The first ever Anneke van Giersbergen Fan Weekend took place from December 16th – ­18th, 2016 in Amsterdam, the Netherlands and was packed with exciting events. The Fan Weekend provided fans from all over the world with the opportunity to meet, socialize and connect with fellow fans. Anneke was present for the whole weekend and has checked in with the following update: 

"What a weekend in Amsterdam!!

Never in a million years did I think the first fan weekend at BackStage Hotel Amsterdam would turn out as marvellous as it did. When ideas form in your mind you're never too sure how they will pan out in reality, but this has gone way beyond my expectations. Such a wonderful group of people from all over the globe joined me during 3 days and oh what fun we had. A weekend I will never forget! Photos will be uploaded soon. I don’t know when or where, but we need to do this again!!!

On Saturday we said goodbye to The Gentle Storm in a sold out Melkweg Amsterdam in the best way imaginable. The live band (that will soon continue under the name VUUR, yay!) was killing it and our special guests Dianne van Giersbergen Official, Ruud Jolie, Merel Bechtold and Joost Van Den Broek were absolutely amazing and so was my wonderful crew. Also big thanks to our friends of Heavy Hoempa and Cellar Darling for joining us during this special night.

Thank you all for your endless support!"

Anneke van Giersbergen has announced the formation of a brand new band under the name of VUUR, created as a vehicle for the heavy progressive metal side of her career. An introduction to VUUR can be seen via the video below.

In early 2016, Anneke decided for the sake of clarity to narrow her musical focus, choosing to go in a folk acoustic direction as a solo artist and in a heavy progressive metal direction as a band vocalist. The name VUUR - translated from Dutch as "fire", which can also be interpreted to mean "passion" or "drive" - was chosen as a moniker to represent Anneke's metal side, with the idea that when fans buy a ticket with the VUUR name on it they will be getting her heavy progressive music, while an Anneke van Giersbergen show will be entirely different. Thus, in order to give VUUR's kick-off the proper fanfare, Anneke has opted to take a break from performing in the first half of 2017.

"It's like I'm searching for contradictions," Anneke says of splitting her focus in two. "I want the heavy to be really heavy, and the soft acoustic stuff that I can do can be almost silent and inward. I'm trying to find those outer limits. I'm still writing and collaborating with different people, so VUUR's style is still kind of different from The Gathering and The Gentle Storm. You could say VUUR's music has the melancholy of The Gathering and lots of elements from The Gentle Storm, but it's a bit darker with fewer folk elements. It's still melodic and warm, but heavy."

The band shares some members with The Gentle Storm live band, and you can find the full lineup below:

Anneke van Giersbergen (ex-The Gathering) - lead vocals
Ed Warby (Hail of Bullets, Ayreon, ex-Gorefest) - drums
Jord Otto - guitars (My Propane, ex-ReVamp)
Ferry Duijsens - guitars
Johan van Stratum (Stream of Passion) - bass
Marcela Bovio (Stream of Passion) - vocals

Anneke comments: "The band has a different name, because the music will be slightly different from The Gentle Storm, but most band members are still involved and the music will be heavy too, so in that perspective not a lot will change, especially in the live situation. I think people will really embrace VUUR as a live band because there are nothing but stars in this band (laughs). They're some of the best heavy metal players in Holland so I didn't want to let them go."

Look out for the first live announcements coming soon, with a debut full length due in the fall of 2017.