List of Nightwish concert tours

This is the list of concert tours played by the Finnish symphonic metal band Nightwish.

Nightwish was formed in 1996 by lead songwriter and keyboardist Tuomas Holopainen, guitarist Emppu Vuorinen, and lead singer Tarja Turunen, soon joined by drummer Jukka Nevalainen in 1997 and then bassist Sami Vänskä in 1998.^[1] In 2001 Vänskä was replaced by Marko Hietala, who also took over the male vocalist role, and in 2005 Turunen was fired to be replaced by Anette Olzon in 2007 and eventually by Floor Jansen in 2012.^[1] In July 2019, Nevalainen, who had been inactive since 2014 due to health issues, announced that he would not be returning to the band, with Kai Hahto, who had acted as his replacement since 2014, becoming the official drummer.^[1] Hietala parted ways with the band in January 2021, and Jukka Koskinen was announced as his replacement in August 2022.^[2] Multi-instrumentalist Troy Donockley, who had been joining the band in studio and live since 2007, was made an official member in 2013.^[1]

Nightwish is the third-best-selling band and musical entity in Finland with certified sales of nearly 900,000 certified copies and is also the most successful Finnish band worldwide, selling more than 10 million records.^[3] From 1997 until the touring hiatus which began in 2024, the band has performed almost 1000 shows around the world.^[4]

After releasing their debut studio album, Angels Fall First, in November 1997, the band played their first show in their hometown Kitee for around 400 people on 31 December 1997, but after that they were able to play only seven more shows across Finland the following year as Turunen was still finishing her studies at the time, and both Holopainen and Vuorinen had their military obligations to fulfill.^[1] These early concerts were later dubbed "The First Tour of The Angels" by the band, and they would only start gigging heavily after the release of their Oceanborn album in December 1998.^[1]

Samppa Hirvonen joined them as a sessional live member as a bass guitarist, while Marianna Pellinen was also a sessional live member as an additional keyboard player and a backing vocalist for Turunen.^[5] Sami Vänskä would later join the band instead of Hirvonen.^[1]

1. "Elvenpath"
2. "The Carpenter"
3. "Tutankhamen"
4. "Angels Fall First"
5. "Know Why the Nightingale Sings"
6. "Astral Romance"
7. "Beauty and the Beast"

Band

• Tarja Turunen – lead vocals
• Tuomas Holopainen – keyboards, lead vocals
• Emppu Vuorinen – guitar
• Jukka Nevalainen – drums

Additional musicians

• Samppa Hirvonen – bass
• Marianna Pellinen – additional keyboards, backing vocals

After releasing their second studio album, Oceanborn, in December 1998, the band played a few shows in early 1999 before started touring more often in May, gigging heavily across Finland until late August, in a series of shows the band dubbed "Summer of Wilderness", playing not only headlining dates but also taking part in open air festivals as well as supporting big names at the time, such as Stratovarius and Tarot.^[5] It was their first tour with bassist Sami Vänskä, and Tapio Wilska, who recorded vocals on Oceanborn for the tracks "Devil and the Deep Dark Ocean" and "Pharaoh Sails to Orion", usually joined the band onstage to perform these two songs.^[1]

Later that year the band would tour Europe for the first time supporting Rage.^[1]

1. Sacrament of Wilderness"
2. "Elvenpath"
3. "Stargazers"
4. "Passion and the Opera"
5. "Know Why the Nightingale Sings"
6. "Devil & the Deep Dark Ocean"
7. "Walking in the Air" (Howard Blake cover)
8. "Gethsemane"
9. "Astral Romance"
10. "The Pharaoh Sails to Orion"

    Encore

11. "Beauty and the Beast"

Band

• Tarja Turunen – lead vocals
• Tuomas Holopainen – keyboards, lead vocals
• Emppu Vuorinen – guitar
• Jukka Nevalainen – drums
• Sami Vänskä – bass

After gigging heavily across Finland until August 1999, the band was hired to support German band Rage across Europe after their Oceanborn album also charted in Germany.^[5] The two bands got along fine, but as the tour progressed Nightwish's popularity also grew, with people often leaving after Nightwish's set, which led to tensions between crews, with Nightwish's set soon being shortened, and also on the last dates, they were denied a soundcheck.^[5] Despite this, Nightwish enjoyed the tour which helped them to hone their act and grow tighter as a band.^[5]

