EVANESCENCE kicked off their "Sanctuary" North American tour on June 12 at MIDFLORIDA Credit Union Amphitheatre in Tampa, Florida — and not without a dramatic surprise. Nine songs into the set, while the band was performing "Calm Down" from their brand-new album, a pyrotechnics malfunction sent a side stage curtain ablaze.
Fan-captured video spread rapidly across social media, showing flames crawling up the stage-left curtains before a quick-thinking crew member extinguished them with what appeared to be a water bottle. Frontwoman AMY LEE and the rest of the band continued playing without missing a beat. Most concertgoers were completely unaware anything had gone wrong.
"Sanctuary," EVANESCENCE's sixth studio album, was released June 5, 2026 and marks the band's most significant release since their 2011 self-titled record. The record showcases a bolder, heavier direction, and the live production surrounding the tour is reportedly the most elaborate the group has ever assembled.
"This is our new album tour; that's the whole point," Lee said ahead of the trek. "We're going to be playing pretty much the whole new album, along with lots of other songs. I want to bring something to people — a place of release, to fill up, to charge up spiritually and emotionally."
The North American leg of the "Sanctuary" tour runs through August 2 in Michigan, with SPIRITBOX and NOVA TWINS providing support throughout. POPPY joins the bill for the European dates. No changes to the pyrotechnics setup have been announced, and the band has given every indication the show will go on — bigger and more dramatic than ever.
For an album built around themes of sanctuary and emotional release, the image of Amy Lee playing on while literal fire blazed around her carries a certain poetic weight.