Circa

An art rock supergroup whose members are closely associated with prog giants <a href="spotify:artist:7AC976RDJzL2asmZuz7qil">Yes</a>, CIRCA: debuted in 2007 with the aptly named Circa: 2007. Initially comprised of <a href="spotify:artist:2oR2Frxa3hitSHpBsQhu7I">Alan White</a> (drums), <a href="spotify:artist:2HDAQ8NTHMQnQR6N5Rnde6">Tony Kaye</a> (Hammond, keyboards), <a href="spotify:artist:5CygLAXA4q6Ij6u3KbGxjp">Billy Sherwood</a> (vocals, guitar), and guitarist Jimmy Haun, the band issued two more albums before coalescing around a lineup consisting of <a href="spotify:artist:5CygLAXA4q6Ij6u3KbGxjp">Sherwood</a>, <a href="spotify:artist:2HDAQ8NTHMQnQR6N5Rnde6">Kaye</a>, drummer Scott Connor, and bassist Rick Tierney. CIRCA: released their fourth LP, Valley of the Windmill, in 2016.

<a href="spotify:artist:5CygLAXA4q6Ij6u3KbGxjp">Sherwood</a>'s affiliation with <a href="spotify:artist:7AC976RDJzL2asmZuz7qil">Yes</a> dates back to his involvement with the late-'80s spin-off group <a href="spotify:artist:2XTWgA3XVWe1N4qWBTNQei">Anderson Bruford Wakeman Howe</a>, on which he and his former Lodgic bandmate, guitarist Jimmy Haun, did some session work. In the years that followed, both he and Haun became further involved with <a href="spotify:artist:7AC976RDJzL2asmZuz7qil">Yes</a> and its various offshoots. Following a series of <a href="spotify:artist:7AC976RDJzL2asmZuz7qil">Yes</a>-related projects in the mid-2000s, <a href="spotify:artist:5CygLAXA4q6Ij6u3KbGxjp">Sherwood</a> and <a href="spotify:artist:2HDAQ8NTHMQnQR6N5Rnde6">Kaye</a> decided to form a proper band and recruited Haun and <a href="spotify:artist:7AC976RDJzL2asmZuz7qil">Yes</a> drummer <a href="spotify:artist:2oR2Frxa3hitSHpBsQhu7I">Alan White</a> to form CIRCA:. They made their recording debut with Circa: 2007, supporting it with a handful of North American dates later that year. By late 2008, drummer <a href="spotify:artist:5h7eSdfvRBwuveHVP3W093">Jay Schellen</a> had replaced <a href="spotify:artist:2oR2Frxa3hitSHpBsQhu7I">White</a>, and this lineup delivered their follow-up, 2009's Circa: HQ. Another new project was formed later that year that included members of CIRCA: fronted by <a href="spotify:artist:0PFtn5NtBbbUNbU9EAmIWF">Toto</a> singer <a href="spotify:artist:5sdxXYNUkJPaTacZ5K0RSx">Bobby Kimball</a>. Under the name <a href="spotify:artist:0LsitloyWcnQPaaYK4ZurB">Yoso</a> (a combination of <a href="spotify:artist:7AC976RDJzL2asmZuz7qil">Yes</a> and <a href="spotify:artist:0PFtn5NtBbbUNbU9EAmIWF">Toto</a>), they released their lone album in 2010. By the time <a href="spotify:artist:0LsitloyWcnQPaaYK4ZurB">Yoso</a> had disbanded in 2011, <a href="spotify:artist:5CygLAXA4q6Ij6u3KbGxjp">Sherwood</a> and <a href="spotify:artist:2HDAQ8NTHMQnQR6N5Rnde6">Kaye</a> remained as the only core members of the original CIRCA: lineup.

With new drummer Scott Connor and guitarist Johnny Bruhns, CIRCA: returned to the studio and delivered their third album, 2011's And So On. 2012 saw <a href="spotify:artist:5CygLAXA4q6Ij6u3KbGxjp">Sherwood</a> switching to guitar with the arrival of new bassist Ricky Tierney, and this lineup recorded the 2013 concert album Live from Here, There & Everywhere. After signing with Frontiers Records, CIRCA: released their fourth long-player, the intricate and proggy Valley of the Windmill in the summer of 2016. ~ Timothy Monger, Rovi