DEVIN TOWNSEND announces second world-exclusive and one-time performance of 'The Moth' with symphony orchestra
“It will be the most prestigious of all events that I've done”
30-09-2024
On Thursday, March 27, 2025, the lifelong work of visionary musician, composer, and producer Devin Townsend will unfold in De Oosterpoort in Groningen, where he will perform the rock opera The Moth together with the Noord Nederlands Orkest symphony orchestra. Previously announced as one time and worldwide exclusive, the second show is now added, on March 28th, also in Groningen.
In a new video message, Devin stated about the upcoming event: “Ladies and gentlemen, my name is Devin Townsend and I am here to invite you to Groningen in the Netherlands March 27th (and March 28th) 2025 for the world-exclusive performance of ‘The Moth’, which is a musical-slash-opera that I’ve been writing for the past 10 years. Arguably, my entire career and life has led up to this moment. And I was propositioned by the North Netherlands Symphony Orchestra And Choir to perform my composition as a world exclusive with their 70-person-strong orchestra, 50-person-strong choir and my band.
“The North Netherlands Symphony Orchestra And Choir is one of the elite orchestras in the world, and to say that I am honored that they would be willing to take a chance on this strange, abstract, heavy, bizarre musical that I’ve been writing is an understatement. I can’t tell you how honored I am to be working with this orchestra.
“My band will be performing with me — Mike Keneally, Darby Todd, James Leach — and the opening act for this show will also be me, but it won’t be a musical; it will be a performance of the material that I’ve done in the past. It’s like a show, in a way — in many ways.
“But I stumble over my words here because this is such an honor for me and I can’t wait to make this happen with you there. It’s the first big performance like this that I’ve done post-pandemic. So all of you who used to come to the shows in Plovdid (Bulgaria) or Royal Albert Hall (in London) or ‘The Retinal Circus’ or any of these things, we sort of became a strange little empathetic family. And I highly welcome you to come to this. It’s a world-exclusive performance.
“After years and years of doing this, to finally have the opportunity to write a musical, to write an opera and to perform it as a world exclusive with one of the finest orchestras and choirs in the world is beyond a dream come true. And I assure you that the work that I’ve done on ‘The Moth’ is — uh, it’s intense.
“‘The Moth’ is a solo vocal performance, and I intend to be in the best form that I can to be able to pull that off for you.
“This career has been so full of highs — and lows, but highs — and this one promises to be the most prestigious of all events that I’ve done.
“Thank you so much to the North Netherlands Symphony Orchestra And Choir for the opportunity for this world premiere of my first musical.
“It sounds so funny to say — I know it sounds pretentious — but I grew up in the ’70s and ’80s and I love that sort of thing. And I think I’m fairly adept at writing that type of music; I’ve just never had the opportunity to share it. So please come. And thank you so much for the support. Thank you to the orchestra and choir. I mean, for them to take a risk on a scrubby metalhead is beyond flattering, and I intend to live up to their expectations and yours in every possible way.
“Thank you for allowing me to do this. Thank you to the orchestra. I look forward to seeing you at the world premiere of ‘The Moth’ musical in Groningen, the Netherlands, March 27th (and March 28th), 2025, world exclusive with the North Netherlands Symphony Orchestra And Choir. It’s an absolute pleasure. I look forward to being there and I’m gonna get to work. I’ll see ya. Cheers.”
Townsend is renowned for his groundbreaking fusion of metal, progressive rock, and ambient music. With a career spanning more than 30 years, he has pushed the boundaries of musical genres and collaborated with world-famous orchestras, establishing an unparalleled artistic legacy.
For his latest project, he has teamed up with the Noord Nederlands Orkest and composed “The Moth”, a “rock opera” he has been working on for years, which represents his lifelong ambition. “The Moth” tells the story of the human experience from birth to death, comparable to the transformation of a caterpillar into a moth. It symbolizes the human quest for meaning and offers perspectives on the fear of death through analogy and narrative. Ever since Townsend witnessed large musicals such as “Jesus Christ Superstar” and “Phantom Of The Opera” in the 1970s, he has seen this project as his calling.
“The Moth” has been in the making for over a decade, and Townsend has been building towards it for 30 years. Now, he is ready to bring it to life. He will share the stage at De Oosterpoort in Groningen with no less than seventy musicians from the Noord Nederlands Orkest, a sixty-member choir, and his own band, which includes Mike Keneally, Joseph Stephenson, Darby Todd and James Leach.
Ticket sales started on Friday, September 27 at 5:00 p.m. via www.spotgroningen.nl.
VIP upgrade packages with meet-and-greet and exclusive goodies will soon be made available.
Devin Townsend has released the official music video for his new single, “Jainism” last month. The track is taken from his upcoming studio album, “PowerNerd”, which is due on October 25.
Watch “Jainism” below.
