{"id":2085525,"date":"2025-10-12T09:39:35","date_gmt":"2025-10-12T09:39:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/?p=2085525"},"modified":"2025-10-12T09:39:35","modified_gmt":"2025-10-12T09:39:35","slug":"i-play-these-songs-because-my-soul-and-heart-are-in-there-former-focus-guitarist-jan-akkerman-will-release-a-new-live-album-in-december","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/i-play-these-songs-because-my-soul-and-heart-are-in-there-former-focus-guitarist-jan-akkerman-will-release-a-new-live-album-in-december\/","title":{"rendered":"&#8220;I play these songs because my soul and heart are in there&#8230;&#8221; Former Focus guitarist Jan Akkerman will release a new live album in December"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><\/p>\n<div id=\"article-body\">\n<p id=\"b7f1b72c-1424-4895-9e4b-5db6b0e3e5bc\">https:\/\/www.loudersound.com\/features\/top-of-the-progs-focus-hocus-pocusFormer <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" data-analytics-id=\"inline-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.loudersound.com\/reviews\/focus-hocus-pocus-box-album-review\" data-before-rewrite-localise=\"https:\/\/www.loudersound.com\/reviews\/focus-hocus-pocus-box-album-review\">Focus<\/a> guitarist<a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" data-analytics-id=\"inline-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.loudersound.com\/news\/jan-akkerman-talks-us-through-his-new-album-close-beauty\" data-before-rewrite-localise=\"https:\/\/www.loudersound.com\/news\/jan-akkerman-talks-us-through-his-new-album-close-beauty\"> Jan Akkerman<\/a> has announced that he will release his latest solo album, <em>My Focus &#8211; Live Under The Rainbow<\/em>, through Artone\/Music Theories Recordings on December 12.<\/p>\n<p>A live album, <em>My Focus &#8211; Live Under The Rainbow <\/em>was recorded during Akkemran&#8217;s Feburayr tour which saw him and his band playing Bush Hall (London), The Fire Station (Sunderland), Philharmonic Hall (Liverpool), Oran Mor (Glasgow), The Met (Bury), The Stables (Wavendon) and The Apex (Bury St. Edmunds), and features some of Focus&#8217; classic tunes such as <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" data-analytics-id=\"inline-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.loudersound.com\/features\/top-of-the-progs-focus-hocus-pocus\" data-before-rewrite-localise=\"https:\/\/www.loudersound.com\/features\/top-of-the-progs-focus-hocus-pocus\"><em>Hocus Pocus<\/em><\/a> and <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" data-analytics-id=\"inline-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.loudersound.com\/features\/focus-sylvia\" data-before-rewrite-localise=\"https:\/\/www.loudersound.com\/features\/focus-sylvia\"><em>Sylvia<\/em><\/a>.<\/p>\n<p><a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" id=\"elk-seasonal\" href=\"\" data-url=\"\" target=\"_blank\" referrerpolicy=\"no-referrer-when-downgrade\" data-hl-processed=\"none\"\/><\/p>\n<aside data-block-type=\"embed\" data-render-type=\"fte\" data-skip=\"dealsy\" data-widget-type=\"seasonal\" class=\"hawk-root\"\/>\n<p id=\"b7f1b72c-1424-4895-9e4b-5db6b0e3e5bc-2\">Akkeman has shared a new visualiser video for <em>Answers Questions &#8211; Questions Answers,<\/em> which you can watch below.