Finnish symphonic metallers NIGHTWISH have posted a new photo of their current lineup stating: “…and this is who we are now!”
Photo by Ville Lipiäinen
Nightwish photo standing in the back: touring singer Floor Jansen (REVAMP, ex-AFTER FOREVER) and leader/keyboardist Tuomas Holopainen.
Sitting: drummer Jukka Nevalainen, Troy Donockley (uillean pipes, tin whistle) bassist/vocalist Marco Hietala and guitarist Emppu Vuorinen.
As reported earlier by Metal Hammer Germany, Nightwish decision to split with singer Anette Olzon was decided long ago.
Floor Jansen (REVAMP, ex-AFTER FOREVER) was hired a few weeks ago as a replacement for the tour and the band sent her text last Saturday saying: “How soon can you be in the US.”
According to Metal Hammer Germany, NIGHTWISH‘s decision to split with singer Anette Olzon was decided long ago.
Floor Jansen (REVAMP, ex-AFTER FOREVER) was hired a few weeks ago as a replacement for the tour and the band sent her text last Saturday saying: “How soon can you be in the US.”
On October 1st, NIGHTWISH officially parted ways with vocalist Anette Olzon, citing personal differences. The band has since announced the addition of substitute vocalist Floor Jansen from The Netherlands (ex-AFTER FOREVER, REVAMP), who will help the band complete their current Imaginaerum world tour.
Multi-instrumentalist and NIGHTWISH touring musician Troy Donockley (pictured at left), has posted the following update from Nightwish’s current North American tour:
“‘Keep Calm and Carry On….’. Oh yes indeedy. These were the famous words written on “morale boosting” posters by the British government at the beginning of WW2. Now, I am not for one moment suggesting that the first half of our US tour has been like the outbreak of the war, but those words are pretty bloody pertinent!
Oh how we love touring the states. It’s trite to say that the fans here are so brilliant (they are of course) because the fans are brilliant EVERYWHERE. But they have been particularly lovely to us; especially in light of the recent explosive events.
Yes, a split with the singer Anette occurred but it was really, really for the best. Believe me. The joy of this adventure was being wrecked and everyone was feeling very insecure… It was seriously interfering with our tasting sessions of the fine wines from the Napa Valley. Outrageous!
I mean, we never could have predicted that myself and Tuomas would find ourselves on stage, alone, asking an audience of over 1,600 in Denver to vote by a show of hands on whether the band should perform or not. Touchingly we were met by a sea of upraised hands; beautiful but how surreal.
Anyway, we have fully embraced the slogan from that heroic old poster, and we are all feeling a squillion times better. Our replacement singer Floor is simply majestic and we are having fearless fun. And on evidence of the ecstatic response to the last two shows, the fans seem to understand that this “vehicle of spirit” cannot be derailed so easily.”
Fan-filmed video of Nightwish performing ‘Nemo’ in Seattle, and a 22-minute overview of their Portland show is available below:
Remaining dates on the tour are as follows:
October
5 – The Grove – Anaheim, CA
6 – House of Blues – San Diego, CA
7 – The Marquee – Tempe, AZ
9 – Diamond Ballroom – Oklahoma City, OK
10 – Emo’s – Austin, TX
11 – House Of Blues – New Orleans, LA
13 – Revolution – Ft Lauderdale, FL
14 – House of Blues Lake Buena Vista – Lake Buena Vista, FL
New NIGHTWISH touring singer Floor Jansen has revealed that she was originally asked to join the band for their upcoming dates in November, December and January but that plans changed over the weekend following the sudden departure of Anette Olzon in the middle of the group’s North American tour.
During an October 2 interview with the “Giel Beelen” show on the Dutch radio station 3FM, Floor said, “Saturday morning [September 29] I got a text message saying, ‘How fast can you come to the USA?’ So I packed everything as quickly as I could and booked a ticket for the first plane and practiced the songs. They had already previously asked me to join them on the road for the dates in November, December and January, [so] I had been preparing for it a little bit for only one week. And since those plans changed [over the weekend], I ended up only having a few days to get ready and a rehearsal of two hours with [the songs’] lyrics in front of me.”
