  We demonstrate second-band bright vortex-array solitons in photonic lattices.
This constitutes the first experimental observation of higher-band solitons in
any 2D periodic system. These solitons possess complex intensity and phase
structures, yet they can be excited by a simple highly-localized vortex-ring
beam. Finally, we show that the linear diffraction of such beams exhibits
preferential transport along the lattice axes.
