After seven wonderful years and three critically acclaimed studio albums, Jess Holland has decided to step back from Solstice at the end of 2026 to focus on her teaching career and her life outside the band. Jess's tenure with the band has seen a renaissance for Solstice and the band re-establishing itself as a much loved and influential force in the Prog rock scene in the UK. The band's forthcoming Summer and Autumn dates, culminating in their now annual hometown show at the Stables in Milton Keynes on 31 October, and their headline performance at the Prog Before Xmas mini-festival in Glasgow (in aid of Maggie's Cancer Centres) will be Jess's final performances with the band.
Driven on by founder Andy Glass, work on the next Solstice album to be released in mid-2027 is underway with the remaining seven members of the band. "As the seventh singer of Solstice, Jess’ beautiful voice, warm personality and energy filled performances have been pivotal in our recent good fortune and a huge inspiration to me personally.When I first referred to the creative journey that would become ‘The Sia Trilogy’, little did I know it would come to define an era with three albums full of Jess’ unique vocal, characteristic harmonies and songs that she made her own" Andy reflects and added "We will all miss her hugely yet, with much love and gratitude, we now move forward to a new chapter full of optimism for the possibilities that may bring with the exceptional talents we have in the band, and which we will no doubt add to in due course".
"I've had the time of my life working with Andy and the band over the past seven years" said Jess. "Solstice is like a family to which I feel I will always belong and the music we've created together, the joy we've had playing to audiences across the country, is an experience full of memories and friendships that I'll always cherish. I feel privileged to have been able to help write this chapter of the Solstice's history with the rest of the band and whilst its time for me to move on to the next phase of my life, I know the band will continue to grow under Andy's inspirational leadership, writing and playing. I'm looking forward to the remaining Solstice dates of 2026, celebrating the last seven years with the band and all our incredible supporters, and going out on a high".
Andy Glass added: "To everyone whose wonderful support has carried us this far, we thank you from the bottom of our hearts. I’ve no doubt you will share our sadness over Jess’ departure, but we give thanks for the time we’ve had together and hope you’ll join us at the forthcoming dates to celebrate with Jess, and that you'll stay with us and see where this journey leads. Work on the ninth studio Solstice album is well underway and our incredible singers, Leoni and Dyane, are working closely with me on the new material. We’ll be back on the road in 2027 with a new album to kick off the next chapter and we're all very excited about the next phase of the Solstice story. Love and thanks to you all".