It’s about to be one hell of an exciting year for Evanescence. To start, the band has announced their first worldwide headlining tour in four years. The tour kicks off June 11, 2026 and goes through the end of October. Evanescence will hit U.S. cities, before heading to Canada and Europe, and wrapping things up at the iconic Red Rocks Amphitheatre in Colorado.
The tour will feature a stacked lineup of women-fronted bands and solo acts: Spiritbox, Poppy, K. Flay, and Nova Twins will open for the band across select dates. Evanescence has previously collaborated with each musician, except for Nova Twins. See below for a full list of dates and details.
The tour announcement comes as Evanescence hit a new stride this year. 2025 saw the band join Metallica on a stadium tour, open for heavyweight acts like My Chemical Romance and Halsey, and unleash powerful singles “Fight Like a Girl” and “Afterlife.” Evanescence has also teased a new album for 2026, which will mark the band’s first LP since 2021’s The Bitter Truth.
Now, they’re gearing up for an exciting time and an album that encapsulates it all. In an exclusive interview, Amy Lee, 43, reflects on Evanescence’s notable moments from 2025 and details their momentous year ahead. “We have really tapped into something special,” Lee says.
You just opened up for Metallica in Australia and New Zealand. What was that experience like?
It surpassed all my expectations and they were pretty high. It was our first stadium tour and opening for Metallica was monumental for us because that is absolutely one of the bands that was key in inspiring the sound of Evanescence. When I was 13, 14 years old, I loved The Black Album. Going and watching their set, which I did almost every night on tour, was so cool and brought all the memories back. I was like, “Oh my God, this is surreal.” I can’t believe it’s taken this long for us to play a show together. It inspired me all over again.
How did you prepare for such a big performance?
Metal fans are solidly true to their band and only their band, and sometimes they’re just not going to be down with the chick band that’s opening. I love that challenge. It’s a different feeling from playing our own shows, which are very much a celebration of our 20 plus years together and just a big family reunion. I went into the Metallica shows tough, ready to slay and not play “My Immortal” and instead go heavy the whole time.
But then that first night in Perth, I went out and I watched Metallica’s set and looked around at the fans and I realized some of the best parts of the show are “Nothing Else Matters” and “The Unforgiven,” and all these moments where James would speak and be a totally approachable, goofy human being, which is extremely relatable to me. It’s the opposite of intimidating. I just felt like, “I’m at home. These are my people.” We threw the ballad back in the set, and after that it was really fun.
While Evanescence was in Australia, the band also put on intimate headlining shows there. How did those shows feel, especially before headlining arenas next year?
We played a couple of shows in between these giant stadiums that were smaller than I have played in at least 18 years, like before we got signed. I couldn’t tell you the capacity for the Sydney show, but it felt like a thousand people. It was tight, sweaty, the whole band in one dressing room, and so much energy coming from the crowd. It was like going back in time only a thousand times better because I wasn’t nervous.
We’re used to playing arenas, which is awesome. But the farther away you get from the people, the less feedback you truly receive. You’re able to tune out and feel the music and do your performance. With the club shows, I could reach out and grab somebody if I wanted to. It was like a soul quench. I didn’t realize how special it was going to be for me. But that’s not what our tour is going to be like.
What can fans expect from the world tour next year?
It’s going to be a blast. I got all my ladies in. I have an excellent band beside me. When we go out on tour, we have fun together and challenge each other to be the best that we can be. It’s taken time to grow and build and change into that band. I definitely have more energy about everything Evanescence than I did 10 years ago. Because of that, we fuel each other. So I am very excited about the tour.
Spiritbox, Poppy, K. Flay, and Nova Twins are opening for Evanescence. You’ve worked with Courtney LaPlante and Poppy on songs this year. What went into choosing them as openers?
I’m very excited to be touring with such amazing women and bands. It’s going to be awesome. This has been a big year for me and for the band, when it comes to collaborations and working with people. I’ve loved working with Poppy and Courtney (LaPlante) on the “End of You.” We still haven’t gotten to do it live yet. I’m hoping that comes out of this at some point. Same goes for our song with K. Flay, “Fight Like a Girl.” I just kind of want to bring all of us together as much as I can and bring it to life on the stage.
I haven’t worked with Nova Twins but I’m a fan of them. We’ve done festivals together in the past couple of years and seeing them really inspired me. Everything that [bassist Georgia South] turns the bass into is phenomenal. Emma [Anzai, Evanescence’s bassist] and I will go stand side stage and just be like, “What is she doing right there? Figure out what that is. Go ask her after.”
What can you share about the new Evanescence album you’ve been teasing?
It’s this massive body of work that we’ve been working on for a couple of years now. A lot of it’s recorded, some of it’s done and there’s lyrics left on a lot of songs where I have to find that perfect thing to say. Words are always important, but they feel particularly important right now as an artist in the world in our state of turmoil. It feels like an opportunity to put something good into the world, even if it’s just a way for people to relate, to speak about what’s true, and let it out. We need release. I need release.
Do you have a date set yet for the album?
It’ll be out early next year. I haven’t set a date because that’ll mess me up. I have to finish the words and the recording of the vocals, but we’re close and I’m very excited. Once that’s done, my head is going to be all about the tour.
