Transatlantic

Morsefest, hosted annually by Neal Morse in Nashville, Tennessee, has been around since 2014. The weekend event usually celebrates the music of Neal's solo projects and other bands from his career. But with each Morsefest, the loyal audience that returned year after year was left with one question: when will Neal Morse, Mike Portnoy, Roine Stolt & Pete Trewavas perform at Morsefest?

Following the release of their ambitious studio album "The Absolute Universe" in 2021, progressive rock supergroup Transatlantic presents "The Final Flight: Live At L'Olympia". This document of the band's triumphant show in Paris, the final night of their tour in support of their latest studio album, features Neal Morse, Mike Portnoy, Roine Stolt & Pete Trewavas (along with Ted Leonard) performing "The Absolute Universe (The Ultimate Version)" in its entirety before returning to the stage to perform a portion of their extensive back catalog.

This weekend at Morsefest provided two nights of shows. For night one, the band performed their classic album ‘The Whirlwind’ in its entirety, the first time they had done so in 10 years. The evening also added “Into the Blue” and “Shine” from the band’s 4th album ‘Kaleidoscope’ as well as the classic ballad “We All Need Some Light.” As a surprise, the band played a song they’ve never performed live before - their cover of the Procol Harum classic “In Held ‘Twas In I” from the first Transatlantic album ‘SMPTe.’

Transatlantic have never been a band to resist a challenge. So it should come as no surprise that for their fifth album ‘The Absolute Universe’, Neal Morse Roine Stolt Pete Trewavas and Mike Portnoy have really gone out to do something a little unusual.

Transatlantic is an intermittent, international prog rock supergroup comprised of drummer Mike Portnoy (Dream Theater), keyboardist/guitarist Neal Morse (ex-Spock's Beard), guitarist Roine Stolt (Flower Kings), and bassist Pete Trewavas (Marillion). They share lead vocals. The band's music weds vintage and neo-prog to fusion, progressive metal, and hard rock in long, knotty, suite-like constructions that more often than not last for over ten minutes. Their debut album, SMPT:e, appeared in 2000. 2001's Bridge Across Forever was followed by a European tour and live album. The band went on hiatus from 2003 to 2009, re-emerging with The Whirlwind and tours of England, Europe, and the U.S. Kaleidoscope appeared in 2014, followed by a world tour that included a gig on the Portnoy-curated "Progressive Nation at Sea" cruise. Members worked on projects with their primary bands over the next five years, and re-emerged in 2021 with the ambitious Absolute Universe in two distinct versions.

This weekend at Morsefest provided two nights of shows. For night one, the band performed their classic album ‘The Whirlwind’ in its entirety, the first time they had done so in 10 years. The evening also added “Into the Blue” and “Shine” from the band’s 4th album ‘Kaleidoscope’ as well as the classic ballad “We All Need Some Light.” As a surprise, the band played a song they’ve never performed live before - their cover of the Procol Harum classic “In Held ‘Twas In I” from the first Transatlantic album ‘SMPTe.’

During their 2018 USA tour, Richard Smith and Joscho Stephan came up with the idea to expand their duo by adding a new musical dimension. On Richard’s recommendation, the versatile multi-instrumentalist Rory Hoffman joined the project, marking the birth of the “Transatlantic Guitar Trio“. Since then, the three musicians have performed on numerous stages across the USA and Europe and released their self-titled debut album in 2019.

This book uses a wide range of case studies that embrace climate change, product standards, chemical regulations, renewable energy policies, food safety and genetically-modified organisms to examine areas of conflict and cooperation in the transatlantic relationship. While there are many areas where the European Union and the United States are following divergent policy paths, there are also many signs that a more cooperative transatlantic relationship could emerge in the future.