Marko Hietala at the Varna Summer Theatre on July 19 - the Finnish Bassist and Former Nightwish Member Continues After Sofia

Marko Hietala, the Finnish bassist and singer, former long-time Nightwish member, comes to Varna on July 19, 2026. The concert will take place at the Summer Theatre, two days after the Sofia show on July 17.

Hietala was part of Nightwish's most successful era - 2002 to 2021 - and is the bassist on the albums Once, Dark Passion Play, Imaginaerum, Endless Forms Most Beautiful and Human II Nature. With his baritone voice he sang on several key Nightwish songs such as While Your Lips Are Still Red, The Islander and many others. After leaving the band in 2021 for personal reasons, he started a solo career with the album Mustan Sydamen Rovio (2022).

The setlist covers material from the solo albums, alongside songs where Hietala was the lead vocalist in Nightwish and Tarot - his previous band. The Varna Summer Theatre is one of the loveliest open-air summer stages on the Black Sea coast, with a capacity of more than 2,500.

Tickets are available through eventim.bg at 71 leva. The concert starts at 20:00 on Sunday, July 19, 2026. Varna is Bulgaria's largest Black Sea city. For Macedonian fans of symphonic metal, this is a good chance for a concert combined with a short summer visit to the Black Sea coast.