Endless Forms Most Beautiful World Tour

Endless Forms Most Beautiful World Tour was the sixth world tour by Finnish symphonic metal band Nightwish, in support of their eighth studio album, Endless Forms Most Beautiful.[1]

Endless Forms Most Beautiful World Tour

Tour by Nightwish
The promo poster for the Latin American tour in September–October 2015
Associated album	Endless Forms Most Beautiful
Start date	April 9, 2015
End date	October 9, 2016
Legs	12
No. of shows	65 in Europe 55 in North America 14 in Latin America 12 in Asia 5 in Oceania 1 cancellations 151 total
Nightwish concert chronology

It was the first full tour featuring lead singer Floor Jansen, who replaced Anette Olzon in late 2012,[2] and it was the first tour featuring drummer Kai Hahto, who replaced Jukka Nevalainen on hiatus due to health issues.[3]

The band toured United States and Canada from April to May 2015 and in June started a series of festivals appearances across Europe, including two headlining shows in Finland;[1] In September, the band took part in the traditional Rock in Rio festival in Brazil,[4] also with additional dates for Latin America,[5] and then toured European arenas from October to November, ending the leg at the famous Wembley Arena in London.[6] In 2016, the band toured Australia in January, embarked on another North American tour in February and March, followed by Asia in April, and a small tour in Russia and Ukraine before setting off for another series of festivals.[1]

Both concerts in Tampere Stadium and Wembley Arena were recorded for a live DVD called Vehicle of Spirit which was released on December 16, 2016.

On August 20, 2016 at the Himos Park show, original Nightwish bassist Sami Vänskä joined the band on stage to play "Stargazers" with them on bass while Marco joined the crowd. Jukka Nevalainen was also a guest, filling in for Kai Hahto for drums to play "Last Ride of the Day".

The band made their first appearance back in South Korea since the Wishmaster World Tour fifteen years ago.

Reception

Nightwish performing in Oberhausen in 2015.

Samantha Wu from V13, gave the Toronto performance a positive review. She praised Floor Jansen's vocals and her presence on stage, citing that she "is a thrill to watch". She also praised the inclusion of old songs like "Stargazers" being added to the setlist which have not been performed in a long while, as well as the spotlight shining moment with Marco Hietala's performance of "The Islander". Samantha concluded her review by stating that that Floor was the perfect fit for the band in which she hopes she will be with the band for a long time, as well as stating their performance that night was 'simply outstanding'.[7]

Anabel from RockRevolt Magazine who attended the Greek Theater performance in Los Angeles had given the show a positive review. In their review of the concert, they pointed out the nature and traveler themed imagery and props used for the stage, used in the adventurer theme of the album itself. The reviewer praised the strong setlist, referring to the energetic songs and beautiful ballads on the set. The reviewer cited Floor Jansen's vocals as awe-inspiring in which she had stolen the show for the use of her theatrical expressions. The reviewer concluded their review, stating that the encore songs were the "icing on the cake" finish for an amazing show.[8]

Dan Shutt, a reporter from The Independent, who had attended the sold out Wembley performance, noted on the energy and excitement of the show as a spectacle, sticking to the formula with pyrotechnics and visual effects playing throughout the biggest songs. However, he criticized the lack of personalisation which was outweighed by Floor's vocals.[9]

Setlist

Songs performed throughout the tour

Oceanborn

• "Stargazers"
• "Sleeping Sun"

Wishmaster

• "She Is My Sin"
• "Wishmaster"

Century Child

• "Bless the Child"
• "Ever Dream"

Once

• "Dark Chest of Wonders"
• "Nemo"
• "The Siren"
• "Romanticide"
• "Ghost Love Score"

Dark Passion Play

• "The Poet and the Pendulum"
• "Amaranth"
• "Sahara"
• "The Islander"
• "7 Days to the Wolves"
• "While Your Lips Are Still Red"

Imaginaerum

• "Storytime"
• "I Want My Tears Back"
• "Last Ride of the Day"

Endless Forms Most Beautiful

• "Shudder Before the Beautiful"
• "Weak Fantasy" (preceded by a Dawkins narration)
• "Élan"
• "Yours Is an Empty Hope"
• "My Walden"
• "Endless Forms Most Beautiful"
• "Alpenglow"
• "Edema Ruh"
• "The Greatest Show on Earth" (Chapters II: Life & III: The Toolmaker) (Performed in its entirety at Wembley Arena.)

