Sanctuary To Continue On, Announce U.S. Tour Dates

Blog author:  Alex Stojanovic

After the devastating loss of Warrel Dane at the end of 2017, just before they were about to hit the road with Iced Earth, the future of Sanctuary was in question.  The tour with Iced Earth was meant to be a farewell tour for the band, so they enlisted Joseph Michael of Witherfall to fill in on vocal duties.  We had the chance to talk to Lenny and Joseph on that tour.

However, given the incredible reception and amazing support the band received from the fans, they were considering continuing on, but needed some time to think about it.  That decision has now been made, and Sanctuary has announced that it will officially continue with Joseph Michael as vocalist.

To celebrate, the band will hit the road in the U.S. this summer for a string of dates, with a couple of festivals in Europe.  The newly announced U.S. tour will begin on July 11th in Atlanta, and span for 12 shows before wrapping up on August 17th in their hometown of Seattle.  On top of that, they will be playing their debut album Refuge Denied in its entirety, along with other popular songs.  Joining them on the tour will be Ghost Ship Octavius.  See the dates down below.

Jul 11 - Atlanta, GA - Basement
Jul 12 - Chapel Hill, NC - Local 506
Jul 13 - Frederick, MD - Cafe 611
Jul 14 - Brooklyn, NY - Saint Vitus
Jul 16 - Somerville, MA - Once Ballroom
Jul 17 - Pittsburgh, PA - Crafthouse
Jul 18 - Cincinnati, OH - North Side Yacht Club
Jul 19 - Indianapolis, IN - Black Circle Brewery
Jul 20 - Detroit, MI - Sanctuary
Jul 21 - Chicago, IL - Reggies
Aug 16 - Portland, OR - Bossanova Ballroom *
Aug 17 - Seattle, WA - El Corazon *

* Only Sanctuary performs

At the moment, Sanctuary are in the process of writing a new album, and their follow-up to 2014's The Year The Sun Died.  This will be a big moment for the band, as it will be their first record without Warrel.  However, given how well Joseph sang the old songs on the Iced Earth tour, I know for a fact that the fans have nothing to worry about.  Lenny Rutledge said that they were aiming for a late 2019 / early 2020 release.