An Ayreon live event is a spectacular moment in time. An enormous production with musicians of the highest calibre combine to create a bombastic spectacle. The shows’ infrequencies make it evermore unique. In September 2023, Arjen Lucassen sold out five performances of ‘01011001 – Live Beneath the Waves’ at the Poppodium 013 in Tilburg, The Netherlands. Talking about the show Arjen Lucassen says,: “When I wrote the 01011001 album back in 2007, it was never meant to be played live. So I could make it as complicated as I wanted with countless instrumentalists and no less than 17 singers!”
Ayreon mastermind Arjen Lucassen and keyboardist Joost van den Broek managed to gather a large number of the original cast of the 01011001 album and many special guests, including Simone Simons (Epica), Damian Wilson (Threshold), Anneke van Giersbergen, Jonas Renkse (Katatonia), Tom Englund (Evergrey), Daniel Gildenlow (Pain of Salvation), Marcela Bovio (MaYan), Brittney Slayes (Unleash the Archers), Hansi Kürsch (Blind Guardian), John Jaycee Cuijpers (Praying Mantis). Maggy Luyten (Beautiful Sin), Michael Mills (Toehider) and Wudstik are among other incredible musicians.
The band was made up of the best instrumentalists in the genre – Ed Warby (Drums), Johan van Stratum (Bass), Timo Somers (Guitar), Marcel Coenen (Guitar), Joost Van Den Broek (Keyboards) and more. The enigmatic Lucassen also appears.
