It’s time for our 3rd Epic recap. This one is going to cover December, January and February. Let’s go !
LIVE PERFORMANCES
In January, the band took the “Design Your Universe 10th Anniversary” shows to North America. Simone said she was very jetlagged in Montréal, but she felt better for the following shows ! The band performed two sets during the 70000 Tons of Metal cruise. The 2nd one was windy (as you can see in the aftermovie), as it took place on the deck of the boat ! Simone had to tie her hair up in a ponytail because of the wind. It was a nice change to see this hairstyle on stage.
03 Jan 2020 – Corona Theatre, Montréal, Canada
Live Pictures • Backstage • VIP/With Fans • Watch Aftermovie
05 Jan 2020 – The Regent, Los Angeles, USA
Live Pictures • Backstage • VIP/With Fans • Watch Aftermovie
08 Jan 2020 – 70000 Tons of Metal, Ft. Lauderdale, USA
Live Pictures • Backstage • Watch Aftermovie
10 Jan 2020 – 70000 Tons of Metal, Ft. Lauderdale, USA
Live Pictures • Backstage • Watch Aftermovie
12 Jan 2020 – Webster Hall, New York, USA
Live Pictures • Backstage • VIP/With Fans • Watch Aftermovie
During the 70000 Tons of Metal cruise, Simone (along with other artists like Alexander Krull, Vicky Psarakis and many others) signed a Dean Michael Schenker Standard Electric Guitar that was auctioned on Feb 14th for 2,400$. Full proceeds were donated to poverty and disaster relief efforts in Mexico via Direct Relief Mexico.
NEW SHOWS
Epica announced a lot of tour dates for 2020 ! In addition to summer festivals and new tour dates in Latin America, the band will also tour in October, November and December in Europe with Apocalyptica to promote the upcoming 8th studio album. Visit epica.nl for tickets and VIP upgrades (when available).
Festivals :
03 May 2020 – 3-Majówkę, Wroclaw, Poland
03 Jul 2020 – Dokk’em Open Air, Dokkum, The Netherlands
04 Jul 2020 – Rock the Castle, Verona, Italy (announced in November)
09 Jul 2020 – 11 Jul 2020 – Area 53, Leoben, Austria (announced in October)
16 Jul 2020 – 18 Jul 2020 – Bang Your Head, Balingen, Germany
06 Aug 2020 – 08 Aug 2020 – Leyendas del Rock Festival, Villena, Spain
Design Your Universe 10th Anniversary Tour – Latin America Leg #2 :
28 May 2020 – Teatro Caupolican, Santiago de Chile, Chile (announced in November)
30 May 2020 – El Teleferico, Quito, Ecuador
31 May 2020 – Centro de Convenciones Barranco, Lima, Peru
8th Album Tour – Epic Apocalypse (Epica + Apocalyptica) :
21 Oct 2020 – Komplex, Zurich, Switzerland
22 Oct 2020 – Metropole, Lausanne, Switzerland
23 Oct 2020 – Fabrique, Milan, Italy
25 Oct 2020 – Barba Negra, Budapest, Hungary
26 Oct 2020 – Hala Vodova, Brno, Czech Republic
27 Oct 2020 – Tonhalle, Munich, Germany
29 Oct 2020 – Berns, Stockholm, Sweden
30 Oct 2020 – Sentrum Scene, Oslo, Norway
31 Oct 2020 – Amager Bio, Copenhagen, Denmark
02 Nov 2020 – Capitol, Hannover, Germany
03 Nov 2020 – Docks, Hamburg, Germany
04 Nov 2020 – Colombia Club, Berlin, Germany
06 Nov 2020 – Progresja, Warsaw, Poland
08 Nov 2020 – Haus Auensee, Leipzig, Germany
09 Nov 2020 – Gasometer, Vienna, Austria
26 Nov 2020 – Coliseum, Lisbon, Portugal
28 Nov 2020 – Gamma, Murcia, Spain
29 Nov 2020 – La Riviera, Madrid, Spain
30 Nov 2020 – Razzmatazz II, Barcelona, Spain
03 Dec 2020 – Le Zénith, Paris, France
04 Dec 2020 – Ancienne Belgique, Brussels, Belgium
05 Dec 2020 – Roundhouse, London, United Kingdom
07 Dec 2020 – O2 Academy, Bristol, United Kingdom
08 Dec 2020 – O2 Academy, Glasgow, United Kingdom
09 Dec 2020 – Academy, Manchester, United Kingdom
11 Dec 2020 – AFAS Live, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
12 Dec 2020 – Den Atelier, Luxembourg, Luxembourg
15 Dec 2020 – Carlswerk Victoria, Cologne, Germany
16 Dec 2020 – Schlachthof, Wiesbaden, Germany
17 Dec 2020 – MHP Arena, Ludwigsburg, Germany
You can watch a video of Simone announcing the show at AFAS Live here, and a promotional video for the Epic Apocalypse tour by Simone and Perttu Kivilaakso (from Apocalyptica) here.
