Anyone who walked through the center of Tilburg on Saturday may have looked strange. Spread through the center was a queue of hundreds of meters long with thousands of metal fans. They have arrived from all over the world to Tilburg to admire the Dutch rock artist Ayreon. And because they all wanted to get a good place, it already made a long line of Poppodium 013 hours in advance.
One of those fans who was already in line hours in advance is our own reporter Jos Verkuijlen. “The atmosphere is good, the row is super fun and everyone is looking forward to it,” he says enthusiastically. Jos is a fan of the first hour. “I was there yesterday too. This show is really fantastic. A rock opera, with beautiful storylines.”
Ayreon is the name of the musical solo project by Arjen Lucassen from Oudenbosch. Due to the thirtieth anniversary, he performs five times this weekend in 013. He does that together with a lot of guest musicians. And all those concerts are sold out stiffly.
“People all want to be inside as soon as the doors open.”
Jos is one of the few fans who doesn’t have to spend hours on the plane to see the show. Because more than half of the visitors come from abroad. Including 44 Australians, such as Matthew, which we spoke earlier this week.
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It is therefore clear that Ayreon is popular. But the fact that there is already a row of the short hill, over the hill ring to 013, is not common. “That is probably because he has no support program. So people all want to be inside as soon as the doors open,” Jos explains.
He interrupts our conversation, because one of the singers comes by for a selfie. “Damian Wilson always does that, that is cool, says Jos.” I was there yesterday and then I also spoke to him. “
When the doors open, the fans pull a sprint towards the stage. The concert starts at two o’clock. For the fans it is pure enjoyment, but for the man behind Ayreon it is anything but self -evident. Arjen Lucassen is known for having a huge shelf fright. The fact that despite those panic attacks he celebrates this anniversary with five sold -out shows, makes the experience all the more special for both him and his fans.
