AYREON needs no introduction to prog-rock lovers: over two decades years the band – helmed by Dutch composer and multi-instrumentalist Arjen Lucassen – has proved album after album to be one of the most interesting and unique projects out there, widely known for his elaborated rock operas featuring ensemble casts of illustrious guest musicians from all over the world such as Iron Maiden’s Bruce Dickinson, Blind Guardian’s Hansi Kürsch, Dream Theater’s James LaBrie, Genesis’ Steve Hackett and countless others. Now, in an effort to continue celebrating the 20th anniversary of the classic Ayreon album Into the Electric Castle, Arjen have announced that it will be performed live, in its entirety, for 4 exclusive shows in September 2019.
Arjen and his trusty sidekick, Joost van den Broek (who co-produced the Ayreon Universe shows in 2017), have already spent the past year working on bringing Into the Electric Castle to the stage for fans to enjoy. In fact, not even 30 minutes into the backstage party after the final Ayreon Universe encore last September, they were already scheming about what to do next! Electric Castle Live will feature nearly the entire cast of the original album, plus some very special guests.
The original cast includes names like Fish (ex-Marillion), Anneke van Giersbergen (VUUR), Damian Wilson (ex-Threshold), Thijs van Leer (Focus), Ed Warby (Ayreon), Edward Reekers (Kayak), Edwin Balogh, George Oosthoek (ex-Orphanage), with a plethora of special guests: Simone Simons (Epica), Mark Jansen (Mayan), John Jaycee Cuijpers (Praying Mantis), Marcela Bovio (Mayan), Dianne van Giersbergen (Ex Libris), Jan Willem Ketelaars, plus a super-secret extra special guest who we’ll be announcing later.
The main Ayreon band is comprised by Johan van Stratum (VUUR) on bass, Joost van den Broek on keys, Marcel Singor (Kayak), Ferry Duijsens (VUUR) and Bob Wijtsma (Ex Libris) on guitar, and Ben Mathot on violin. To top it all off, Arjen himself will be singing his original role as “The Hippie.”
Electric Castle Live – 4 Shows
- Dates: Friday 13 September, Saturday 14 September, and Sunday, 15 September (two shows)
- Location: Poppodium 013 – Tilburg, The Netherlands
Tickets go on sale to the general public on 26 October. Ayreon Universe sold out unbelievably fast, therefore Arjen has created two opportunities for advance purchase for dedicated Ayreon fans:
- People who’ve pre-ordered the Into The Electric Castle reissue through the Ayreon store (via Mascot) by 23 October at the latest will receive an email with a special link and code to buy tickets as early as 24 October (that’s 48 hours before the general public) click here to pre-order.
- Subscribers to the Ayreon Newsletter (sign up here) will receive an email with a special link and code to buy tickets as early as 25 October (24 hours before the general public).
Stay tuned for more news and surprises in the coming weeks.