Rage's drummer at the time, Mike Terrana, would eventually join Tarja's support band for her eventual solo career in 2007.^[6]

1. "Stargazers"
2. "Gethsemane"
3. "Passion and the Opera"
4. "Devil & the Deep Dark Ocean"
5. "Sacrament of Wilderness"
6. "Swanheart"
7. "The Pharaoh Sails to Orion"
8. "Walking in the Air" (Howard Blake cover)
9. "Elvenpath"
10. "Astral Romance"
11. "Know Why the Nightingale Sings"

Band

• Tarja Turunen – lead vocals
• Tuomas Holopainen – keyboards, lead vocals
• Emppu Vuorinen – guitar
• Jukka Nevalainen – drums
• Sami Vänskä – bass

The band's third studio album, Wishmaster, hit Number 1 in Finland and also charted in Germany and France, thus allowing the band to host a headlining world tour.^[5] In July, they became the second finnish band to do a headlining tour in South America, after Stratovarius in 1996, where they enjoyed a huge popularity and attracted over 4 thousand people for their show in São Paulo, also becoming the first European band to play in Panama and later that year would be the first Finnish metal band to host shows in Canada.^[5] For their European tour between October and November, they were supported by supergroup Sinergy, whose bassist, Marko Hietala, would eventually join Nightwish.^[5] The last show of the year in Tampere was recorded and later released as From Wishes to Eternity, the first live DVD by a Finnish group.^[1]

In 2001, the band released the Over the Hills and Far Away EP and spend most of the year touring mostly in Finland, but also played headlining and festival dates in Europe, also performing in South Korea in a festival in front of over 50 thousand people.^[5] The last show of 2001 in the Finnish city of Nivala was also their last show with Sami Vänskä, later replaced by Hietala, and this was also the last tour where Holopainen sang lead vocals, with Hietala also taking over the lead male vocals after joining.^[1]

2000

1. She Is My Sin"
2. Gethsemane"
3. The Kinslayer"
4. Deep Silent Complete"
5. The Pharaoh Sails to Orion"
6. Come Cover Me"
7. Wanderlust"
8. Crimson Tide" (Hans Zimmer cover) / Deep Blue Sea (Trevor Rabin cover) (medley, instrumental)
9. Swanheart"
10. "Elvenpath" / "FantasMic" (part 3)
11. "Dead Boy's Poem"
12. "Sacrament of Wilderness"

    Encore

13. "Walking in the Air" (Howard Blake cover)
14. "Beauty and the Beast"
15. "Wishmaster"

2001

1. The Kinslayer"
2. "She Is My Sin"
3. "10th Man Down"
4. "Elvenpath" / "FantasMic" (part 3)
5. "Over the Hills and Far Away" (Gary Moore cover)
6. "Come Cover Me"
7. "Deep Silent Complete"
8. "Sleeping Sun"
9. "Sacrament of Wilderness"

   Encore

10. "Walking in the Air" (Howard Blake cover)
11. "Wishmaster"

Band

• Tarja Turunen – lead vocals
• Tuomas Holopainen – keyboards, lead vocals
• Emppu Vuorinen – guitar
• Jukka Nevalainen – drums
• Sami Vänskä – Bass

The band's second world tour was much shorter compared to others, before and after, due to many personal issues, including the birth of Hietala's twins and Turunen's studies in Germany.^[5] Still, their popularity was rising and allowed them to play successful South American and European tours in 2002 with a show for over six thousand people in São Paulo,^[7] also playing England and the United States for the first time in 2003, when they also played their first arena concerts in Germany.^[5]

2002

1. "Bless the Child"
2. "End of All Hope"
3. "Come Cover Me"
4. "The Kinslayer"
5. "Dead to the World"
6. "Deep Silent Complete"
7. "10th Man Down"
8. "Crazy Train" (Ozzy Osbourne cover)
9. "Sacrament of Wilderness"
10. "Slaying the Dreamer"
11. "Beauty of the Beast"
12. "Over the Hills and Far Away" (Gary Moore cover)

    Encore

13. "Sleeping Sun"
14. "Beauty and the Beast"
15. "Wishmaster"

