Nightwish is used to touring the world with sold-out concert halls, arenas and huge festivals. However, with the introduction of COVID restrictions around the world, the metal giant has had fewer and fewer opportunities to physically perform for fans around the world.
However, running a big touring unit and a massive staff costs a lot of money, so the lack of gigs inevitably creates a financial setback for any large-scale touring band.
Nightwish were due to play to a sold-out Ziggo Dome in Amsterdam on 22nd of November, but the show had to be cancelled due to local regulations. The band’s singer Floor Jansen decided to take out her disappointment on social media in a long post.
“Another show we cannot play. My spot empty once again”, Jansen begins and continues:
“It is harder and harder to bounce back and accept the situation. Harder to trust our governments who set out expectations and make promises no one can keep. That word group immunity disappeared from the lips of the ones leading us through this mess. It’s not a percentage of people that needs to become immune. We all need to be in order to get the situation under control. But what do I know? As a singer? I am, as the vast majority of you reading this, not educated to know what to do. We are all depending on the knowledge of others.”
“It’s also easy to blame others for things going wrong! And I try really hard to keep my faith in those who work around the clock to fight this pandemic. But in all honesty, that gets harder and harder too. Every country makes their own truth and for us musicians and all who work with us it’s an impossible and ever changing puzzle we make daily in order to understand what we can and can’t do. The cancellation of more shows took the air from my lungs and drained me from my energy. And I can’t say I recovered because I don’t know when things really go better again!”
“I feel sad for myself. And I take time to be that….But my problems are still luxury problems next to the ones the hospitals fase daily. Next to those of people who where in desperate need of a surgery, a treatment or a test of some sort. The problems people will have because they didn’t go to the doctor in time. The undetected cancers, the growing physical and mental problems we haven’t seen yet.”
“Today I won’t sing with Nightwish in a sold out Ziggo Dome in Amsterdam. Not tomorrow either. By far the most shows of our European tour moved to next year again. We’re in this together! If we all do our bit we can go back to living! Stay healthy and sane and take good care of yourself and each other”
You can see Jansen’s post in full below.