Progressive Circus are super excited to present two Swedish concerts with

BANNED FROM UTOPIA

Six months after Frank Zappa’s death in 1993, a German Jazz festival contacted former members of Zappa’s vairous touring bands and asked if they would perform a tribute concert to commemorate Frank’s life and unique, profilic outpouring of creativity that had such a profound impact on the world of music. Though the loss of their friend and mentor was still fresh, the musicians were thrilled about the idea of bringing Zappa’s music live to the stage once again. That was the start of Band from Utopia, later Banned from Utopia. 

A highly enthusiastic response from the Zappa fans and the success of a live release led to the band becoming a touring entity every now and then, but also releasing albums of their own with Zappa written or inspired music. The current incarnation features stellar musicians including four from Zappa’s final touring band, performing some of the very best live Frank Zappa music for you!!

On stage you will see: 

• Robert Martin on vocals, keyboards and saxophone (Frank Zappa 1981-1988) 

• Chad Wackerman on drums(Frank Zappa 1981-1988) 

• Ray White on vocals and guitar (Frank Zappa 1976-1984)

• Scott Thunes on bass (Frank Zappa 1981-1988) 

• Robbie Mangano on guitar and vocals (Grandmothers of invention)

• Jamie Kime on guitar (Dweezil Zappa’s Zappa plays Zappa project 2006-2012)

In the word of Robert Martin himself:

”After the very first ZappaUnion Festival was such a success in Norway in 2012, my friends Erlend and Bjorn suggested that I come back in 2013 with a full band of Zappa alumni. I agreed that it was a great idea and reformed Banned From Utopia, a unique combination of musicians who first began performing in 1994 in a series of concerts to commemorate Frank’s life and music. The band performed in various configurations over the next few years, but hasn’t been seen for many years until now. WE’RE BACK, and very excited to play this great music for the fans that love it as much as we do.” 

Friday March 8 – Surr Arena (formerly Brewhouse), Göteborg

Saturday March 9 – Kulturhuset Studion, Stockholm 

Get your tickets here: https://nortic.se/ticket/event/51694

Banned from Utopia promo video: https://youtu.be/e0zqqeZpE_s?si=6INE6HFehCLwAtXR

Banned from Utopia @ Zappanale 2023: https://youtu.be/DG37uxDkc0w?si=ocSe3QKlss2qvOih

Live reviews: https://www.multimartinmusic.com/banned_from_utopia_review.htm