Guitarist Oliver Hartmann has checked in with news for the Avantasia fanbase. Check out hs message below.

Hartmann: "Now that it’s official, I’d like to share the news with you that I won’t be part of the upcoming Avantasia tour. Even though I’m looking back on 23 great years, where I started out as a singer in hymns as ‘Sign Of The Cross’ and have been guitarist of the live line up since the first tour in 2008 - and always since then - I simply had to draw this decision. Of course, I will deeply miss these ‘grown up people’s school trip tours’ and all of those unique great personalities that became friends, but it will also give me the opportunity to concentrate a bit more on my other musical things that deserve a bit more time and space.

Good luck for you Avantasian boys and girls, and I’m sure we’ll meet on one of your festivals here or there next year! And Arne, please, take your time to practice the riffs right, ha!"

Hartmann also announced his departure from the Pink Floyd tribute band, Echoes, recently:

"Dear friends, followers and fans, after fronting the successful Pink Floyd tribute, Echoes, for more than 21 years now, I have decided to leave the band in the beginning of next year. Of course this definitely doesn’t mean that you will never see me on stage again playing the iconic music of Pink Floyd, but I feel that it’s just the right time to follow new paths and to create more time and space for new musical ideas and, of course, for all of my other projects.

So, in case you want to see the band one last time in its original line up, better get your tickets now for the still upcoming shows in 2023 and for our renewed acoustic tour, Barefoot To The Moon, in January 2024. I'm looking forward to see you there."

The January tour schedule for Germany is as follows:

January
13 - Ludwigsburg - Scala 
14 - Hallstadt (Bamberg) - Kulturboden 
20 - Bochum - Christuskirche 
26 - Sulingen - Stadttheater 
27 - Wilhelmshaven - Pumpwerk 

Go to this location for the complete Echoes tour schedule.