Evanescence w/Spiritbox, Nova Twins at Morton Amphitheater, Riverside MO (2026-07-12)

With only a handful of shows under its belt, Morton Amphitheater turned from concert venue into a ‘sanctuary’ for the night, holding some 15,000 fans to witness an iconic hard rock gothic band’s return to live stages for their first world tour in four years-

Grammy® Award-winning band Evanescence, led by the inimitable Amy Lee, made a Kansas City area stop, in support of their new album, Sanctuary, released last month via BMG Columbia. The band continues to evolve since their humble beginnings in Little Rock, AR over a quarter-century ago, and manages to age gracefully, both keeping their large existing fan base, and still is adding new fans.

As the band’s trademark logo ebbed and lights dimmed, fan’s anticipation reached peak levels as the set opened with the new album’s title track, followed by recent single, “Tell Me When You’ve Had Enough” with the band dressed in black and Lee front and center, confidently showing off her vocal range early on, as a large LED backdrop flashed images and lighting strobed and heightened the drama.

“Afterlife” was next, the song that first revealed the new album’s cycle and was a soundtrack to Netflix’s anime “Devil May Cry” and 2003 radio hit, “Going Under” showed how much fan’s still embrace the band’s breakthrough album, Fallen.

The early part of the set barely let up in momentum, sounding musically tight (we were fans of guitarist Troy McLawhorn and drummer Will Hunt from their time in Dark New Day, and bassist-turned-guitarist Tim McCord showed he’s exceled more and more in that transition) and often going straight from song to song. It was also great to see bassist Emma Anzai in action, humble and unassuming but expertly keeping strong rhythms as she splits her time between this band, and her own group from Australia, Sick Puppies.

Mega hit and the song that put the band on the map, “Bring Me to Life” was not held back until the encore, but played just after the midpoint, injecting some extra life into the start of the back half, as fans set phones in the air to capture the moment and sang along to a track that still gets radio play.

Though you’d expect the show highlight to be the above song, it was actually on the performance of “Fight Like a Girl,” a track heard during the end credits of last year’s John Wick spin-off “Ballerina” performed on-record with K. Flay, but taken to new levels live when Lee was first joined by Spiritbox’s LaPlante, and then the Nova Twins, together embodying female empowerment and soaring the live version to the rafters and beyond, in terms of the electricity and convergence of talent brought together on stage.

Lee was at her most vulnerable behind the piano for the slower songs, both in espousing her current opinion on ‘love’ and achingly vocalizing the songs played with additional emotion and pathos. Pyro was thankfully limited (it was still hot enough out, though we get some heated bursts towards the end) and both guitarists and drummer Hunt had their platforms elevated, so anyone even back in the far reaches of the lawn, would be able to get a good view.

Eschewing the encore tradition where the band leaves the stage then returns, “My Immortal” provided one last sing-along for the 15,000-person crowd with cellphone lights in the air and swaying, and the band ended the evening with a song from the new album, instead of an older radio hit, “Wide Open Heart.”

Though most in the crowd were unfamiliar with the lyrics, it’s a musically solid song with Lee singing, “You find out who you are, don’t let it go to waste, ’cause we’re facing the weight of the world with a wide open heart” which seemed not only to acknowledge the current difficult times we all are seemingly having to endure, but also revealed a positive, only-way-is-through attitude, that better days are ahead soon.

The Sanctuary Tour succeeds most because it shows a musical evolution, both in Evanescence, still curious and musically hungry enough to not rest on their laurels of two decades ago, and to showcase newer female-driven bands like Spiritbox and Nova Twins, and both taking the mantle and lessons learned from the headliner and carrying the torch of female-led hard rock, into its next iteration. While visiting the past, this is more about the now and the future, and with a wide-open heart, the future again looks a little brighter.

SPIRITBOX SETLIST

Black Rainbow
Perfect Soul
Keep Sweet
Cellar Door
Jaded
The Void
Tsunami Sea Poem (from tape)>Tsunami Sea
Circle With Me
Rotoscope
Sew Me Up
Holy Roller
Soft Spine

Prior to the main act, BC Canadian band Spritbox nicely set the stage for the headliners, led by married couple Courtney LaPlante (vocals) and Mike Stringer (guitar) and in support of last year’s second studio album, Tsunami Sea (via Pale Chord and Rise Records). The band uniquely blends heavy metalcore with more atmospheric, progressive, and electronic elements, with both clean and more guttural screams.

Having a large stage, the members mostly stayed spread out in front of a large white sheet backdrop accentuated by vertical bolts of gauze-like fabric moving in the direction the slight wind took them. Due to the extended daylight hours, it was hard to see the patterns and abstracts beamed on to the sheet, but the right and left stage screens showed the visuals, in brighter and more detail.

As a guitarist, Stringer seems precise, complex, and technical in nature, leaving LaPlante to stalk the stage and show her impressive vocal range, both in switching from clean to more intense vocals, and her ability to soar in volume and hold a note whenever needed.

The band played two of their Grammy Award nominated songs, “Cellar Door” and “Jaded” back-to-back, and a spoken word poem with serene visuals, led into the building and thunderous title track from the new record. A third Grammy-nominated song, “Soft Spine”- self-described as their ‘hater song’, ended their set, with extra fuel-filled rage lyrics set against crunchy djent-leaning monster guitar riffage.

NOVA TWINS SETLIST

Antagonist
Cleopatra
N.O.V.A
Choose Your Fighter
Monsters
Glory

The evening got off to a high-energy start from UK alt-punk/rock duo Nova Twins, in support of their latest full-length, Parasites & Butterflies, released last August via Marshall Records. Friends since childhood, the pair (vocalist and guitarist Amy Love and bassist Georgia South) deftly and confidently fuse heavy bass-driven rock, grime, and hip-hop with a party-starting level of excitement, to make just about anyone seeing them, a new fan.

Half their set was from the recent third album and beneath the up-tempo songs and effortless musical chemistry, lyrically lies some more serious themes like mental wellness on new track, “Monsters” and a celebration of their ethnicity of the new, “N.O.V.A.” where they also had the audience shout their band name back to them. Very fun, and we hope to see them again

read more Kansas City Music Guide archives

National / International act coming through the Midwest / Kansas City area? Please email details to johnc@weheartmusic.com with a good lead time to be considered for Show Preview and Show Coverage consideration.