2003

1. "Bless the Child"
2. "End of All Hope"
3. "Come Cover Me"
4. "The Kinslayer"
5. "Dead to the World"
6. "Ever Dream"
7. "Sleeping Sun"
8. "The Pharaoh Sails to Orion" (featuring Tapio Wilska)
9. "Crazy Train" (Ozzy Osbourne cover)
10. "Beauty of the Beast"
11. "She Is My Sin"
12. "Slaying the Dreamer"
13. "Wishmaster"

    Encore

14. "Walking in the Air" (Howard Blake cover)
15. "Over the Hills and Far Away" (Gary Moore cover)

Band

• Tarja Turunen – lead vocals
• Tuomas Holopainen – keyboards, lead vocals
• Emppu Vuorinen – guitar
• Jukka Nevalainen – drums
• Marko Hietala – bass, lead vocals

The band's fifth studio album, Once, was their commercial breakthrough album, topping the charts in four European countries and entering the top 10 in other five countries, also becoming their first album to chart in the USA and in the UK, eventually selling 1 million copies until the end of 2005.^[8] It spawned two hit singles, "Nemo" and "Wish I Had An Angel".

The success of the album allowed the band to tour worldwide, hosting their first US Tour, playing for the first time in Australia and Japan, playing arena shows in Europe and stadium festival shows in South America, in a total of over 130 shows in two years.^[5] The last show, at Helsinki's Hartwall Areena, was later released as the End of an Era DVD.

This was their last tour with Tarja Turunen, fired after the last show in Helsinki.^[9]

Swedish singer Anette Olzon was announced as the new lead singer for Nightwish in May 2007,^[10] with the band's sixth studio album, Dark Passion Play, later being released in September that year. Between 2007 and 2008 the band played over 100 shows around the world, in Europe, Asia, Australia, North America and South America.^[4]

After a three month break, the band resumed touring in March 2009, a series of shows dubbed the "Deja Vu Tour", in European arenas and festivals and US clubs and theatres, with the last concert of the tour again at Helsinki's Hartwall Areena.^[4] A live EP, Made in Hong Kong was released in March 2009.^[11]

In 2011, Nightwish released their seventh studio album, Imaginaerum, later released as a movie with the same name and its soundtrack.^[12] The band started touring in 2012, but during a North American tour in September, Anette Olzon was fired and quickly replaced by Dutch singer Floor Jansen, originally announced only as a live replacement for that specific tour.^[13]

Bye the end of the tour in 2013, both Jansen and Troy Donockley, who had been accompanying the band live and in studio since 2007, were made official members of the band.^[14] It was also the last tour with drummer Jukka Nevalainen, who retired from touring due to health issues.^[15] The show at Wacken Open Air on 3 August 2013 was released as the Showtime, Storytime DVD.

During the recording of the band's eighth studio album, Endless Forms Most Beautiful, drummer Jukka Nevalainen announced his retirement from recording and touring with the band due to health issues, and Kai Hahto was announced as his replacement.^[16]

The band toured heavily between 2015 and 2016, with the concerts at the Ratina Stadium in Tampere and at the Wembley Arena in London later released as the Vehicle of Spirit DVD.^[17]

To celebrate their 20 year anniversary, the band released a compilation, Decades, and played a special tour across Europe, North America and South America in 2018. The band presented a special set list for this tour, featuring rare songs from the earlier era to revisit with some new twists.^[18] It is the final tour to feature Marko Hietala who later departed from the band in January 2021.^[19]

The show at the Estadio Malvinas in Argentina was later released as the Decades: Live in Buenos Aires DVD.^[20]

After releasing their ninth studio album, Human. :II: Nature, the first dates for the tour were announced for 2020, but were later postponed or canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In January 2021, bassist Marko Hietala announced he was leaving the band due to personal and health issues, with Jukka Koskinen later joining the band as his replacement.^[21]

After two virtual shows watched online by over 150 thousand people in May 2021, the band was back on stage in July and toured until June 2023, concluding with two stadium shows in Finland. At the conclusion of the tour, the band began a touring hiatus which is set to last between 'two to three years' following the release of the band's tenth studio album, Yesterwynde.^[22]

• Ollila, Mape (2007). Once Upon a Nightwish. Deggael Communications. ISBN 978-952-99749-2-4.