A crash course in Ayreon: from solo project to epic rock opera experience

For those who don't know you. Who are you guys?

Arjen: "I'm Arjen Lucassen, the founder of Ayreon."

Joost: "My name is Joost van den Broek, lead producer and keyboardist in the band."

Arjen: "Joost has really become a friend of mine. He is the brains behind all the shows. Without him, this really wouldn't happen."

What is Ayreon?

Arjen: "At the time, Ayreon was the title of my solo project. By now it's been ten rock operas with guest musicians and guest singers from all over the world."

To paint a time picture: 

Arjen: "In 2000 I went on a European tour with my Star One project. From there, Joost hooked up. In 2015, my then manager organized the theater production 'The Theater Equation' in Luxor Theater Rotterdam. Joost then arranged all the musicians and the show sold out quickly, even though we actually thought it was a bummer ourselves. We then decided to set up the next live performance better." 

Joost: "And that happened. In 2017, we performed for the first time in 013 with The Ayreon Universe. Again, the show sold out quickly. One thing led to another and now we are several Ayreon projects down the road."

Why Tilburg? 

Arjen: "When I was still playing in a band, I very often played at the Noorderligt (Now 013). Those were always my favorite shows! The venue and the atmosphere is good and the people are nice to work with. So when we started playing the Ayreon shows, 013 was my first choice. Fortunately, when I presented it to 013, they were immediately enthusiastic."

Joost: "The facilities and crew working there are super. We have regular meetings with the director. Well, he really doesn't do that with every band. We get a lot of special attention."

Arjen: "That's also one of the reasons why we do it there. Everyone asks why we don't play in the Ziggodome, because we can fit a lot more people there! But no, this just works and we think this is super." 

Joost: "013 has the perfect size. It still has something personal, which is very important to us and also suits Ayreon."

HOW DO THE AYREONAUTS EXPERIENCE TILBURG?

Joost: "In Tilburg you are very well received. You come into a city full of fans. Tilburg is all Ayreon that weekend. In Amsterdam you would never have that atmosphere, because that's just too big." 

Arjen: "Never change a winning team."

HOW DO YOU EXPERIENCE THE SHOWS?

Joost: "From the moment we think of doing another show, we start organizing it about two years in advance. Because I spend so much time on it as well as being a keyboard player in the band, it makes it extra interesting for me. I'm even more deeply involved musically, I know every detail of every song."

Previously 12,000 visitors, now 15,000 visitors from 64 different countries!

Arjen: "For me it's very exciting! There are 15,000 visitors coming from all over the world to see me, so I have to be on stage. But it's not my thing, I find it very scary. I'd rather be all alone doing what I'm good at; making rock operas. Picking singers and musicians, coming up with stories and writing songs. Yes, I'm a real control freak. On stage I find it hard to concentrate, it's just not my strong suit."