Heath @ Midsummer Prog Festival – day 2 (May 24)

From Birdie to Whipping Post: Heath Light the Fire at Midsummer

The second day of the Midsummer Prog Festival 2025 kicked off with a performance by Heath, a five-piece psychedelic rock band from The Hague. Founded in 2022, the band consists of Mees Vullings (vocals, harmonica), Isak Heidenfors (guitar, vocals), Jordy Bouter (guitar), Steve Lolicato (bass) and Darcey Hellemond (drums). Their music blends unusual time signatures, expressive harmonica, powerful guitar lines and narrative vocals, resulting in a unique voice within the psychedelic rock scene.

With their debut album Isaak’s Marble released in 2024 and having performed at major festivals like Roadburn and ESNS as well as supporting King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard, Heath have built a strong reputation for immersive and energetic live shows. In 2025, they are embarking on their first club tour and opening for bands like DeWolff and Temple Fang.

Thankfully, the weather was still dry when Heath took the stage, though a strong breeze signaled that rain was on its way for the next act. The wind sent the musicians' hair flying and ponchos flapping across the square. A small distraction came from the backstage area, which remained visible through open stage curtains. But as soon as Heath launched into their opening track "Isaak's Marble," all attention was firmly back on the music.

Taken from their debut album  the ten-minute-long “Isaak’s Marble” opened the set with warm bass lines, funky guitars and harmonica. From there, the song embarked on an expansive musical journey with layered guitar solos, manic vocals, delicate strumming, harmonica breaks and more of those extended guitar lines. The band took the audience from high-energy dance sections to tranquil moments of reflection. Around the eight-minute mark, the track erupted into a final furious stretch. An impressive and mesmerizing piece of music.

The second highlight came in the form of a bold 18-minute sequence, during which Heath’s own track “Birdie” flowed seamlessly into a deeply moving rendition of “Whipping Post” by The Allman Brothers Band. “Birdie” began as a slow-burning, introspective blues piece with soulful vocals and subtle harmonica work by frontman Mees Vullings. Gradually, the music morphed into something more fierce and urgent and without missing a beat, the unmistakable riff of “Whipping Post” emerged. The transition was both organic and dramatic. What began as a simmering groove was stripped down to bass pulses and snare rolls, before being built back up with the dissonant and complex  rhythm of “Whipping Post”. The two guitarists traded leads and textures in a dynamic push-pull, evoking echoes of Wishbone Ash, Rory Gallagher and King Crimson. The drummer kept everything tightly bound with energetic fills and shifting accents, while the bass created a bridge between the bluesy foundation of “Birdie” and the raw urgency of “Whipping Post”.  What stood out most was the interpretation: this was not a straightforward cover but a deeply felt reimagining. Heath poured their own heart and spirit into the piece, making it feel like an extension of their own identity. The crowd, near the end many clad in raincoats and ponchos, responded first with surprise and then with rousing applause. It was, without a doubt, one of the most powerful moments of the day.

They closed their set with “Murmurations,” one of their signature songs. The track opened with ethereal, dreamlike layers of guitar and harmonica, unfolding like mist across an open field. This was followed by a folk-inflected rhythmic pattern — driven by drums, bass, and guitar — that pulsed steadily throughout the entire piece. Over this hypnotic groove, rapid-fire guitar lines and expressive harmonica phrases rose and fell in waves. The vocals were partly spoken, partly sung, giving the song a storytelling tone reminiscent of beat poetry or experimental folk. The musical texture kept shifting — subtly, yet deliberately — mirroring the constant movement and cohesion of a murmuration of starlings. The song became not only a tribute to the image in its title, but a metaphor for its musical construction: a dance of rhythm, flow and freedom. “Murmurations” has become a regular highlight in Heath’s live shows. With its layered structure, changing time signatures and passionate instrumentation, the piece showcases the band at their most atmospheric and technically refined. 

In this performance at Midsummer Prog, Heath once again proved themselves as a band with a clear voice and artistic ambition. Their set offered a compelling blend of psychedelic rock, blues, folk  and progressive elements — played with passion, precision and a sense of storytelling. They don’t just play songs; they craft soundscapes and narratives that pull the audience into their world. For those unfamiliar with Heath before this set, this performance was surely an eye-opener — and for existing fans another confirmation of the band’s growing power.