Sample Setlist

The following setlist was performed at the first show of the tour at Hammerstein Ballroom, but has since had alterations to it: [10]

• "The Greatest Show on Earth "Chapter V: Sea-Worn Driftwood"" (intro)
• "Shudder Before the Beautiful"
• "Yours Is an Empty Hope"
• "Amaranth"
• "She Is My Sin"
• "Endless Forms Most Beautiful"
• "My Walden"
• "The Islander"
• "Élan"
• "Weak Fantasy"
• "Storytime"
• "Nemo"
• "I Want My Tears Back"
• "Stargazers"
• "Sleeping Sun"
• "The Greatest Show on Earth (Chapter II and III)"

Encore:

• "Ghost Love Score"
• "Last Ride of the Day"

Tour dates

Date	City	Country	Venue	Support Act
North America
April 9, 2015	New York City	United States	Hammerstein Ballroom	Sabaton[11] Delain[12]
April 10, 2015	Philadelphia		Electric Factory
April 11, 2015	Worcester		Palladium Center
April 13, 2015	Quebec City	Canada	Capitole Theatre
April 14, 2015	Toronto		Phoenix Theatre
April 16, 2015	Buffalo	United States	Town Ballroom
April 17, 2015	Cleveland		Agora Theatre
April 18, 2015	Chicago		Concorde Music Hall
April 19, 2015	Clive		7 Flags Center
April 21, 2015	Denver		Ogden Theatre
April 22, 2015	Salt Lake City		In the Venue
April 24, 2015	Spokane		Knitting Factory Club
April 25, 2015	Vancouver	Canada	Orpheum
April 26, 2015	Portland	United States	Crystal Ballroom
April 28, 2015	San Francisco		Warfield Theatre
April 30, 2015	Las Vegas		House of Blues
May 1, 2015	Los Angeles		Greek Theatre
May 2, 2015	Tempe		Marquee Theatre
May 3, 2015	El Paso		Tricky Falls
May 5, 2015	Dallas		The Bomb Factory
May 6, 2015	Houston		Warehouse Live
May 8, 2015	Orlando		House of Blues
May 9, 2015	Fort Lauderdale		Revolution Club
May 11, 2015	Nashville		Marathon Music Works
May 12, 2015	Louisville		Expo Five
May 13, 2015	Charlotte		The Fillmore Charlotte
May 14, 2015	Silver Spring		The Fillmore Sliver Spring
Europe/Festivals
June 6, 2015	Joensuu	Finland	Laulurinne Autodrome	Children of Bodom Sonata Arctica Insomnium[13]
June 8, 2015	Turku		Baltic Princess Cruise	Various
June 9, 2015
June 13, 2015	Nickelsdorf	Austria	Nova Rock Festival
June 14, 2015	Banská Bystrica	Slovakia	Bystrica Amphitheatre
June 19, 2015	Hinwil	Switzerland	Rock the Ring Festival
June 21, 2015	Clisson	France	Hellfest Open Air
July 12, 2015	Vizovice	Czech Republic	Masters of Rock Festival
July 15, 2015	Budapest	Hungary	Petőfi Hall
July 23, 2015	Barcelona	Spain	Barcelona Rock Fest
July 25, 2015	Oulu	Finland	Qstock
July 31, 2015	Tampere		Tampere Stadium	Sonata Arctica Children of Bodom
August 8, 2015	Kortrijk	Belgium	Alcatraz Festival	Various
August 9, 2015	Hildesheim	Germany	M'era Luna Festival
August 15, 2015	Dinkelsbühl		Summer Breeze Open Air
August 26, 2015	Trondheim	Norway	Sverresborg Arena	The Sirens
Latin America
September 23, 2015	Fortaleza	Brazil	Dragão do Mar Auditorium	Various
September 25, 2015	Rio de Janeiro		Rock in Rio VI
September 26, 2015	São Paulo		HSBC Hall
September 27, 2015	Curitiba		Masters Hall
September 29, 2015	Porto Alegre		Opinião Club
October 2, 2015	Buenos Aires	Argentina	Luna Park Stadium
October 4, 2015	Santiago	Chile	Teatro Caupolicán
October 6, 2015	Lima	Peru	San Marcos Stadium	Delain
October 8, 2015	Quito	Ecuador	Teleférico Center
October 10, 2015	Bogotá	Colombia	Teatro Royal Center
October 13, 2015	Monterrey	Mexico	Escena Arena
October 14, 2015	Mexico City		Teatro Metropólitan
October 15, 2015
October 17, 2015	Guadalajara		Diana Theatre
Europe 2
November 13, 2015	Espoo	Finland	Barona Areena	Beast in Black
November 15, 2015	Stockholm	Sweden	Arenan	Amorphis
November 16, 2015	Copenhagen	Denmark	Falconer Amphitheatre	Arch Enemy Amorphis
November 18, 2015	Hamburg	Germany	Barclaycard Arena
November 19, 2015	Amsterdam	Netherlands	Heineken Music Hall
November 20, 2015
November 21, 2015	Oberhausen	Germany	König Pilsener Arena
November 23, 2015	Lyon	France	Halle Tony Garnier
November 25, 2015	Paris		Bercy Arena
November 26, 2015	Toulouse		Le Zénith
November 28, 2015	Basel	Switzerland	St. Jakobshalle
