Once Upon a Tour

Once Upon a Tour was a concert tour by the Finnish symphonic metal band Nightwish, in 2004 and 2005, to promote the release of their fifth album, Once, released June 7, 2004.^[1] A new greatest hits compilation, Highest Hopes, was also released to tie in with the tour. The albums combined with the band's most expansive merchandise campaign by Nuclear Blast Records meant this tour was heralded as the band's most important in many years.^[2] Many of the band's songs had not been played in a long time.

Once Upon a Tour

Tour by Nightwish
Nightwish live at "Himos Festival" in Jämsä, Finland, on June 25, 2004
Location	Asia Europe North America Oceania South America
Associated album	Once Highest Hopes
Start date	May 22, 2004
End date	October 21, 2005
No. of shows	130
Nightwish concert chronology

Background

The success of the album allowed the band to perform in many countries they had never visited before: Colombia, Ecuador, Scotland, Estonia, Greece, Romania, Denmark, Japan, Australia, Portugal, and Slovenia. The band also played their first tour in the United States, with various sold-out concerts;^[3] the South American leg also sold out all its concerts. A second tour was planned in the US, but it was cancelled by Tarja Turunen, who also cancelled some concerts in Australia.

After touring in Europe and South America in late 2004, and some separate shows in December, the band had some time off in January 2005. In February, Nightwish won five Emma-Gala Awards (Finnish Grammy); among other awards, they won "The Band of the Year" and "The Best Selling Album of the Year".^[4] Tuomas Holopainen and Marko Hietala flew to Helsinki to receive the awards from touring in Europe. In March, Nightwish performed for the first time in Japan and Australia; in April and May, they had to have a break because of Turunen's other interests; but at the end of May, the band resumed the tour by playing with Iron Maiden in Poland and Mötley Crüe in Norway. During late 2005, Nightwish played several shows including a sold-out performance at the legendary Hammersmith Apollo in London. The last show on the European tour, in Stuttgart, Germany was up until then their biggest gig, with an audience of ten thousand.

The final concert was played on October 21 for 11,500 people in Hartwall Areena in Helsinki. The concert was also recorded to be released as an End of an Era live DVD and CD.

This was the last tour with Tarja Turunen; after the last concert the four other members of Nightwish decided it was best to continue Nightwish without Turunen, a feeling they expressed through an open letter Holopainen gave Turunen after the show, afterwards posted on the band's website.^[5] It was written by Holopainen but signed by the other band members. The main justification for Turunen's dismissal given in the letter was the band felt both her husband Marcelo Cabuli (an Argentine businessman) and commercial interests had changed her attitude towards the band. In May 2007, former Alyson Avenue frontwoman Anette Olzon was revealed as Turunen's replacement.^[6]

Set lists

2004

1. "Dark Chest of Wonders"
2. "Planet Hell"
3. "Deep Silent Complete"
4. "She Is My Sin"
5. "The Phantom of the Opera" (Andrew Lloyd Webber cover)
6. "Ever Dream"
7. "Symphony of Destruction" (Megadeth cover)
8. "Sleeping Sun"
9. "Bless the Child"
10. "The Trooper" ("Wishmaster" intro)
11. "Wishmaster"
12. "Nemo"
13. "Slaying the Dreamer"
14. "Over the Hills and Far Away" (Gary Moore cover)

    Encore

15. "Dead Boy's Poem"
16. "Ghost Love Score"
17. "Wish I Had an Angel"

2005

1. "Dark Chest of Wonders"
2. "Ever Dream"
3. "Planet Hell"
4. "The Kinslayer"
5. "The Siren"
6. "The Phantom of the Opera" (Andrew Lloyd Webber cover)
7. "High Hopes" (Pink Floyd cover)
8. "The Trooper" ("Wishmaster" intro)
9. "Wishmaster"
10. "Bless the Child"
11. "Slaying the Dreamer"
12. "Kuolema Tekee Taiteilijan"
13. "Nemo"

    Encore

14. "Sleeping Sun"
15. "Ghost Love Score"
16. "Wish I Had an Angel"

Tour dates

List of 2004 concerts, showing date, city, country, venue and support act(s)^[7]

