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. 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. 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. Hietala parted ways with the band in January 2021, and Jukka Koskinen was announced as his replacement in August 2022. Multi-instrumentalist Troy Donockley, who had been joining the band in studio and live since 2007, was made an official member in 2013.
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. From 1997 until the touring hiatus which began in 2024, the band has performed almost 1000 shows around the world.
The First Tour of the Angels
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. 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.
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.Once Upon a Nightwish: Official Biography 1996–2006 Sami Vänskä would later join the band instead of Hirvonen.
Set list "Elvenpath" "The Carpenter" "Tutankhamen" "Angels Fall First" "Know Why the Nightingale Sings" "Astral Romance" "Beauty and the Beast"
Tour dates + List of 1997 and 1998 concerts, showing date, city, country and venue Date City Country Venue31 December 1997KiteeFinlandHuvikeskus9 January 1998HelsinkiLepakko Club13 February 1998Tavastia Club14 February 1998PoriJungle Jane25 February 1998JoensuuKellari Club27 February 1998JyväskyläLutakko Club6 March 1998SiilinjärviHuvikumpu Club13 November 1998KiteeHuvikeskus
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
Summer of Wilderness
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. 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.
Later that year the band would tour Europe for the first time supporting Rage.
Set list Sacrament of Wilderness" "Elvenpath" "Stargazers" "Passion and the Opera" "Know Why the Nightingale Sings" "Devil & the Deep Dark Ocean" "Walking in the Air" (Howard Blake cover) "Gethsemane" "Astral Romance" "The Pharaoh Sails to Orion" Encore "Beauty and the Beast"
Tour dates + List of 1999 concerts, showing date, city, country and venue Date City Country Venue22 January 1999HelsinkiFinlandTavastia Club13 February 1999TurkuFeeniks Club6 March 1999HelsinkiLepakko Club31 March 1999TamperePakkahuone Theatre 10 April 1999NivalaTuiskula Club21 May 1999VantaaVernissa Club22 May 1999LappajärviHalkosaari Club 27 May 1999LieksaBrahesale Theater 28 May 1999JoensuuSilva Metsämessut4 June 1999HelsinkiTavastia Club5 June 1999SomeroSommerstock Festival 6 June 1999KarisKattoparkkirock Fest11 June 1999EuraSierahovi12 June 1999KauhajokiCity Kasino19 June 1999SeinäjokiTörnävä24 June 1999JämsäHimos Areena25 June 1999KalajokiHiekkasärkkä ClubPudasjärviJyrkkäkoski Club26 June 1999NurmijärviNummijärviKouvolaTykkimäki3 July 1999EnoKanavarantarock7 July 1999TampereTullikamarin Pakkahuone9 July 1999HelsinkiVR MakasiinitRuovesiNoitarock16 July 1999KiuruvesiLiikuntahalli18 July 1999JoensuuLaulurinne30 July 1999LiperiSuvisouturock31 July 1999UtajärviUntorock7 August 1999SuomussalmiSuviyön Sumutus8 August 1999KorsoKorson Urheilupuisto14 August 1999LohjaKesärockSaloVuoristock
Band Tarja Turunen – lead vocals Tuomas Holopainen – keyboards, lead vocals Emppu Vuorinen – guitar Jukka Nevalainen – drums Sami Vänskä – bass
Oceanborn Europe Tour
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. 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. Despite this, Nightwish enjoyed the tour which helped them to hone their act and grow tighter as a band.
Rage's drummer at the time, Mike Terrana, would eventually join Tarja's support band for her eventual solo career in 2007.
Set list "Stargazers" "Gethsemane" "Passion and the Opera" "Devil & the Deep Dark Ocean" "Sacrament of Wilderness" "Swanheart" "The Pharaoh Sails to Orion" "Walking in the Air" (Howard Blake cover) "Elvenpath" "Astral Romance" "Know Why the Nightingale Sings"
Tour dates + List of 1999 concerts, showing date, city, country and venue Date City Country Venue12 November 1999MarkneukirchenGermanySchützenhaus13 November 1999KatowicePolandMega Club14 November 1999SprembergGermanyMTS Club15 November 1999BerlinKesselhaus16 November 1999HamburgMarkthalle18 November 1999GroningenNetherlandsVera Club19 November 1999OsnabrückGermanyWorks Club 20 November 1999VosselaarBelgiumBiebob Club21 November 1999BochumGermanyZeche Club22 November 1999SaarbrückenGarage Club24 November 1999BarcelonaSpainSala Mephisto 25 November 1999MadridSala Macumba26 November 1999AvilésQuattro Club 27 November 1999BergaraSala Jam28 November 1999ValenciaGarage Club30 November 1999GenevaSwitzerlandUndertown Club1 December 1999PrattelnZ7 Club2 December 1999TurinItalySupermarket Club3 December 1999ViennaAustriaPlanet Music4 December 1999KaufbeurenGermanyZeppenlinhalle6 December 1999OffenbachHafenbahn Club8 December 1999BraunschweigFBZ Club9 December 1999CologneLive Music Hall10 December 1999Bad SalzungenKeller Werk11 December 1999FreibergTrivoli Club12 December 1999LudwigsburgRockfabrik
Band Tarja Turunen – lead vocals Tuomas Holopainen – keyboards, lead vocals Emppu Vuorinen – guitar Jukka Nevalainen – drums Sami Vänskä – bass
Wishmaster World Tour
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. 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. For their European tour between October and November, they were supported by supergroup Sinergy, whose bassist, Marko Hietala, would eventually join Nightwish. 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.
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. 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.
Set lists 2000 She Is My Sin" Gethsemane" The Kinslayer" Deep Silent Complete" The Pharaoh Sails to Orion" Come Cover Me" Wanderlust" Crimson Tide" (Hans Zimmer cover) / Deep Blue Sea (Trevor Rabin cover) (medley, instrumental) Swanheart" "Elvenpath" / "FantasMic" (part 3) "Dead Boy's Poem" "Sacrament of Wilderness" Encore "Walking in the Air" (Howard Blake cover) "Beauty and the Beast" "Wishmaster"
2001 The Kinslayer" "She Is My Sin" "10th Man Down" "Elvenpath" / "FantasMic" (part 3) "Over the Hills and Far Away" (Gary Moore cover) "Come Cover Me" "Deep Silent Complete" "Sleeping Sun" "Sacrament of Wilderness" Encore "Walking in the Air" (Howard Blake cover) "Wishmaster"
Tour dates