November 29, 2015	Bologna	Italy	Unipol Arena
December 1, 2015	Munich	Germany	Zenith
December 3, 2015	Stuttgart		Schleyer-Halle
December 4, 2015	Frankfurt		Jahrhunderthalle
December 5, 2015	Nuremberg		Nuremberg Arena
December 7, 2015	Prague	Czech Republic	Tipsport Arena
December 8, 2015	Vienna	Austria	Wiener Stadthalle
December 10, 2015	Bucharest	Romania	Romexpo
December 12, 2015	Budapest	Hungary	Sports Arena
December 14, 2015	Leipzig	Germany	Leipzig Arena
December 15, 2015	Berlin		Max-Schmeling-Halle
December 16, 2015	Esch-sur-Alzette	Luxembourg	Rockhal
December 17, 2015	Antwerp	Belgium	Lotto Arena
December 19, 2015	London	England	Wembley Arena
Oceania
January 6, 2016	Brisbane	Australia	Tivoli Theatre	Voyager Australia Taberah
January 9, 2016	Sydney		Enmore Theatre
January 11, 2016	Melbourne		Forum Theatre
January 13, 2016	Adelaide		HQ Club
January 15, 2016	Fremantle		King's Theatre
Asia
January 18, 2016	Singapore		Hard Rock Hotel	N/A
North America 2
February 19, 2016	Sayreville	United States	Starland Ballroom	Sonata Arctica Delain
February 20, 2016	Hartford		Webster Theater
February 21, 2016	Montreal	Canada	Metropolis Hall
February 22, 2016	London		London Music Hall
February 24, 2016	Pittsburgh	United States	Carnegie Library of Homestead
February 25, 2016	Columbus		Lifestyle Communities Pavilion
February 26, 2016	Royal Oak		Royal Oak Music Theatre
February 27, 2016	Milwaukee		Rave Club
February 29, 2016	Minneapolis		First Avenue
March 1, 2016	Winnipeg	Canada	Burton Cummings Theatre
March 2, 2016	Saskatoon		O’Briens Events Centre
March 3, 2016	Edmonton		Francis Winspear Centre
March 5, 2016	Calgary		MacEwan Hall
March 6, 2016	Missoula	United States	Wilma Theatre
March 7, 2016	Seattle		The Showbox
March 10, 2016	Reno		Cargo's Ballroom
March 11, 2016	San Jose		City National Civic
March 12, 2016	Anaheim		Grove Club
March 14, 2016	Tucson		Rialto Theatre
March 15, 2016	Colorado Springs		Colorado Springs City Auditorium
March 16, 2016	Kansas City		Uptown Theater
March 18, 2016	Oklahoma City		Diamond Ballroom
March 19, 2016	San Antonio		Aztec Theatre
March 20, 2016	New Orleans		Civic Center
March 21, 2016	Birmingham		Iron Live Club
March 23, 2016	Tampa		Ritz Club
Asia 2
April 12, 2016	Beijing	China	M. Zone Center	N/A
April 14, 2016	Shanghai		QSW Culture Center
April 16, 2016	Taipei	Taiwan	NTUT Auditorium
April 17, 2016	Hong Kong		Kitec Rotunda Centre
April 19, 2016	Tokyo	Japan	Ex Theater
April 21, 2016	Osaka		Big Cat Club
April 22, 2016	Tokyo		AgeHa Club
Europe 3
May 15, 2016	Yekaterinburg	Russia	Divs Arena	N/A
May 18, 2016	Voronezh		Event Hall
May 20, 2016	Moscow		Crocus City Hall
May 22, 2016	Kiev	Ukraine	Palace "Ukraine"
May 24, 2016	St. Petersburg	Russia	Yubileyny Sports Palace
Festivals 2
May 27, 2016	Munich	Germany	Rockavaria Festival	Various
May 28, 2016	Dortmund		Rock im Revier
June 1, 2016	Košice	Slovakia	Košice Amphitheatre
June 3, 2016	Plzeň	Czech Republic	Metalfest Open Air
June 5, 2016	Vienna	Austria	Rock in Vienna
June 8, 2016	Rome	Italy	Rock in Roma
June 10, 2016	Interlaken	Switzerland	Greenfield Festival
June 12, 2016	Leicestershire	England	Download Festival
June 18, 2016	Dessel	Belgium	Graspop Metal Meeting
June 30, 2016	Seinäjoki	Finland	Provinssirock
July 2, 2016	Norrköping	Sweden	Bråvalla Festival
August 6, 2016	Montreal	Canada	Heavy Montreal
August 20, 2016	Jämsä	Finland	Himos Park	Arch Enemy Delain Sonata Arctica Silentium
August 26, 2016	Straszęcin	Poland	Czad Festival	Various
September 3, 2016	Havířov	Czech Republic	Havířovské Slavnosti
Europe 4
September 8, 2016	Lisbon	Portugal	Coliseu Lisboa	Kandia
September 10, 2016	Madrid	Spain	Barclaycard Center	Alquimia
September 12, 2016	Mantua	Italy	Palabam	Temperance
September 14, 2016	Sofia	Bulgaria	Arena Armeec	N/A
Asia 3
October 2, 2016	Seoul	South Korea	Samsung Blue Square	N/A
October 5, 2016	Shenzhen	China	A8 Live House
October 7, 2016	Shanghai		QSW Culture Center
October 9, 2016	Tokyo	Japan	Loud Park Festival	Various