<\/p>\n<aside data-component-name=\"Recirculation:ArticleRiver\" data-recirculation-type=\"inline\" data-mrf-recirculation=\"Trending Bar\" data-nosnippet=\"\" class=\"clear-both pt-3 pb-4 mb-4 border-solid border-y border-neutral-300\">\n<span class=\"font-article-heading block pb-3 !text-base font-bold uppercase sm:text-sm text-[#333]\"><br \/>\nYou may like<br \/>\n<\/span><\/p>\n<\/aside>\n<p>&#8220;Live audiences give you the tension and responsibility to be creative, for me, that&#8217;s the challenge I like,&#8221; he says. &#8220;It&#8217;s my love to play for people all around the world. I play these songs because my soul and heart are in there. It&#8217;s a God given talent I have, which makes me feel proud of myself!&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Akkeman has also announced live dates for his native Netherlands for December as well as three Norwegian dates for next June. You can see the full list of dates and tickets detials below.<\/p>\n<p><em>My Focus &#8211; Live Under The Rainbow<\/em> will be released on on blue transparent vinyl, CD, and digitally.<\/p>\n<p><a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" data-analytics-id=\"inline-link\" href=\"https:\/\/lnk.to\/janakkerman?mc_cid=db249cc794&amp;mc_eid=7e9b2edbec\" data-url=\"https:\/\/lnk.to\/janakkerman?mc_cid=db249cc794&amp;mc_eid=7e9b2edbec\" target=\"_blank\" referrerpolicy=\"no-referrer-when-downgrade\" data-hl-processed=\"none\">Pre-order <em>My Focus &#8211; Live Under The Rainbow<\/em><\/a>.<\/p>\n<div id=\"slice-container-newsletterForm-articleInbodyContent-x76tGNA7yg6bYsjdfrNKjQ\" class=\"slice-container newsletter-inbodyContent-slice newsletterForm-articleInbodyContent-x76tGNA7yg6bYsjdfrNKjQ slice-container-newsletterForm\">\n<div data-hydrate=\"true\" class=\"newsletter-form__wrapper newsletter-form__wrapper--inbodyContent\">\n<div class=\"newsletter-form__container\">\n<section class=\"newsletter-form__top-bar\"\/>\n<section class=\"newsletter-form__main-section\">\n<p class=\"newsletter-form__strapline\">Sign up below to get the latest from Prog, plus exclusive special offers, direct to your inbox!<\/p>\n<\/section>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"youtube-video youtube-facade\" data-nosnippet=\"\" id=\"T7Ptcn8J-zg\">\n<div class=\"video-aspect-box\">\n<div class=\"watch-on-iframe-T7Ptcn8J-zg\" data-yt-video-token=\"T7Ptcn8J-zg\" title=\"Jan Akkerman - Answers Questions - Questions Answers (Official visualizer) - YouTube\">\n<span class=\"youtube-video-title\">Jan Akkerman &#8211; Answers Questions &#8211; Questions Answers (Official visualizer) &#8211; YouTube<\/span><br \/>\n\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><svg xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"play-button\" viewbox=\"0 0 234.67 165.33\"><path fill=\"red\" d=\"M229.763 25.817c-2.699-10.162-10.65-18.165-20.748-20.881C190.716 0 117.333 0 117.333 0S43.951 0 25.651 4.936C15.553 7.652 7.6 15.655 4.903 25.817 0 44.236 0 82.667 0 82.667s0 38.429 4.903 56.85C7.6 149.68 15.553 157.681 25.65 160.4c18.3 4.934 91.682 4.934 91.682 4.934s73.383 0 91.682-4.934c10.098-2.718 18.049-10.72 20.748-20.882 4.904-18.421 4.904-56.85 4.904-56.85s0-38.431-4.904-56.85\"\/><path fill=\"#fff\" d=\"m93.333 117.559 61.333-34.89-61.333-34.894z\"\/><\/svg><br \/>\n<a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"watch-on-youtube-T7Ptcn8J-zg\" href=\"https:\/\/youtu.be\/T7Ptcn8J-zg\" target=\"_blank\" data-url=\"https:\/\/youtu.be\/T7Ptcn8J-zg\" referrerpolicy=\"no-referrer-when-downgrade\" data-hl-processed=\"none\">Watch On <svg xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"youtube-logo\" viewbox=\"0 0 507.9 113.39\"><g fill=\"#fff\"><path d=\"M64.792 80.99V32.396l42.082 24.297zm93.803-63.285a20.285 20.285 0 0 0-14.32-14.32C131.642 0 80.99 0 80.99 0S30.337 0 17.705 3.385a20.286 20.286 0 0 0-14.32 14.32C0 30.338 0 56.693 0 56.693S0 83.049 3.385 95.68A20.285 20.285 0 0 0 17.705 110c12.632 3.386 63.285 