Epica have announced that their own festival, Epic Metal Fest, will return in 2027. The one-day event takes place on 4 June 2027 in Maastricht, in the Dutch province of Limburg, and forms part of South of Heaven Festival, with Epica curating the Friday line-up.
The band will headline with a special 25th anniversary set, celebrating a career that began in 2002. The first two bands confirmed for the line-up are Lacuna Coil and Ad Infinitum, both chosen personally by Epica. The band stated that more acts will be revealed soon, and encouraged fans to stay for the rest of South of Heaven Festival after the Epic Metal Fest day. Tickets are available now through the band’s website.
A festival back from the past
Epic Metal Fest is no stranger to the band’s history. Epica have organised the event before, and the 2027 edition marks its first return in more than ten years. The announcement frames the day as one of “metal, friendship, and celebration”, with the band promising a handpicked selection of bands alongside their own anniversary performance.
Simone Simons, twenty-five years at the front
Simone Simons has been the lead vocalist of Epica since the band’s early days, joining at the age of seventeen in 2002. Born on 17 January 1985, she has recorded nine studio albums with the band and toured the world. Her soprano voice, paired with Mark Jansen’s death growls, has become the group’s signature sound. Outside Epica, she has collaborated with Kamelot, Leaves’ Eyes, Primal Fear, Ayreon and Angra, and runs the lifestyle website SmoonStyle.
From Reuver to the world
Epica were formed in Reuver, Limburg, in 2002 by guitarist Mark Jansen after his departure from After Forever. Their debut album, “The Phantom Agony”, arrived in 2003 on Transmission Records, and the band later moved to Nuclear Blast and then Atomic Fire. Their most recent album, “Aspiral”, was released in April 2025. In 2015 the band received the Dutch Music Export Award.
The band also has a busy tour schedule ahead, including anniversary shows at Royal Albert Hall in London and three sold-out nights at Royal Theatre Carré in Amsterdam in January 2027, followed by dates in South America in March 2027.
