Arjen Lucassen has confirmed he’ll play more acoustic shows than originally planned with Anneke Van Gierbergen.
The notoriously private Lucassen recently completed work on The Diary, a collaborative album with Van Giersbergen under the name The Gentle Storm. But he’ll only play one show with the band – their first, on March 26 in Amsterdam.
He says: “don’t ask me how she did it, but somehow Anneke managed to convince this total recluse to join her as a special guest for some acoustic shows in February.
“If anyone else had asked I’d have turned them down flat – but to share the stage with Anneke is something I simply couldn’t refuse. I’m slightly nervous, of course – but strangely excited at the same time. Hope to see you there.”
Van Giersbergen recently said: “I will play a solo set, then, halfway through, Arjen will join me. We’ll perform some Ayreon classics together and premiere a couple of songs from The Gentle Storm album. This will be a unique opportunity to catch us performing together. I’m looking forward to it a lot!”
The Diary is released on March 23 via InsideOut.
Van Giersbergen with Arjen Lucassen acoustic shows
Feb 17: Budapest Planetarium, Hungary
Feb 18: Istanbul Bronx, Turkey
Feb 19: Bucharest Hard Rock Cafe, Romania
Feb 20: Sofia TBC, Bulgaria
Feb 22: Berlin K17, Germany
Feb 23: Helsinki Nosturi, Finland
Feb 26: Bologna Locomotiv, Italy
Feb 27: Warsaw Hybrid, Poland
Feb 28: Poznan Pod Minoga, Poland
The Gentle Storm European tour
Mar 26: Amsterdam Melkweg, Netherlands
Mar 28: Rock Ittervoort festival, Netherlands
Apr 03: Zwolle Hedon, Netherlands
Apr 04: Paaspop festival, Netherlands
Apr 11: Deen Haag Paard van Troje, Netherlands
Apr 22: Paris Divan du Monde, France
Apr 23: London Garage
Apr 24: Leicester Musician
Apr 25: Manchester Roadhouse
Apr 26: Prog-resiste Convention festival, Belgium
