The Gathering confirmed for REF 2026

What a wonderful surprise. The Gathering reunited in 2025, thus celebrating 30 years since the release of the highly influential and generation stapling album, titled Mandylion. The good news is that they will be performing at REF 2026.

A lunch meeting in 2023, following the presentation of a gold record award for the seminal 1995 album Mandylion in the Netherlands, sparked the concept of a celebratory reunion tour. René Rutten proposed a special anniversary collaboration to the band’s former lead vocalist, Anneke van Giersbergen. What began as a plan for two localized anniversary performances in August 2025 at the 1,100-capacity Club Doornroosje in Nijmegen quickly expanded due to unprecedented ticket demand. The band eventually scheduled five sold-out shows at Doornroosje between August 27 and August 31, 2025, preceded by an exclusive try-out show at Dynamo in Eindhoven on June 29, 2025.

To manage expectations, the band clarified that these engagements did not signal a permanent reformation but a strictly limited retrospective campaign. Therefore it will be quite a unique opportunity to listen live one of the best melodic metal the early 90s were able to give birth to. I imagine the new location, even larger, will get very tight at their show. No one who listened to melodic metal in the early and late 90s can afford to miss this show.

So loose the Fear of The Sea, get into those Strange Machines and come to Ghimbav in 2026 to listen to Mandylion!!!