Singer SILJE WERGELAND Announces Departure From THE GATHERING After 16 Years
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Norwegian singer Silje Wergeland, who has been fronting Dutch rockers THE GATHERING since early 2009, has announced her departure from the band.
Earlier today (Sunday, December 28),Silje shared the following statement via her social media: "It's a new dawn and a new year. After 16 years of creating and playing great music with THE GATHERING, it's time to move on to new ventures.
"I have had so many awesome experiences and made great memories with this band that will stay with me for the rest of my life.
"I wish my band mates all the best for the future.
"Thanks for all the great support and the lovely conversations with all you wonderful [THE GATHERING] fans around the globe.
"Lots of love, Silje".
Prior to joining THE GATHERING, Silje sang for the Norwegian band OCTAVIA SPERATI.
To celebrate the 30th anniversary of their "Mandylion" album, THE GATHERING musicians who recorded the LP — including singer Anneke Van Giersbergen — reunited for several shows in their home country this past summer.
The "Mandylion" lineup of THE GATHERING has already announced more than two dozen concerts for 2026, including in Europe, South America and at the ProgPower USA festival in Atlanta in September.
The lineup for the concerts will consist of the following musicians:
* Anneke Van Giersbergen - vocals
* Hugo Prinsen Geerligs - bass
* Frank Boeijen - keyboards, backing vocals
* Hans Rutten - drums
* René Rutten - guitar
* Jelmer Wiersma - guitar
This past September, René Rutten was asked by Chile's Radio Futuro if he had always kept in contact with Anneke during her time away from the band. René said: "Yeah, sometimes, because you've made albums together, so you have some moments that you talk a bit. But not that much. Only last year, the old record label, finally they said, 'Okay, we can't hold it anymore, but your album become a gold record here in the Netherlands.' So we got a gold record last year. So then we saw all the bandmembers again. And I keep contact with Anneke — sometimes we did some lunch, just meeting — and then one moment we said, like, 'Yeah, let's do something next year, if the album becomes 30 years old.' And that's what now is gonna happen with the five shows here in Nijmegen. But we had contact with all the other members as well. Hugo [Prinsen Geerligs] came back earlier already for being playing bass guitar. Frank [Boeijen, keyboards] was always there. And Jelmer [Wiersma, guitar], we asked him, like, 'Hey, do you like to join us in this?' And yeah, he loves it. So he also is very enthusiastic about it to play this album ['Mandylion' in its entirety] and more."
After the interviewer noted that it's unusual for a band like THE GATHERING — which is known for constantly moving forward musically and evolving its sound — to celebrate a moment from the group's past by performing it in its entirety live, René concurred. "I can't make music with the same kind of feeling [as something we have already done]," he explained. "That's not into me. You make that chapter. It's like you're writing a book, and you wrote that part, and then you start with something new. And that's more what my feeling is about music. I can't make two albums — no, I can't make it twice."
THE GATHERING's "Mandylion" lineup officially kicked off its run of five reunion shows on August 27 at Doornroosje in Nijmegen, The Netherlands.
The "Mandylion" lineup of THE GATHERING previously played a kick-off "try-out" concert on June 29 at Dynamo in Eindhoven.
THE GATHERING's third studio album, "Mandylion" was released in August 1995 via Century Media Records. It was the band's first LP to feature Van Giersbergen.
Van Giersbergen announced her departure from THE GATHERING in 2007. She has since released several albums on her own and with her AGUA DE ANNIQUE solo project.
(Source: www.blabbermouth.net)