Date	City	Country	Venue	Support Act(s)
May 22, 2004	Kitee	Finland	Ice Hall	Timo Rautiainen[8]
May 29, 2004	Tallinn	Estonia	Von Krahl Theatre	—
May 30, 2004
June 5, 2004[a]	Nijmegen	Netherlands	Goffertpark
June 11, 2004[b]	Tampere	Finland	Eteläpuisto
June 12, 2004[c]	Sölvesborg	Sweden	Norje Havsbad
June 19, 2004[d]	Glauchau	Germany	Gründelpark
June 20, 2004[e]	Malakasa	Greece	Terra Vibe Park
July 10, 2004[f]	Turku	Finland	Ruissalo
July 11, 2004[g]	Pamplona	Spain	Carpa Rojilla
July 13, 2004	Bradford	England	Bradford Rio
July 14, 2004	Nottingham		Rock City
July 16, 2004	London		Astoria Theatre	Brainstorm[9]
July 17, 2004[h]	Helsinki	Finland	Kaisaniemi Park	—
July 21, 2004	Oslo	Norway	Rockefeller Music Hall	Entwined
August 20, 2004	Worcester	United States	Palladium	Lullacry[10]
August 22, 2004	New York City		B.B. King's Blues Club
August 23, 2004	Cleveland		Phantasy Theater
August 24, 2004
August 25, 2004	Chicago		House of Blues
August 26, 2004	Minneapolis		Quest Club
August 28, 2004	Denver		Cervantes Club
August 30, 2004	Scottsdale		Cajun House
August 31, 2004	Anaheim		House of Blues
September 1, 2004	Los Angeles
September 3, 2004	San Francisco		Slim's Club
September 5, 2004	Seattle		Graceland Club
September 17, 2004	Tampere	Finland	Pakkahuone Theatre	Twilightning[11]
September 18, 2004	Turku		Karibia Resort
September 21, 2004	Helsinki		Nosturi Club	—
September 22, 2004
September 25, 2004	Jyväskylä	Finland	Paviljonki Areena	Twilightning[11]
September 29, 2004	Stockholm	Sweden	Stora Arenan	Lordi
October 1, 2004	Gothenburg		Lisebergshallen
October 2, 2004	Malmö		Baltiska Hallen
October 13, 2004	Hamburg	Germany	Color Line Arena	Sonata Arctica[12]
October 15, 2004	Leipzig		Arena
October 16, 2004	Erfurt		Thüringenhalle
October 19, 2004	Cologne		Palladium
October 20, 2004	Berlin		Treptow Arena
October 22, 2004	Nuremberg		Arena
October 23, 2004	Munich		Zenith
October 25, 2004	Vienna	Austria	Gasometer
October 26, 2004	Budapest	Hungary	Petőfi Csarnok
October 28, 2004	Milan	Italy	PalaSharp
October 30, 2004	Basel	Switzerland	St. Jakob Arena
November 1, 2004	Lyon	France	Le Transbordeur
November 4, 2004	Madrid	Spain	Centro Aqualung
November 5, 2004	Barcelona		Razamatazz 1
November 7, 2004[i]	Brussels	Belgium	Ancienne Belgique	—
November 8, 2004	Amsterdam	Netherlands	Paradiso Club	Sonata Arctica[12]
November 19, 2004	Bucharest	Romania	Sala Palatului
November 21, 2004	Paris	France	Le Zénith	Conscience[13]
November 27, 2004	Buenos Aires	Argentina	Arena Obras	—
November 28, 2004	Campinas	Brazil	Usina Royal
November 30, 2004	Rio de Janeiro		Canecão
December 2, 2004	Porto Alegre		Opinião Club
December 3, 2004	Belo Horizonte		Chevrolet Hall
December 4, 2004	São Paulo		Via Funchal
December 8, 2004	Bogotá	Colombia	Gran Salon de Corferias
December 10, 2004	Quito	Ecuador	Plaza de Toros	Viuda Negra[14]
December 12, 2004	Mexico City	Mexico	Circo Volador	—
December 13, 2004
December 15, 2004	Montreal	Canada	Métropolis	Heaven's Cry
December 16, 2004
December 18, 2004	Toronto		Opera House	Aesma Daeva
December 26, 2004	Helsinki	Finland	Ice Hall	After Forever[15]
December 28, 2004[j]	Oberhausen	Germany	König-Pilsener-Arena	—
December 29, 2004[j]	Hamburg		Friedrichshafen Messehalle

List of 2005 concerts, showing date, city, country, venue and support act(s)^[16]

