In 2008 Dream Theater started the Progressive Nation 2008 tour , along with Opeth , Between the Buried and Me , and 3 . The tour is the brainchild of Mike Portnoy , who stated , " I 've been wanting to assemble a package tour like this for many years now . With all of the festivals and package tours that go through America , I 've been talking with our manager and agent for over 10 years now about doing something that focuses on the more progressive , musician-oriented side of hard rock and metal . I decided it was time to stop talking the talk , lace up and finally walk the walk . " On February 13 , 2009 , Dream Theater announced the official line up for their Progressive Nation 2009 tour . The tour was originally set to feature bands including Swedish bands Beardfish and Pain of Salvation , as well as Zappa plays Zappa . On June 22 , 2009 , Mike Portnoy announced that Pain of Salvation and Beardfish would not be touring the North American leg of the Progressive Nation 2009 tour because of record label complications . In the same announcement , Portnoy stated that the bands Scale the Summit and Bigelf would replace Pain of Salvation and Beardfish on the tour . This lineup change has put Bigelf on both the North American and European legs of the Progressive Nation 2009 tour . The tour 's North American leg ran throughout July and August 2009 . On March 26 , 2009 it was announced that Dream Theater would take the Progressive Nation tour to Europe for the first time alongside Opeth , Bigelf and Unexpect . The tour ran throughout September and October 2009
Progressive Nation 2009
Progressive Nation 2009
Dream Theater