During the ' Muzikantendag 2006 ' [Dutch Musicians Day 2006] held on May 27th in venue Melkweg at Amsterdam, Anneke van Giersbergen singer of Dutch rock band the Gathering, has been awarded to be The Netherlands' best singer of 2005!
She received the 'Devil' award, alongside other Dutch musicians like Junkie XL and Cesar Zuiderwijk of Golden Earring. The so-called Devil Awards, established by the Dutch Rock & Pop Institute [NPI], acknowledges the skill of various instrumentalists. Its main asset is that their peer group has voted the winners. It is the second Award for the Gathering this year. March 2006 the band also won the famous Dutch 'Edison Award' in the category 'Best National Music DVD' for their recently released double live DVD A Sound Relief.

The Devil, a large medal is designed by Claw Boys Claw-singer and artist Peter te Bos, and remembers the legend about blues guitarist Robert Johnson, who on the ‘crossroads’ sold his soul to the Devil in exchange to become the world's best guitarist. This year the Devil awards were handed to the winners by Koos van Dijk, former manager of famous rock & roll legend Herman Brood [r.i.p]. For the occasion Koos brought a collection paintings of Brood which were granted as bonus prize to the elected musicians.
Again congratulations Anneke & the Gathering!

Dutch Devil Award winners 2005 [May 27 2006]
Best singer: Anneke van Giersbergen [the Gathering]
Best guitarist: Dennis Huige [Racoon]
Best bassist: Bart Geevers [Peter Pan Speedrock]
Best drummer: Cesar Zuiderwijk [Golden Earring]
Best keyboardist: Pim Kops [De Dijk]
Best DJ/Producer: Junkie XL
Best venue: 013 [Tilburg, NL]

Due to illness, Dutch rock band The Gathering has unfortunately been forced to cancel all shows in Europe and the Netherlands scheduled between 19 April and 28 May. Singer Anneke van Giersbergen is suffering from an obstinate bronchial and sinus infection, which has taken a turn for the worse over the past few days.
‘The band very much regrets having to take this step, but Anneke’s health will have to come first. We are consulting with promoters to try to reschedule the concerts to later this year so that tickets would remain valid, declares the band’s management. The latest recording Home was released this past weekend. So this cancellation is very unfortunate for the band as well as for their fans. The Gathering will resume touring starting in June.

During the Edison Award party on March 15th at club Melkweg in Amsterdam, the Gathering won an EDISON AWARD for best National music DVD with A Sound Relief. The Edison is a prize for quality in Sound Recording and is the equivalent to the U.S. Grammy Award, the Brit Award, the Grand Prix du Disque in France and the Deutscher Schallplattenpreis in Germany.

A Sound Relief was recorded at the famous Paradiso in Amsterdam on May 23 2005 in front of an international audience [more than thirty different nationalities!]. The International press praises the DVD as one of the most beautiful Dutch DVD releases ever.
Congratulations the Gathering!!!

The first dates are now confirmed for the Gathering. The band will visit Argentina for the first time, tour in South and North America in March to carry on with Europe and festivals in Spring and Summer. Check the tour page for more info.

For this recording the band has built a professional homemade studio inside an old church in the small town of Maurik, located in the south of Holland. With the help of producer Attie Bauw [producer of the band’s 1998’s How to Measure a Planet?] the band plans to work there for a month before heading to Bauw’s studio to mix and master the music.

Comments singer Anneke van Giersbergen about the constructed studio and working with Bauw again, “We built our own studio there because we wanted to do something different and create a new atmosphere. As for working with Attie Bauw, he is a very inspirational man with great ideas and we were very anxious to work with him again. I like being in the studio especially because we are then together for a vast period of time as a group and we create something entirely new. It's always amazing to participate in this process and to finish with a brand new album. That sense of accomplishment is truly wonderful.”

She adds, “We would hope to see the album get released sometime in March [under license by Sanctuary Records in Europe, The End Records in North America].
We plan to start touring in March and to tour in South America, the U.S.A. and Northern Europe during spring.”

In February van Giersbergen gave birth to her first child, a boy named Finn. The singer welcomes the changes being a mother brings to her and her songwriting. “Being a mother has changed a lot for me and obviously everything I do or go through will somehow end up in a lyric or a song, but I haven’t written any mother-baby songs --- yet!” she laughs. “My views on life are the same as before I had my baby boy, they are now just so much stronger. So if anything, my contribution to the band’s music and the music we create together will be more powerful because of these new experiences.”

In other recent news the Gathering just worldwide released their double-DVD, A Sound Relief. The two-disc set features a live concert the band recorded on May 23, 2005 at the famous Paradiso in Amsterdam, plus bonus extras like the band's own tour impressions caught on video, video interviews and a bonus disc showcasing a collection of beautiful 3-D animation clips.

For more information on the band – including DVD video streams, DVD art works, Q&A sheet and to download hi-res photos, go to our Press & Promotion website.