What are you most excited for fans to hear on the new record?
I’m feeling some of the same inspiration level and love I felt when I was making Fallen, but we’re different now. We’re better. The perspective of being able to see the past, present, and imagine the future all at the same time, has a different depth. I’ve been working with people that are about 10 years younger than me, and were inspired by Fallen and see it in a way that I couldn’t. There are certain pieces of us that I’m able to recognize again and look at with an out-of-body kind of love, which is helping us create something really special.
It’s been more than 20 years since Evanescence’s massive breakout with Fallen. How does it feel to still be creating and planning new things you’re excited about after all that time?
It’s a wonderful thing to realize that life can still pleasantly surprise you. We’re always prepared for the worst, but you also have to leave room in your heart for the very real possibility that things can actually get better and life can surprise you. I have found that quite a bit in my life along the way. The journey with the band over the past few years especially, has been rewarding in a way that it couldn’t have been back then, even when we were winning Grammys and all that stuff. I was a kid and I didn’t even know what it meant. You get older and you really have the perspective of how precious life is. I’m just in a very “YOLO” place. We could die any minute, so go for it. We should just have the best time ever, right now.
What do you think it is about this moment that has made it possible for all of these exciting new opportunities to line up?
It’s not just one thing. It definitely feels like a convergence of a bunch of things in the universe at the same time. Culturally, something’s happening where 2000s bands are having a moment 20 years later. As much as we have taken time between albums, we never went away. We’ve been building this thing since then, and I’m realizing that is pretty rare. For us to be here with our incredible fan base after all this time, and to also have the mainstream radar on us in a big way again, it just feels like everything at the right time. You just got to say, “If now is the time, then it’s time to book a really solid 2026.” So that’s what we’re doing.
Evanescence 2026 World Tour Dates:
June 11 – West Palm Beach, FL @ iTHINK Financial Amphitheatre
June 12 – Tampa, FL @ MIDFLORIDA Credit Union Amphitheatre
June 14 – Alpharetta, GA @ Ameris Bank Amphitheatre
June 15 – Nashville, TN @ Bridgestone Arena
June 17 – Raleigh, NC @ Coastal Credit Union Music Park at Walnut Creek
June 18 – Charlotte, NC @ PNC Music Pavilion
June 20 – Camden, NJ @ Freedom Mortgage Pavilion
June 21 – Mansfield, MA @ Xfinity Center
June 23 – Saratoga Springs, NY @ Saratoga Performing Arts Center
June 24 – Wantagh, NY @ Northwell at Jones Beach Theater
June 26 – Holmdel, NJ @ PNC Bank Arts Center
June 27 – Bristow, VA @ Jiffy Lube Live
June 29 – Toronto, Ontario @ RBC Amphitheatre
June 30 – Montréal, Quebec @ Centre Bell
July 8 – Tinley Park, IL @ Credit Union 1 Amphitheatre
July 9 – Noblesville, IN @ Ruoff Music Center
July 11 – North Little Rock, AR @ Simmons Bank Arena
July 12 – Kansas City, MO @ MORTON Amphitheater
July 14 – Albuquerque, NM @ Isleta Amphitheater
July 15 – Phoenix, AZ @ Talking Stick Resort Amphitheatre
July 17 – Chula Vista, CA @ North Island Credit Union Amphitheatre
July 20 – Mountain View, CA @ Shoreline Amphitheatre
July 22 – Ridgefield, WA @ Cascades Amphitheater
July 23 – Auburn, WA @ White River Amphitheatre
July 25 – Salt Lake City, UT @ Utah First Credit Union Amphitheatre
July 28 – St. Louis, MO @ Hollywood Casino Amphitheater
July 30 – Cuyahoga Falls, OH @ Blossom Music Center
Aug. 1 – Cincinnati, OH @ Riverbend Music Center
Aug. 2 – Clarkston, MI @ Pine Knob Music Theatre
Sept. 8 – Leeds, UK @ First Direct Arena
Sept. 10 – Manchester, UK @ Co-op Live
Sept. 11 – Birmingham, UK @ Utilita Arena Birmingham
Sept. 13 – London, UK @ The O2
Sept. 16 – Brussels, Belgium @ Forest National
Sept. 18 – Paris, France @ Accor Arena
Sept. 19 – Frankfurt, Germany @ Congress Center Messe Frankfurt – Festhalle Frankfurt
Sept. 20 – Dortmund, Germany @ Westfalenhallen Dortmund
Sept. 22 – Amsterdam, Netherlands @ Ziggo Dome
Sept. 23 – Hamburg, Germany @ Barclays Arena
Sept. 25 – Berlin, Germany @ Velodrom
Sept. 26 – Munich, Germany @ Olympiahalle
Sept. 28 – Bologna, Italy @ Unipol Arena
Sept. 29 – Zurich, Switzerland @ Hallenstadion Zurich
Oct. 1 – Barcelona, Spain @ Palau Olimpic Badalona
Oct. 2 – Madrid, Spain @ Palacio Vistalegre
Oct. 4 – Lisbon, Portugal @ MEO Arena
Oct. 26 – Morrison, Colorado @ Red Rocks Amphitheatre
