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Festival News: D.F.A. To Play NEARfest In 2009

Posted on Sunday, December 21 @ 00:00:00 UTC by nightowl

NEARfest '09 is happy to announce that D.F.A. will be gracing the NEARfest stage in '09. The band has very strong ties to NEARfest, feeling that they were catapulted into the progressive world with their 2000 appearance. When they approached us with their desire to perform in '09, we declined so as not to disrupt FMPM's plans. It was their love for NEARfest that kept the band motivating us towards accepting them for '09.

Formed in Verona during 1991 around Alberto De Grandis, drummer, occasional vocalist and main composer, and bassist Luca Baldassari, D.F.A. was initially an instrumental keyboard-led trio, a formula that evolved over the years, first with the arrival of guitarist Silvio Minella in 1993, and two years later with the introduction of vocal parts in the compositions, following the release of a demo tape entitled Trip On Metro.



Later in 1995, Alberto Bonomi replaced the original keyboard player and D.F.A. found its definitive shape. Bonomi was soon to become an essential creative force in the band alongside De Grandis, co-writing most of the material with him. The new quartet made its live debut in January 1996, and soon afterwards embarked on the recording of their first proper album, Lavori In Corso ("works in progress").

With their second work, Duty Free Area from 1999, D.F.A. broadened their musical palette with new sounds, especially in the keyboard department, putting their mark on the progressive world. The band's watershed appearance at NEARfest in June 2000 was documented on a best-selling live CD. Meanwhile, D.F.A. started work on their next album, aiming to further establish the unique D.F.A. identity. The resulting album entitled, 4TH, (MoonJune Records) was released to both critical and mass acclaim making many best of 2008 lists. NEARfest '09 is extremely pleased to hand the stage to D.F.A. once again.

[Source: NEARFest]

Posted in Festival News