Ayreon Universe FAQ’s

DATE: Friday 15 September 2017
DOORS OPEN: 12:00
DRESS REHEARSAL: approx 13:00 - 15:00
MEET-AND-GREET: approx 15:30 - 17:00 PLACE: 013 Poppodium, Tilburg, NL.

A valid ticket for the Ultimate Experience give you:

• Exclusive access to the dress rehearsal on Friday, September 15
• A hardcopy collector's ticket
• A collectible tour canvas, autographed by Arjen (limited print)
• An Exclusive Ultimate Ayreon Universe Experience shirt
• First chance to buy merchandise
• Meet & Greet with Arjen (other members of the cast TBC)
• Photo moment with Arjen
• One personal item autographed by Arjen

Tickets are 250 Euros each (including service charge) and can be purchased here. Maximum 2 per purchase.

No.
The Ultimate Experience is a separate event. Ultimate Experience tickets do not give you entrance to the regular shows on the 15th, 16th, or 17th September.

The try out show is a performance of the entire Ayreon Universe set in front of a live audience.

Anyone who performs live knows that practicing in the rehearsal room and playing a live show are two completely different things! A live "try out" show gives the whole Ayreon Universe team a sort of test run (minus the actual lighting and other stage effects).

For the audience it's a chance to get a "first look" at the full set of the Ayreon Universe show, performed by the Ayreon Universe band and selected Ayreon Universe vocalists.

DATE: Friday 1 September 2017
DOORS OPEN: 19:00
SHOWTIME: approx 20:00-22:00
PLACE: Jupiler stage at 013 Poppodium, Tilburg, NL.

There is no official meet and greet at the Try Out show.

Tickets are 20 Euros (including service charge) and can be purchased here

Nobody likes spoilers.

We know this is a big favor to ask, but please do not share any information about the show. No photos, videos, info about the setlist, etc. We want to keep it a surprise for the people who are coming to the official shows in September.

Thanks very much for helping us with this!

Arjen will not be playing at this show, but he will be there doing his mastermind, control-freak thing.

Yes.

The two original shows we planned for the 15th and 16th sold out during the preorders. We added a third show for the 17th so everyone who missed out on the preorder would still have a chance to get tickets. This third show sold out in a matter of hours once we opened the general ticket sales.

Ayreon Universe is happening 15, 16 and 17 September, 2017 at 013 Poppodium in Tilburg, the Netherlands. The shows start at 8:30 pm CET.

No, the Theater Equation was a theater production of the album The Human Equation arranged by someone else. Arjen was not directly involved in organizing the production, although he did help choosing the singers. He also mixed the audio for the live DVD.

Yes, some of Arjen's other projects ((Star One, Stream of Passion, and The Gentle Storm) have covered the odd Ayreon song when they played live. But those weren't full-scale Ayreon productions. As nice as those performances might have been, they can't compare with the scale and scope of Ayreon Universe. This is a full-on Ayreon production from beginning to end (with a little Star One thrown in for fun).

He won't be a fixed member of the band, but he IS bringing his guitar and will be joining the band on stage to actually do a bit of playing. In other words, he's not going to just pop out of the Dream Sequencer at the end of the show for a quick hello.

Arjen has worked with well over a hundred singers by now, so difficult choices had to be made. Also many singers were simply not available because of the busy schedule of their own bands, or they simply couldn't commit to something so far in advance. It may well be possible that singers are added to the line-up later on in the process.

Nope! The new Ayreon album and the Ayreon Universe live concerts aren't connected in any way. However, some great songs from the forthcoming Ayreon album will be part of the Ayreon Universe set list.

The regular tickets were priced at 55 EUR (ex additional fees) and get you into the showt.

The VIP tickets were priced at 85 EUR (ex fees). VIP tickets let you into the show an hour before doors open (so you can grab a good spot) and include a goodie bag of exclusive Ayreon Universe merch.

To make it abundantly clear, the VIP tickets get you into the show AND let you in early. You don't need to first purchase a regular ticket tand then a VIP ticket for the extras.

In plain English: We can't offer refunds or exchanges due to scheduling changes beyond our control, as we hope you can understand. If any artist is forced to cancel, of course we will find an awesome Ayreon singer to take his or her place. Don’t worry...whatever happens, we will make sure to make this an unforgettable event for you all!

The fine print: The announced featured guest artists have all confirmed their appearances, and as such are expected to perform at each of the shows. However, in the event that any guest artist or guest artists are forced to cancel one or more performances (such as due to illness, travel complications or a family emergency) such guest artists will be replaced. Any such replacement or any delay in the actual starting time of any performance shall not be sufficient grounds for exchanging or refunding purchased tickets, unless we are forced to cancel the performance itself. In other words, we will be putting on an overall first-class performance full of talented performers and so your enjoyment of the event should not revolve around the appearance or performance of any one musician.

Yes! We will have plenty of Ayreon-related items at the merch stand.

013 has a helpful page in English about hotels, which you can find here

You can also search Google for "hotels near 013 Poppodium Tilburg" for more.

013 is conveniently located in the center of Tilburg. The "Tivoli" parking garage is right next door, but it tends to fill up so you want to make sure you're there in plenty of time. 013 has a lot more information here

The plan is to keep the set list the same for both shows, but we reserve the right to make changes if necessary.

We're planning at least 2 hours of non-stop Ayreon goodnesss (seasoned with a dollop of Star One here and there).

There is no age restriction and, for our part, children are welcome. We're not planning any violent or graphic content, but the music is gonna be loud (it's a rock show, duh!) so please ensure you have ear protection for your children. Ear plugs are generally for sale in a vending machine at 013, but we can't take responsibility for the machine being stocked on the day of the show, so we advise you to bring your own.

013 does not have a designated children's section, but there are coliseum-style stairs (see the video here) going up the back, as well as a balcony, so it should be possible to get a vantage point that will allow the little ones to see the show.

Note that there is no special children's discount price for tickets.