Vying for title of MVP of CTTE, Fernando Perdomo will be an integral part of 4 different bands on Cruise to the Edge but here we will focus on his own marquee gigs, which will be stellar to say the least. “This music is instrumental 70s progressive rock in a classic style, but in a way that not many people are actually playing these days. For those who love Steve Hackett, Peter Banks, early Holdsworth, Jean Luc Ponty, they’re going to love this.” Central to the set-list will be material from all three of his released Out To Sea albums, plus the debut of material from Part Four. “I planned for this to be a trilogy,” Fern recently told me, “but then artist Paul Whitehead [Genesis] offered a new album cover and I had to make one more. The song “The Last Voyage” is the final track!”
Fern’s band is epic and the esteemed musicians will bring a couple of surprises of their own. Being a massive Peter Banks fan, Fern was very excited to share, “With Mark Murdock there, who was the drummer on the last Empire album, he’s going to do a special tribute to Peter Banks.” Preston Murdock, Jennifer Jo Oberle, Joe Cass and Dave Bainbridge will all be part of the ensemble, too. Considering the legend that Bainbridge is, Fern reveals that it’s only fitting that they’ll also play a song from Bainbridge’s excellent new solo album, too. So, this is a must-see show for a number of reasons!
Photo by Joel Barrios
Getting to play this kind of music is a delightful unexpected surprise for Fernando. “After so many years of playing pop music, I never thought that my first record contract would be for an instrumental prog rock album!” Once you’ve enjoyed Fern’s sets, there’s plenty more of him to catch as he’ll also be playing with Gabriel Agudo, the McBroom Sisters and, of course, Dave Kerzner who initially brought him on board for his debut Cruise to the Edge. “Hopefully I’ll keep all this music straight in my head [considering all the bands I’m in]”. No wonder that once again, Fernando Perdomo is out to sea.
- Fernando Perdomo‘s “Out to Sea 2” album review