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0-8.185-1.543-10.425-4.633-2.24-3.087-3.359-7.915-3.359-14.48V34.23h15.985v52.126c0 3.168.348 5.426 1.043 6.776.695 1.353 1.853 2.027 3.475 2.027 1.39 0 2.722-.423 3.996-1.275 1.274-.849 2.22-1.928 2.838-3.241V34.229h15.986m81.995.001v71.007h-12.511l-1.391-8.688h-.345c-3.402 6.564-8.498 9.845-15.292 9.845-4.711 0-8.186-1.543-10.426-4.633-2.24-3.087-3.358-7.915-3.358-14.48V34.23h15.985v52.126c0 3.168.347 5.426 1.041 6.776.696 1.353 1.855 2.027 3.476 2.027 1.391 0 2.723-.423 3.996-1.275 1.275-.849 2.22-1.928 2.839-3.241V34.229h15.985\"\/><path d=\"M365.552 20.908h-15.87v84.329h-15.637v-84.33h-15.869V8.05h47.376v12.858m76.811 53.636c0 5.174-.215 9.229-.639 12.162-.424 2.937-1.139 5.021-2.143 6.255-1.004 1.236-2.357 1.854-4.053 1.854a7.404 7.404 0 0 1-3.65-.927c-1.12-.618-2.026-1.544-2.722-2.78V50.796c.54-1.93 1.467-3.513 2.78-4.749 1.313-1.234 2.74-1.853 4.285-1.853 1.623 0 2.876.637 3.766 1.91.886 1.275 1.505 3.418 1.853 6.43.348 3.011.523 7.297.523 12.857zm14.652-28.964c-.967-4.478-2.531-7.721-4.692-9.73-2.163-2.007-5.136-3.011-8.919-3.011-2.935 0-5.676.83-8.224 2.49a16.926 16.926 0 0 0-5.908 6.545h-.117l.001-37.416h-15.405v100.777h13.204l1.622-6.717h.347c1.235 2.393 3.088 4.285 5.56 5.675 2.47 1.39 5.213 2.085 8.225 2.085 5.404 0 9.382-2.491 11.931-7.471 2.548-4.982 3.823-12.76 3.823-23.341V64.23c0-7.953-.484-14.17-1.448-18.65\"\/><\/g><\/svg><\/a>\n<\/div>\n<p><a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" id=\"elk-f90dd463-c12b-4e43-a2f9-f78a17c0d010\" href=\"\" data-url=\"\" target=\"_blank\" referrerpolicy=\"no-referrer-when-downgrade\" data-hl-processed=\"none\"\/><\/p>\n<h2 id=\"jan-akkerman-netherlands-norway-live-dates-3\">Jan Akkerman Netherlands\/Norway live dates<\/h2>\n<p id=\"2320b04e-4476-4e7f-b4ba-66428c2d7401\">Nov 8: NED Deurne Cultureel Centrum<br \/>Dec 19: NED Bergen op ZoomPoppodium Gebouw<br \/>Dec 20: NED Tilburg Heyhoef Backstage<br \/>Dec 24: NED Heemskerk Podium Laurentz<br \/>Jun 26: NOR Skien Parkbiografen<br \/>Jun 27: NOR Olso Cosmopolite Scene<br \/>Jun 28: NOR Fredrikstad Bbl\u00e5 Grotte<\/p>\n<p><a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" data-analytics-id=\"inline-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.janakkerman.com\/\" data-url=\"https:\/\/www.janakkerman.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" referrerpolicy=\"no-referrer-when-downgrade\" data-hl-processed=\"none\">Get tickets<\/a>.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"van-image-figure inline-layout\" data-bordeaux-image-check=\"\" id=\"d96bd73f-b328-4227-b379-5e1c0a23c34f\">\n<div class=\"image-full-width-wrapper\">\n<div class=\"image-widthsetter\" style=\"max-width:1200px;\">\n<p class=\"vanilla-image-block\" style=\"padding-top:100.00%;\"> <picture data-new-v2-image=\"true\"><source type=\"image\/webp\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net\/SQBgj47RimYNGHWohWu257-1200-80.jpg.webp 1200w, https:\/\/cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net\/SQBgj47RimYNGHWohWu257-1024-80.jpg.webp 1024w, https:\/\/cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net\/SQBgj47RimYNGHWohWu257-970-80.jpg.webp 970w, https:\/\/cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net\/SQBgj47RimYNGHWohWu257-650-80.jpg.webp 650w, https:\/\/cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net\/SQBgj47RimYNGHWohWu257-480-80.jpg.webp 480w, https:\/\/cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net\/SQBgj47RimYNGHWohWu257-320-80.jpg.webp 320w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 1000px) 970px, calc(100vw - 40px)\"\/><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net\/SQBgj47RimYNGHWohWu257.jpg\" alt=\"Jan Akkerman My Focus - Live Under The Rainbow album cover\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net\/SQBgj47RimYNGHWohWu257-1200-80.jpg 1200w, https:\/\/cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net\/SQBgj47RimYNGHWohWu257-1024-80.