Jansen, who called the opportunity to sing for NIGHTWISH a “dream come true,” also confirmed that she will be on the road with the band through the end of January.
Asked if fans can also expect to hear her on NIGHTWISH‘s next studio album, Floor said, “There has been no discussion about that at this point. Right now, the plans is just for me to be a temporary replacement for Anette. All is I know is that it is really an awesome opportunity for me and I’m going to enjoy every minute of it and we’ll see what the future brings.”
In announcing the sudden singer switch on Monday (October 1), NIGHTWISH said, “In recent times it has become increasingly obvious that the direction and the needs of the band were in conflict, and this has led to a division from which we cannot recover.”
They added, “We are all strongly committed to this journey, this vehicle of spirit, and we are sure that this will lead to a brighter future for everyone.
“We forever remain excited about the adventures to come, and we are extremely proud of the two beautiful albums and the wonderful shows we shared together.”
Olzon joined NIGHTWISH in 2007 as the replacement for Tarja Turunen after the latter was fired in 2005.
Video below: NIGHTWISH performing live on October 3 in San Francisco, California
As a way to thank you for sticking with Nightwish, we’ve decided to add more VIP meet & greet occasions for the rest of the US tour.
This means that for every tour date till the end of the US tour there will be a limited amount of VIP tickets available. This also applies to the already earlier sold out meet & greet events, which now have additional VIP tickets on sale
People with normal tickets have now a possibility to upgrade to VIP tickets.
As said: We’re grateful for the faith you’ve shown to us. We’re grateful for the two brilliant shows with Floor at the helm already. And we’re grateful for the chance to continue this tour for us all! Thank You!
Here’s the list for the new and upgradeable venues with VIP meet & greet tickets:
this offer only lasts while the tickets are available …
Oct 3, San Francisco, CA, The Warfield – VIP tickets are now onsale through the Warfield box office. The upgrades for tonight are available all day at the box office for the people who already bought regular tickets.
Oct 5, Anaheim, CA, The Grove – VIP tickets are now back onsale through Enterthevault.com. Later today the upgrades will be available at the Grove box office for the people who already bought regular tickets.
Oct 6, San Diego, CA, House of Blues – VIP tickets are now onsale through Enterthevault.com. Later today the upgrades will be available at the House of Bues box office for the people who already bought regular tickets.
Oct 7, Tempe, AZ, Marquee Theater – VIP tickets are now onsale through Enterthevault.com. Later today the upgrades will be available at the Marquee box office for the people who already bought regular tickets.
Oct 9, Ok City, OK, Diamond Ballroom – VIP tickets are now onsale through Enterthevault.com. Later today the upgrades will be available at the venue box office for the people who already bought regular tickets.
Oct 10, Austin, TX, Emos – VIP tickets are now onsale through Enterthevault.com. On the showday the upgrades will be available at the venue box office for the people who already bought regular tickets.
Oct 11, New Orleans, LA, House of Blues – VIP tickets are now onsale through Enterthevault.com. Later on the upgrades will be available at the venue box office for the people who already bought regular tickets.
Oct 13, Ft Lauderdale, FL, Revolution – VIP tickets are now onsale through Enterthevault.com. Later on the upgrades will be available at the venue box office for the people who already bought regular tickets.
Oct 14, Lake Buena Vista, FL, House of Blues – VIP tickets are now onsale through Enterthevault.com. Later on the upgrades will be available at the venue box office for the people who already bought regular tickets.
Dutch singer Floor Jansen (REVAMP, ex-AFTER FOREVER) made her live debut as the frontwoman of NIGHTWISH this past Monday night (October 1) at Showbox Sodo in Seattle, Washington.
Jansen is filling the role of lead vocalist in NIGHTWISH on the band’s current North American tour after the group parted ways with Anette Olzon over the weekend.
