The Awakening

South African Gothic / Darkwave act The Awakening have just announced their first tour dates of 2026! The Dark Carnival Tour 2026 follows the hugely successful Haunting Tour 2025, which saw the band perform a headlining tour across the US, Canada, Mexico, Germany, France, the Netherlands, Poland, the UK, and South Africa.

While the Haunting Tour celebrated the release of the band’s eponymous 12th album (#3 on Germany’s Deutsche Alternative Charts, and with music videos amassing millions of views), 2026 will be a “different sort of celebration, with more to be revealed soon,” according to the band’s enigmatic frontman Ashton Nyte.

Ashton Nyte also brought his brand of dark-folk storytelling to life through select acoustic performances worldwide this year and intends to do the same in 2026.

The Dark Carnival Tour UK 2026 will see The Awakening supported by UK dark rock outfits Black Lakes and Dhampyres (on certain dates). Tickets are on sale now via The Awakening’s official website: www.theawakening.com/live

 

BIOGRAPHY

The Awakening is a dark musical project born in Johannesburg, South Africa, in the late ’90s as the creative expression of vocalist, multi-instrumentalist, author, actor and songwriter Ashton Nyte. The Awakening’s sound has morphed and mutated over the years, incorporating elements of Gothic Rock, Darkwave, Gothic Metal, Industrial Rock, Post-punk, Electronic, New Wave, Folk Noir and other theatrical meanderings.

Frontman Ashton Nyte has released 8 solo albums and 2 books in addition to his work as The Awakening. He has contributed vocals and lyrics to several other projects, featuring members of The Cure, Peter Murphy, The Mission, Beauty In Chaos, and All About Eve, among others.

Nyte has written and performed in theatrical productions and hosted philanthropic events, including his Rock Against Rape concert series and presenting a lecture series at US universities focusing on tolerance and acceptance. He has had songs featured in major television shows like Pretty Little Liars: Original Sin (HBOMax), The Purge (USA Network), among others.

Music journalists have described Nyte as "Johannesburg's Bowie" for his widely varying musical styles and theatrical performance approach. With a catalogue of over 350 released original songs, Ashton Nyte and The Awakening have enjoyed airplay and chart success on major independent radio stations worldwide and have toured extensively and headlined music festivals in the USA, Europe, and South Africa to upwards of 30,000 people.

In 2019, Nyte worked on the score of the movie Don't Let Go with composer Ethan Gold, which premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in January 2019. He completed a 36-date European Tour with British indie artist Wayne Hussey (The Mission) in September / October 2019. Waiting For A Voice, Nyte’s seventh solo album and first book of poetry, short stories, and personal reflections, was released in July 2020. His second book and eighth solo album, Autumn's Children, was released in August 2023 and was named one of the “Top Albums of 2023” by American Songwriter. 2024 saw Nyte contribute his voice and lyrics to the latest Beauty In Chaos album and the movie Pale Horse, directed by the late Pearry Teo.

The Awakening’s eponymous 12th album entered Germany’s Deutsche Alternative Charts (DAC) at #3 in 2025. The three videos from the album have amassed millions of views. The Awakening toured extensively in 2025 with the Haunting Tour 2025 taking the band to the USA, Canada, Mexico, Germany, France, the Netherlands, Poland, the UK and South Africa.

The Awakening has just announced their first tour dates of 2026, starting with the Dark Carnival Tour in the UK.

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