Devin comments: “This next song was based on my connection to music in the mid-’90s. Also the idea of what it means to rend yourself artistically to an unresponsive world in 2024. I referenced THE WILDHEARTS in the chorus, as Ginger is one of our generation’s greatest songwriters.
“In preparation for ‘The Moth’, ‘PowerNerd’ is meant to look back and celebrate the past before moving forward. Thank you for the support…back to work here :)”.
Earlier this month, Devin released a new video in which he explained the inspiration for the “PowerNerd” title. He said: “‘PowerNerd’ is essentially a manifesto of working through the problems that you face in life. And the definition of it had originally been — there are certain personality traits or proclivities that one may have that perhaps society deems as being a weakness, whether or not that’s empathy or hypersensitivity or something. And to people who don’t have those sorts of aspects of their personality, certain things can be taken for granted, as it’s, like, ‘Oh, it’s easy to do that,’ ‘It’s easy to go out in public,’ ‘It’s easy to socialize,’ whatever. But if these aren’t things that are part of your psychological makeup, it’s sometimes effort just leaving the house. So a powernerd, in a sense is — the definition that I at least adhere to — you turn those tendencies into a superpower. So if you’re hypersensitive, your hypersensitivity becomes your superpower. It’s about harnessing it, so it doesn’t get imposed on others, of course, but at the same time, to be able to recognize the ways in which you’re different and not view that as being a liability, but rather view it as being a strength. That’s the definition of ‘powernerd’.”
Watch the previously announced “PowerNerd” below.
Townsend‘s career is one of many distinct eras. He’s been the leader of STRAPPING YOUNG LAD, the lynchpin of the DEVIN TOWNSEND PROJECT and the co-architect of country duo CASUALTIES OF COOL, all while maintaining his prolific and lauded solo project. Now, the polymath’s newest era starts with “PowerNerd”.
“It was a conscious thing,” Devin says of his brand-new album, the music on which he wrote in just 11 days. “I thought, ‘I’ve spent so much time overthinking every aspect of my work — what would happen if I didn’t?’ Maybe I would have the opportunity to be a bit more direct with what it is that I’m trying to do. I really wanted to see if I could cut through some of the meandering.”
However, that aggression is far from the only thing to come from “PowerNerd”‘s 11 episodic tracks. “Dreams Of Light”, by comparison, is an evocative and dynamic four-minute ballad. “Younger Lover” calms down from an explosive opening to lush verses of synths and singing, whereas “Falling Apart” and “Jainism” add texture after texture on top of dulcet, acoustic introductions.
Where “PowerNerd”‘s music was written in less than a fortnight, its lyrics were refined over a far longer period of time into a narrative about strength and healing. On “Falling Apart”, Devin commands himself to “keep the tension under control.” “You’ve got to believe that things will only get better,” subsequent song “Gratitude” powerfully declares. These uplifting messages even play into the record’s title.
Devin offers as a definition: “I would say that a powernerd would be somebody that has a tendency that society has deemed weak or not valuable, whether that’s empathy or being an insular person or an introvert, and turns that into a type of personal power. It’s like, ‘Okay, yeah, I’m sensitive to this, that and the other thing, but man, I am going to pull through! I am going to do things with that sensitivity that are rooted in strength.'”
POWERNERD – noun
1. A person of any gender who has, through tenacity and perseverance, turned what society may deem as a ‘weakness’ into a superpower.
2. A total fucking badass.
3. You.
“PowerNerd” will be available on several different formats, including a limited 2CD+Blu-ray artbook (featuring the album, bonus tracks and Devin‘s first-ever Dolby Atmos mix),limited 2CD digipak in O-card, standard CD, gatefold 2LP and digital album.
The full track listing for “PowerNerd” is as follows:
- PowerNerd
02. Falling Apart
03. Knuckledragger
04. Gratitude
05. Dreams Of Light
06. Ubelia
07. Jainism
08. Younger Lover
09. Glacier
10. Goodbye
11. Ruby Quaker
The album’s artwork was created by longtime collaborator Travis Smith.
As well as express strength through adversity, “PowerNerd” will open the door to Devin‘s immediate future. Its positivity and succinctness will soon be contrasted by follow-up “The Moth” — described by Devin as “orchestral, over-the-top, dark and uncomfortable” — and the “alien weirdness” of finale “Axolotl”. Both efforts have already been written, and together the trilogy will express the mind-boggling range of this man’s musical talent.
“PowerNerd” recording lineup:
Devin Townsend – Vocals, Guitars, Synths, Bass and Computer
Darby Todd – Drums
Diego Tejeida – Keyboards, Synths
Mike Keneally – Additional Keyboards
Jean Savoie – Additional Bass
Aman Khosla – Additional Vocals
Tanya Ghosh – Additional Vocals
Jamey Jasta – Additional Vocals
The album’s artwork was created by longtime collaborator Travis Smith, and can be seen below:
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