support band who had a long way to get home. Afterwards I spoke to them thanking them for hanging around, but they said they seriously had to because our set was a complete inspiration to them - “that is how music was supposed to be”, they said. “Man, you channelled Spirit up there today!” 

 

And that is indeed what Solstice does. And surely that should be the aim of any music anywhere. 

 

It’s humbling to be part of it.​​​​​​

Steven McDaniel, June 2026