8TH ALBUM
After a writing camp in November, the band members started working on the new songs. They recorded demos in December (pictures here), then the band met again in late January at Sandlane Recording Facilities (The Netherlands) for the pre-production (pictures here). Simone recorded a Vlog to share this process with us (you can watch it here). In an interview, Mark revealed the new album will be released at the end of summer.
PRESS
In February, Simone was interviewed by Primera Fila (Peru). You can see the scan and read the interview (in Spanish) here. Thanks to @perumetalpm for the scan.
PHOTOSHOOTS
Many new photoshoots were posted by Simone and her photographer friends lately : 4 new photos by Pauline Darley, 2 promotional photos for the Epic Apocalypse Tour by Tim Tronckoe, new photos by Simone for Lisa Eldridge Cosmetics, a Christmas photoshoot by Simone, a photoshoot in Los Angeles by Isaac Delahaye, another photoshoot by Simone, a photoshoot by Simone for Linda Hallberg Cosmetics, a photoshoot by Ines and Madeleine in Stuttgart, a photoshoot by Nadine at Berlinale 2020, a photoshoot by Simone for Natasha Denona and a promo shoot for the Signature shirt.
MERCHANDISING
The band released a limited edition shirt for 70000 Tons of Metal, with Simone looking like a siren on a pirate ship. It was quickly sold-out, and more shirts were added to the webshop before being sold-out too.
Each band members also designed a “signature” shirt. You can see them all (and pre-order them if you want to) at epicawebshop.com. I think Simone’s shirt looks great !
You can see Simone wearing the shirt and talking about it in this video.
CONCERTS
Simone recently attended two concerts : Amaranthe and Apocalyptica (Hanns-Martin-Schleyer-Halle, Stuttgart, Germany) with her husband Oliver and Lindemann (Zenith, Munich, Germany) with her friend Stefan Heilemann. In Stuttgart, Simone spent a few hours with one of her best friends Elize Ryd and took some cute and funny pictures in the meantime !
BERLINALE 2020
For the fourth year in a row, Simone attended the Berlinale (Berlin Film Festival) with l’Oréal. On the first day, she attended the Bar Opening of Room No. 311 and on the second day, she walked the red carpet at the “First Cow” Premiere in a stunning dress. In a blog post, Simone said she went for a Jessica Chastain inspired old Hollywood glam look, and I think she looked really gorgeous ! I’m glad she had so much fun with her friends in Berlin.
Simone posted a Vlog for the first day on Instagram. In this video, she tried several dresses before a party. You can watch it here. In a few Instastories, she also hinted that another Vlog (for the second day) is coming soon.
SOCIAL NETWORKS
Mark and Simone posted Christmas Greetings in December (you can watch the video here). The band also published a video to thank the fans after reaching an impressive milestone on Spotify : 500.000 followers ! Congratulations !
SIDE PROJECTS & COLLABORATIONS
Tim Tronckoe posted The Making of PORTRAITS, a behind-the-scenes video featuring lots of artists, including Simone. She talked about being asked to be part of the project, the dress she wore and why she liked Tim’s photography. Watch the documentary to see what Simone was wearing under her dress ! 🙂
In September 2019, Simone was a guest at Ayreon’s “Electric Castle and Other Tales” shows. One of these shows will be released in CD, DVD, Blu-Ray, Vinyl and Earbook on March 27th 2020. You can see the different versions and pre-order here. You can watch a trailer here and one song from the show here (Garden of Emotions).
