Symphony of Sweden is thrilled to announce the complete sell-out of their highly anticipated Premier Show in just two months. The band’s hometown performance has garnered an overwhelming response, filling the venue to capacity.
Evan and Lee shared their thoughts about the upcoming show: the band is gearing up to deliver an unforgettable experience, with intense rehearsals and meticulous planning to ensure a spectacular performance. Fans can look forward to a dynamic show, complete with a few special surprises.
Contributing musicians for the upcoming Premier Show:
🎸 Erik Arkö – Master of 4-String 🎓
Erik hails from Stockholm, Sweden, and brings a wealth of experience and talent to our lineup.
Henrik Bodin-Sköld – Guitar Virtuoso & Arrangement Maestro 🎨
Henrik’s fretwork prowess defines the soul-stirring sound of Symphony Of Sweden’s “Haunted” album, making each track an odyssey into hard rock mastery.
🥁 Niklas “Bullen” Bengtsson – Rhythmic Dynamo 🔥
Fueling the band’s heartbeat on drums, Niklas “Bullen” Bengtsson brings relentless energy and precision.
-Congratulations on selling out your Premier Show! How did you react when you found out all the tickets were gone in just two weeks?
Lee: It felt so amazing to see that so many people love our music and want to come and see us! A lot of people have also reached out trying to get some tickets but we can’t do anything if it’s sold out.
Evan: As we do this show in our home town which is rather small we really didn’t know how many fans we could expect for the event. How many will come from outside the town and how many from the town and so on? However, we are delighted to sell out the venue so fast of course and maybe we should have picked a bigger venue, but the theater is such a cool place so it was our first and last choice anyway!
-What do you feel as you prepare for your very first Premier Show?
Evan: It is very exciting to prepare for the show both in terms of performing live and also to plan for the show in technical terms of how to deal with all challenges to have our music come out as great sounding as possible.
Lee: Focus, focus, focus. Hard work. Vocal training every day, gym, running, eating healthy, no alcohol…etc. You live like a professional athlete.
-Can you give us a sneak peek into what fans can expect at the Premier Show? Any special surprises planned?
Lee: Rock! And one hell of a show!
Evan: We will have some tracks slightly extended and surprises are if so surprises right. (laughs)
-How did you approach planning the setlist for this significant event? Are there any songs you’re particularly excited to perform live?
Lee: Evan made a list that he showed me and asked what I thought. And it was pretty Spotify on. I had to fight for two songs to be a part of the show but I won’t tell you which ones. I’m looking forward to the really rocky ones! To blast off at the crowd “Even If Solo”, “Down and Counting”…etc.
Evan: As we have statistics from Spotify, we can easily see which songs people like the most, and mainly, there are no surprises about how we feel about those songs, so it was pretty straightforward to choose the songs for the show.
-What was the biggest challenge you faced while preparing for the Premier Show?
Evan: So far it is a pretty smooth ride. From a technical point of view, it turned out that our new bassist Erik is also a technical wizard, so he will be the master of the setups for the bass and guitar and I will focus on the rest. We will indeed use some modern tricks to beef up the live sound. And of course, learning how to play the songs live could be a challenge and what to play. Some parts are made up of layers of guitars for example, but instead of using too many backing tracks we have chosen which part is the most important and Henrik will play that part and so on.
Lee: Oh, for me, it’s about keeping the voice in the best shape it can be. But I mean, I’m only human, I can have a bad day also. So well, see what happens. I can only work as hard as I can and enjoy the moment.
-Have you incorporated any unique elements or visuals into the performance to make this show stand out?
Evan: We have not come that far in planning the visuals. But there is a small venue and initially I guess the audience will be quite impressed seeing Lee jumping around at the stage!
-How are you preparing to deliver an unforgettable experience for your fans at the Premier Show?
Lee: I have to say again: keeping my voice in perfect shape, so all can enjoy the song that they have been listening to for a couple of years, but now live!
-With the show being sold out so quickly, how are you dealing with the high expectations from your fans?
Lee: Haha, it’s a lot of pressure. I want to give you all the absolute best! Work every day. Live like a munk. All focus on that night. And for SHOWTIME!
-What are you most looking forward to on the night of the Premier Show?
Lee: To finally get to play the songs live. To meet the fans. To show that this is what we live for and want to do always.
-How do you plan to interact with the audience during the Premier Show to make them feel part of this milestone event?
Evan: Lee will have as much time as he wants to talk to the audience between songs and we have some ideas to have the band meet the audience after the show in a meet-and-greet kind of way.
-For those who couldn’t get tickets, will there be any way for them to experience the Premier Show, such as through live streaming or recorded footage?
Evan: We will not have a live stream this time. But we will indeed have a few video cameras to film the show.
-How does this Premier Show compare to previous performances you’ve done, and what makes it unique?
Evan: This is actually the first live performance we do together in this constellation with a full band as Symphony Of Sweden.
I think Lee and myself is actually the least experienced of us five performing live. The other guys have been playing live a lot over the years. Lee and I have focused the last 3-4 years on producing songs in the studio only. We have done just a few gigs with ”unplugged versions”, only me and Lee. So this will be very exciting to perform our songs live with full blast!
-Finally, how do you plan to celebrate after the Premier Show? Any special plans to mark the occasion?
Lee: I’m just gonna plan for the next opportunity to get to play more shows and meet more, and new fans, and do this full-time. We are coming for you, world!
Evan: I think we will be kind of exhausted after the show in a, you know…lucky way… But sure after the show we will sit down together in a relaxed environment and having a cold drink or two and just enjoy the moment and chat about the show and hopefully all went well, so there will be just good vibes!
About the band
Welcome to the musical world of Symphony Of Sweden!
Coming from the North of Sweden with winter and ice bears all over the place, the music is the other way around. Grand and epic with huge arrangements, the missing link between pop and metal – this is Symphony of Sweden! Add the powerful voice of Linus “Lee” Wester and the creative talent of Pontus “Evan” Hagberg you will have a concept that brings you on a journey from here to eternity.
Symphony Of Sweden is:
Pontus „Evan” Hagberg
Linus „Lee” Wester
The HistoryEvan and Lee lived in the same small town up north in Sweden. Lee had his own little service point, betting shop, tobacco store nearby which also happened to be Evan’s local service point where he went to get his parcels. After saying hello to each other for a couple of years, there was one day Evan had a parcel to get – which obviously was music-related. They fell into conversation with each other, a few days later Evan invited Lee to his studio. Evan: „he had found one of my instrumental tracks on Youtube and sang it with a new melody on top and lyrics for me in the studio, right there when he just arrived! I was blown away, and a week later we had our first ever track produced and completed. As soon he sang his first two words in the studio I wanted to work with him!”
The band released their first album, Inner Demons in January 2021, and their second album, Saints Of Yesterday came out on the 3rd of February, 2022. The band’s latest material, Haunted was released on the 7th of February, 2024.
More information at https://symphonyofsweden.se/
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