Photo Credit: Tobias Forge as Papa Emeritus IV (Ghost) by Tilly Antoine / CC by 4.0
Ghost’s new tour is fast approaching, and frontman Tobias Forge shares why the experience will be a phone-free one for the audience.
Theatric arena metal band Ghost has a new album, Skeletá, out in April, and they’re hitting the road on a stacked world tour. But just like the band’s shows when they were filming their 2024 movie, Rite Here, Rite Now, attendees must place their cellphones in a Yondr pouch provided by the venue.
That means no phones out recording the action — though you’ll still be able to have your phone, encased in a Yondr pouch, on your person. Ghost frontman Tobias Forge explains why in a new interview with Planet Rock.
“I think there was a lot of reflection that came in as we had done the LA shows where we recorded [Rite Here, Rite Now],” says Forge. “Because of the nature of filming, we decided to do the Yondr pouches then. And the first thing that hit us, the first night we came offstage, was the crowd was phenomenal.”
“We had such an engaged crowd that seemed joyous in a way that… I had to go back years and in time since I last saw a fully engaged crowd where everybody’s actually watching [the show]. They don’t have to watch me, but they’re watching the band.”
According to Forge, particularly in big cities where live music shows are aplenty, “It’s so hard to get people to engage.” Even the hardcore gig-goers can sometimes come across “blasé,” which is definitely not the vibe musicians who put on theatric performances are going for.
“We filmed two shows in LA in front of audiences where they had to put their phones into pockets. You don’t give it away. You have your phone; you don’t have to worry about that. If you need to call, you can go out. If you need to take a photo, you can take a photo of yourself out in the lobby; that’s fine.”
“The face value of not seeing phones was literally like time travel,” he continued. “I’m not talking about like back to the ‘80s, I’m talking about maybe 10 years back in time when people were generally not filming as much, whereas now in modern times it’s just ridiculous. If you’re playing in front of 10,000 people, 8,000 people are holding a phone. And we just said, ‘I wish it was like this all the time.’”
“I really wanna underline that the ban has nothing to do with, let’s say, copyright control,” Forge explains. “It’s not that we wanna sit on all the material and we don’t want anybody to monetize [Ghost videos]; it has nothing to do with that.”
“Obviously, the part of our crowd that are older and more aware, maybe this becomes a little bit nostalgic then,” he mused. “But I really believe that the younger portion of our crowd will, as they did in LA, come out saying, like, ‘That was not only a great concert; that was also an overwhelming experience.’ Because I do believe that you will feel that.”
Fans can preorder Skeletá now, with the album releasing on April 25. Ghost’s world tour kicks off on April 15 at the AO Arena in Manchester and wraps up on September 25 in Mexico City.
Ghost: Skeletour 2025 Dates
April
- 15 | Manchester, UK — AO Arena
- 16 | Glasgow, UK — OVO Hydro
- 19 | London, UK — The O2
- 20 | Birmingham, UK — Utilita Arena
- 22 | Antwerp, BE — Sportpaleis
- 23 | Frankfurt, DE — Festhalle Frankfurt
- 24 | Munich, DE — Olympiahalle
- 26 | Lyon, FR — LDLC Arena
- 27 | Toulouse, FR — Zénith Toulouse Métropole
- 29 | Lisbon, PT — MEO Arena
- 30 | Madrid, ES — Palacio Vistalegre
May
- 03 | Zürich, CH — Hallenstadion Zürich
- 04 | Milan, IT — Unipol Forum
- 07 | Berlin, DE — Uber Arena
- 08 | Amsterdam, NL — Ziggo Dome
- 10 | Lodz, PL — Atlas Arena
- 11 | Prague, CZ — O2 Arena
- 13 | Paris, FR — Accor Arena
- 14 | Oberhausen, DE — Rudolf Weber-ARENA
- 15 | Hannover, DE — ZAG Arena
- 17 | Copenhagen, DK — Royal Arena
- 20 | Tampere, FI — Nokia Arena
- 22 | Linköping, SE — Saab Arena
- 23 | Sandviken, SE — Göransson Arena
- 24 | Oslo, NO — Oslo Spektrum
July
- 05 | Birmingham, UK — Back to the Beginning
- 09 | Baltimore, MD — CFG Bank Arena
- 11 | Atlanta, GA — State Farm Arena
- 12 | Tampa, FL — Amalie Arena
- 13 | Miami, FL — Kaseya Center
- 15 | Raleigh, NC — Lenovo Center
- 17 | Cleveland, OH — Rocket Arena
- 18 | Pittsburgh, PA — PPG Paints Arena
- 19 | Philadelphia, PA — Wells Fargo Center
- 21 | Boston, MA — TD Garden
- 22 | New York, NY — Madison Square Garden
- 24 | Detroit, MI — Little Caesars Arena
- 25 | Louisville, KY — KFC Yum! Center
- 26 | Nashville, TN — Bridgestone Arena
- 28 | Grand Rapids, MI — Van Andel Arena
- 29 | Milwaukee, WI — Fiserv Forum
- 30 | St. Louis, MO — Enterprise Center
August
- 01 | Rosemont, IL — Allstate Arena
- 02 | Saint Paul, MN — Xcel Energy Center
- 03 | Omaha, NE — CHI Health Center
- 05 | Kansas City, MO — T-Mobile Center
- 07 | Denver, CO — Ball Arena
- 09 | Las Vegas, NV — MGM Grand Garden Arena
- 10 | San Diego, CA — Viejas Arena
- 11 | Phoenix, AZ — Footprint Center
- 14 | Austin, TX — Moody Center
- 15 | Fort Worth, TX — Dickies Arena
- 16 | Houston, TX — Toyota Center
September
- 24 | Mexico City, MX — Palacio de los Deportes
- 25 | Mexico City, MX — Palacio de los Deportes
Content shared from www.digitalmusicnews.com.