AYREON. If you don’t know them, that’s a true shame. Arjen Anthony Lucassen has been making epic (mostly sci-fi) space operas under this moniker since 1995, which means that he’s an old salt at prog rock operas these days, and his albums have done nothing but get better and better over the years. However, he is also a self-declared recluse and is well-known for being very stage-shy, so touring AYREON has never been in the cards, especially due to the magnitude of guests that would need to be included in the production. That said, back in the 2010s, someone had the brilliant idea to turn the 2004 album, “The Human Equation“ into a stage production that ran for 3 days in September 2015, known as “The Theater Equation.” Humble as can be, the production budget for the live release was very low, as Arjen hadn’t expected the show to be as popular as it was, even with an extra show added on the weekend’s Sunday. In fact, the show was so popular that Arjen‘s long-time girlfriend, Lori Linstruth, suggested they do a best-of show in 2017, “Ayreon Universe.” This further led to the live version of 1998’s “Into the Electric Castle,” and finally – after a break from the every-2-year schedule due to COVID – this year’s “Live Beneath the Waves,” wherein the 2008 release, “01011001” (also known as “Y”) was played in its entirety. We attended the show(s) on Saturday, September 16th, 2023, at the famous Poppodium 013 in Tilburg once again! Check our gallery below or read our report here…
Note: We split up the gallery into two sections: band and cast. Click here for pictures of the band and click here to see photographs of the cast.
The Band
The Cast
Photos by Laureline Tilkin
Text by Bear Wiseman