Date	City	Country	Venue	Support Act(s)
February 9, 2005	Copenhagen	Denmark	Store Vega	—
February 11, 2005	Amsterdam	Netherlands	Heineken Music Hall	After Forever[17]
February 12, 2005	London	England	Astoria Theatre	Tristania[18]
February 15, 2005	Birmingham		O2 Academy
February 16, 2005	Glasgow	Scotland	Barrowland Ballroom
February 18, 2005	Manchester	England	Apollo Theatre
February 19, 2005	London		Astoria Theatre
February 21, 2005	Wieze	Belgium	Oktoberhallen
February 22, 2005	Trier	Germany	Arena
February 24, 2005	Braunschweig		Volkswagen Halle
February 26, 2005	Bayreuth		Oberfrankenhalle
February 27, 2005	Chur	Switzerland	Stadthalle
February 28, 2005	Stuttgart	Germany	Schleyer-Halle
March 12, 2005	Osaka	Japan	Namba Hatch	Angra[19]
March 13, 2005	Fukuoka		Zepp Hall
March 16, 2005	Tokyo		Shibuya AX
March 17, 2005
March 21, 2005	Melbourne	Australia	Corner Hotel	Vanishing Point[20]
March 22, 2005
March 23, 2005	Sydney		Metro Theatre	Dungeon[21]
March 26, 2005	Brisbane		Arena	—
May 26, 2005	Budapest	Hungary	Petőfi Csarnok
May 27, 2005[k]	Madrid	Spain	Parque Natural de la Cantueña
May 29, 2005[l]	Chorzów	Poland	Silesian Stadium
June 10, 2005	Oslo	Norway	Spektrum Arena
June 11, 2005[m]	Nickelsdorf	Austria	Pannonia Fields II
June 12, 2005[n]	Leicestershire	England	Donington Park
June 17, 2005[o]	Seinäjoki	Finland	Törnävä
June 18, 2005[p]	Frauenfeld	Switzerland	Grosse Allmend
June 24, 2005[q]	Jämsä	Finland	Himos Areena
July 15, 2005[r]	Zlín	Czech Republic	Areál likérky R. Jelínek
July 16, 2005[s]	Toscolano-Maderno	Italy	Campo Sportivo
July 22, 2005[t]	Erfurt	Germany	Eventzentrum Strohofer
July 28, 2005[u]	Porto	Portugal	Vilar de Mouros
August 4, 2005[v]	Wacken	Germany	Hauptstrasse
August 5, 2005	Dresden		Großer Garten
August 7, 2005[w]	Vantaa	Finland	Korson Urheilupuisto
August 14, 2005[x]	Rothenburg	Germany	Eisweise
August 19, 2005[y]	Hasselt	Belgium	Domein Kiewit
August 20, 2005[z]	Biddinghuizen	Netherlands	Evenemententerrein Walibi
September 3, 2005	Hell	Norway	Hellodrome	Stonegard
September 5, 2005	Oslo		Rockefeller Music Hall	—
September 8, 2005	Stockholm	Sweden	Arenan
September 9, 2005	Gothenburg		Lisebergshallen	Nocturnal Rites
September 11, 2005	Umeå		SkyCom Arena	—
September 17, 2005	Žilina	Slovakia	Boräk Hall
September 19, 2005	Ljubljana	Slovenia	Krizance Hall
September 23, 2005	Copenhagen	Denmark	K.B. Hallen
September 25, 2005	London	England	Hammersmith Apollo	Paradise Lost[22]
September 30, 2005	Bucharest	Romania	Polivalenta Hall	—
October 1, 2005	Athens	Greece	Lycabettus Amphitheatre
October 8, 2005[aa]	Mexico City	Mexico	Palacio de los Deportes
October 12, 2005[aa]	São Paulo	Brazil	Estádio do Canindé
October 15, 2005[aa]	Porto Alegre		Gigantinho
October 21, 2005	Helsinki	Finland	Hartwall Areena	Sonata Arctica[23]

Personnel

Main article: List of Nightwish band members

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

Additional musicians

• John Two-Hawks – vocals, flute

Footnotes

1. The June 5, 2004, concert was a part of Dynamo Open Air.
2. The June 11, 2004, concert was a part of Sauna Open Air.
3. The June 12, 2004, concert was a part of Sweden Rock Festival.
4. The June 19, 2004, concert was a part of Woodstage Open Air.
5. The June 20, 2004, concert was a part of Rockwave Festival.
6. The July 10, 2004, concert was a part of Ruisrock.
7. The July 11, 2004, concert was a part of San Fermin.
8. The July 17, 2004, concert was a part of Tuska Open Air.
9. The November 7, 2004, concert was a part of Metal Female Voices Fest.
10. The December 28 and 29, 2004, concerts were a part of On A Dark Winter's Night.
11. The May 27, 2005, concert was a part of Festimad.
12. The May 29, 2005, concert was a part of Mystic Festival.
13. The June 11, 2005, concert was a part of Nova Rock Festival.
14. The June 12, 2005, concert was a part of Download Festival.
15. The June 17, 2005, concert was a part of Provinssirock.
16. The June 18, 2005, concert was a part of Frauenfeld Open Air.
17. The June 24, 2005, concert was a part of Himos Festival.
18. The July 15, 2005, concert was a part of Masters of Rock.
19. The July 16, 2005, concert was a part of Evolution Festival.
20. The July 22, 2005, concert was a part of Earthshaker Festival.
21. The July 28, 2005, concert was a part of Vilar de Mouros Festival.
22. The August 4, 2005, concert was a part of Wacken Open Air.
23. The August 7, 2005, concert was a part of Ankkarock.
24. The August 14, 2005, concert was a part of Taubertal Open Air.
25. The August 19, 2005, concert was a part of Pukkelpop.
26. The August 20, 2005, concert was a part of Lowlands Festival.
27. The October 8, 12 and 15, 2005, concerts were a part of Live'N'Louder Festival.