In a blog post on her official web site at FloorJansen.com, Floor had the following to say about the first couple of days of the tour:
“I am writing to you sitting here in the tour bus with NIGHTWISH! We are heading to San Francisco. The sun is shining bright here and the scenery is beautiful.
“I am trying to find words to describe how I feel, but it’s impossible to really cover it. I am on a high!
“What do you do when NIGHTWISH asks you to join them on tour? Stay calm and say, well, OK…? Or does your heart start beating twice as fast instantly, hands start to sweat and your mouth is unwilling to pronounce words like, ‘That sounds amazing.’ I guess I don’t need to tell what happened to me.
“The time to prepare was scarily short… I packed my bags and left and printed the lyrics into my head all the way over from Amsterdam to America. Fifteen hours of airplane later, I arrived with a jetlag, a full head and the most happy feeling ever. The next day I jumped on board on this bus and the adventure truly began. I was welcomed into the group as an old friend and I felt great instantly.
“It is now 10 years ago I joined NIGHTWISH on tour with AFTER FOREVER as their support act. We stayed in touch ever since and that made the whole situation so much easier and smooth.
“The day of the first show, we also did a long soundcheck to rehearse the songs. That was the only possibility. You cannot imagine how nervous I was before that first show started! Next to nerves, my voice was battered by a cold due to all the travels, lack of sleep and airco’s.
“The intro started… I ran on stage… and all nerves were gone! The music and the guys took me in and so did the audience.
“What an experience! The excitement lasted the entire show, and way after. When I went to my tour bus bed that night, I still had a smile on my face. I felt so happy and satisfied I fell asleep instantly.
“The next morning I woke up — ahem — afternoon… in Portland. Show number two was there already. So were the first online reactions and the massive amount of press that responded to the news. You must be living under a stone if the news didn’t reach you yet. I even did an interview with the Dutch radio, standing outside the venue in my stage outfit. With a nine-hour time difference… My cold got worse and the doctor had to give me some power supplies to help me. Thank goodness for that, they helped instantly and the second show was an amazing blast.
“The Crystal Hall in Portland is a beautiful venue and the atmosphere extraordinary! Again the audience welcomed me warmly! I am so grateful!!!
“Today [Wednesday, October 3] we’ll play in San Fransisco! I always wanted to see this city so I hope there is some time (and energy) left for this!
“I will keep writing to you. And for those who came to the show: thank you for your support!”
A 22-minute compilation of fan-filmed clips of Tuesday night’s NIGHTWISH concert (October 2) at the Crystal Ballroom in Portland, Oregon can be seen below.
Featured songs:
00:03 “Storytime”
03:17 “Wish I Had An Angel”
05:13 Floor Jansen introduction
05:47 “Dark Chest of Wonders”
08:28 “Amaranth”
09:14 “Scaretale”
NIGHTWISH stated about the sudden singer switch, “In recent times it has become increasingly obvious that the direction and the needs of the band were in conflict, and this has led to a division from which we cannot recover.”
They added, “We are all strongly committed to this journey, this vehicle of spirit, and we are sure that this will lead to a brighter future for everyone.
“We forever remain excited about the adventures to come, and we are extremely proud of the two beautiful albums and the wonderful shows we shared together.”
Olzon joined NIGHTWISH in 2007 as the replacement for Tarja Turunen after the latter was fired in 2005.
Video below: NIGHTWISH performing live on October 3 in San Francisco, California
Video below: NIGHTWISH performing live on October 2 in Portland, Oregon
Pictured below: Floor Jansen in her dressing room after NIGHTWISH‘s October 3 concert in San Francisco
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On October 1st, NIGHTWISH officially parted ways with vocalist Anette Olzon, citing personal differences. The band has since announced the addition of substitute vocalist Floor Jansen from The Netherlands (ex-AFTER FOREVER, REVAMP), who will help the band complete their current Imaginaerum world tour.
