UK progressive-metal stalwarts Haken announced last September they will return to US soil this year, with a tour run dubbed An Evening with Haken, which will feature the band playing their recent record Fauna in its entirety, alongside a selection of other songs. To know more about what those shows will look like, what else can we expect to hear, and more, we sat down with the band's frontman Ross Jennings for a quick chat.
This is your first “Evening With” headlining tour in North America. Why did you decide to do it now?
It's so great to be returning to North America so soon after the last very successful tour we did there, only this time with a brand new format! It has become increasingly challenging in recent years to narrow down our ever-growing catalog to a setlist of a mere 100 minutes. As a sign of our appreciation for the support over the years, we wanted to give our fans a little bit extra this time around.
You will be playing the entire Fauna album. What else will you be playing?
That's right! We are really looking forward to performing our latest record in its entirety as we're so proud of it and it has found its place on many people's top albums of 2023 lists! As for the remainder of the set, we will be selecting songs from every album in our discography so the journey and evolution of the band are well represented.
How do you go about coming up with a setlist with so much material to choose from?
We've handpicked a mixture of classic Haken tracks, some fan favorites, band favorites, some we haven't played for a while, and a couple of songs that we've never played before. So I think we're all in for a bit of a rollercoaster ride.
It has been almost 15 years since your debut album. How has the band evolved over the years?
We've taken our listeners through a myriad of styles and approaches on our albums over the years, which has kept things fresh and interesting for both the band and the listener. The songwriting has become organically more collaborative than it was in the beginning, with Fauna being a prime example of this. Strong riffs and memorable choruses have always been at the forefront of our minds when writing so that aspect has remained a constant.
Do you prefer playing the long epics or the shorter songs live?
I'm not sure if we have a preference as such but we typically aim to strike a nice balance for our audience. The ebbs and flow of a setlist have got to be right of course but the most important thing for us is that the songs sound as good as they can be live.
What’s next after the tour?
We'll be taking a very short break before heading out to perform our first shows in Japan, which we're really excited about!
Make sure to check out all the Haken dates below and get your tickets here.
2/10 – The Fonda Theatre, Los Angeles, CA
2/11 – House of Blues, Anaheim, CA
2/13 – The Depot, Salt Lake City, UT
2/15 – Boulder Theater, Boulder, CO
2/17 – Tannahill’s Tavern & Music Hall, Forth Worth, TX
2/18 – White Oak Music Hall, Houston, TX
2/20 – Delmar Hall, St Louis, MO
2/21 – Bogart’s, Cincinnati, OH
2/22 – Egyptian Room at Old National Centre, Indianapolis, IN
2/23 – The Arcada Theatre, St. Charlies, IL
2/24 – St. Andrew’s Hall, Detroit, MI
2/25 – Danforth Music Hall, Toronto, ON
2/27 – Roxian Theatre, McKees Rocks, PA
2/28 – Baltimore Soundtage, Baltimore, MD
2/29 – Ridgefield Playhouse, Ridgefield, CT
3/1 – Somerville Theatre, Somerville, MA
3/2 – Palladium Times Square, New York, NY
3/3 – The Vogel, Red Bank, NJ
3/5 – The Orange Peel, Asheville, NC
3/6 – Center Stage, Atlanta, GA