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net\/SQBgj47RimYNGHWohWu257-970-80.jpg 970w, https:\/\/cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net\/SQBgj47RimYNGHWohWu257-650-80.jpg 650w, https:\/\/cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net\/SQBgj47RimYNGHWohWu257-480-80.jpg 480w, https:\/\/cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net\/SQBgj47RimYNGHWohWu257-320-80.jpg 320w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 1000px) 970px, calc(100vw - 40px)\" loading=\"lazy\" data-new-v2-image=\"true\" data-original-mos=\"https:\/\/cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net\/SQBgj47RimYNGHWohWu257.jpg\" data-pin-media=\"https:\/\/cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net\/SQBgj47RimYNGHWohWu257.jpg\"\/>\n<\/picture><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div><figcaption itemprop=\"caption description\" class=\" inline-layout\"><span class=\"credit\" itemprop=\"copyrightHolder\">(Image credit: Artone\/Music Theories Recordings)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p id=\"467ba374-3e36-4870-86d0-fb7097f5ac1c\"><strong>Jan Akkerman: <\/strong><em><strong>My Focus &#8211; Live Under The Rainbow<\/strong><\/em><br \/>1. Spiritual Privacy<br \/>2. Answers Questions &#8211; Questions Answers<br \/>3. Focus 2<br \/>4. Focus 1<br \/>5. Palace of the King<br \/>6. Anonymous<br \/>7. Big Sur.<br \/>8. Tommy&#8217;s Anniversary<br \/>9. Pi\u00e9tons<br \/>10. Hocus Pocus<br \/>11. Sylvia<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><em> \u2018 The preceding article may include information circulated by third parties \u2019 <\/em><\/p>\n<p><em> \u2018 Some details of this article were extracted from the following source www.loudersound.com \u2019 <\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>https:\/\/www.loudersound.com\/features\/top-of-the-progs-focus-hocus-pocusFormer Focus guitarist Jan Akkerman has announced that he will release his latest solo album, My Focus &#8211; Live Under The Rainbow, through Artone\/Music Theories Recordings on December 12. A live album, My Focus &#8211; Live Under The Rainbow was recorded during Akkemran&#8217;s Feburayr tour which saw him and his band playing Bush Hall (London), [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":2085526,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"jnews-multi-image_gallery":[],"jnews_single_post":[],"jnews_primary_category":[],"jnews_social_meta":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[25179],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2085525","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-music"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/I-play-these-songs-because-my-soul-and-heart-are.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2085525","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2085525"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2085525\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2085527,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2085525\/revisions\/2085527"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2085526"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2085525"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2085525"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2085525"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}