Cancelled dates

Original Date	City	Country	Venue
March 8, 2016[14]	Boise	United States	Knitting Factory Club

Personnel

• Floor Jansen – female vocals
• Tuomas Holopainen – keyboards
• Emppu Vuorinen – guitars
• Kai Hahto – drums
• Marko Hietala – bass, male vocals
• Troy Donockley – Uilleann pipes, tin whistle, additional vocals, additional guitars

Additional musicians

• Tony Kakko – guest vocals on "The Islander" and "Last Ride of the Day" at Rock in Rio 2015
• Richard Dawkins – live narration on "The Greatest Show on Earth" at Wembley Arena
• Sami Vänskä – guest bassist on "Stargazers" at Himos Park
• Jukka Nevalainen – guest drummer on "Last Ride of the Day" at Himos Park

Tour production

• Basty Duellmann – tour manager
• Roger Smith – tour manager (North America, Asia)
• Ville Lipiäinen – camera director, editing (Vehicle of Spirit)
• Mikko Linnavuori – stage design, screen video content
• Eero Helle – stage production, design, special effects, lighting
• Markku Aalto – stage production, design, special effects, pyrotechnician
• Teemu Koivistoinen – assistant pyrotechnician
• Antti Toiviainen – guitar technician
• Ulrich Weitz – drum technician
• Kimmo Ahola – sound engineer
• Marja Brink – make-up, hairstylist for Jansen
• Enrico Karolczak – booking agent
• Konstantin Byleev – tour promoter (Russia, Ukraine)
• Aki Rönkkö – monitor engineer
• Andy Copping – booking (Download Festival)
• Ville Wahlroos – lighting

References

1. Nightwish Live
2. Nightwish Part Ways With Anette Olzon
3. NIGHTWISH Drummer JUKKA NEVALAINEN Forced To Take Break From Band Due To Health Issues
4. Nightwish confirmed to play in Rock in Rio
5. Nightwish in Sao Paulo 2015
6. Nightwish announce show at Wembley Arena
7. Wu, Samantha (16 April 2015). "Nightwish with Sabaton – The Phoenix Concert Theatre, Toronto – April 14, 2015". V13. Retrieved 28 December 2020.
8. Anabel (May 3, 2015). "CONCERT REVIEW/PHOTOS: NIGHTWISH". RockRevolt Magazine. Retrieved December 27, 2020.
9. Shutt, Dan (21 December 2015). "Nightwish, gig review: Closing with The Greatest Show on Earth too much for sell-out audience to handle". The Independent. Retrieved 27 December 2020.
10. Endless Forms Most Beautiful Setlist
11. Sabaton to support Nightwish in North America
12. Delain to support Nightwish
13. Nightwish, Laulurinne
14. Nightwish forced to cancel Boise show due to "severe illness"

Sources

• Isoaho, Timo (2018). Nightwish – We Were Here (English ed.). Latvia: Deggael Communications. ISBN 978-952-99749-3-1.

External links

• Nightwish's Official Website