Nearly 25 years after its only concert in Romania, Dream Theater returns in its classic lineup, featuring the legendary Mike Portnoy on drums, recognized as one of the greatest drummers in the world, for a spectacular show in Sibiu.
The legendary American rock band will take the stage at the ARTmania Festival in the summer of 2025, performing on the first day of the festival, July 25. Mike Portnoy, the drummer and founding member of the band, recently returned “home” after 15 years, joining guitarist John Petrucci, vocalist James LaBrie, bassist John Myung, and keyboardist Jordan Rudess to perform for Romanian fans in Sibiu’s Piața Mare.
Dream Theater is known for its immense influence on progressive music, captivating fans worldwide. The band has three GRAMMY nominations, a GRAMMY Award in 2022 for the song “The Alien” in the “Best Metal Performance” category, and over 15 million albums sold. Its landmark 1992 album, Images & Words, was certified gold and listed among Rolling Stone’s “100 Greatest Metal Albums of All Time.” Guitar World magazine ranked its next album, Awake (1994), as #1 in the “Superunknown: 50 Iconic Albums That Defined 1994,” while A Change of Seasons (1996) was broadcast on NBC during the 2002 Winter Olympics.
The 1999 concept album Metropolis Pt. 2: Scenes from a Memory was voted by fans as the greatest progressive rock album of all time and ranked 15th in Classic Rock magazine’s Greatest Concept Albums list. In 2009, Black Clouds & Silver Linings reached #6 on the Billboard Top 200, and A Dramatic Turn of Events (2011) and Dream Theater (2013) continued its Top 10 successes. The album The Astonishing (2016) was described by Consequence of Sound as “a truly unique experience,” showcasing the band’s ongoing innovation.
With three platinum and two gold videos and its induction into the Long Island Music Hall of Fame in 2010, Dream Theater further solidified its status with the album Distance Over Time (2019). Its latest album, A View From The Top Of The World, continues its commitment to pushing musical boundaries. In 2023, Dream Theater launched the DREAMSONIC tour, a traveling progressive music show, and in 2024, founding drummer Mike Portnoy reunited with
the classic lineup, thrilling fans. The band is currently working on its 16th album, the first with this lineup in over 15 years.
The year 2025 brings a double celebration at ARTmania Festival: the festival marks its 18th edition, while the legendary band Dream Theater will celebrate 40 years of activity on the Piața Mare stage in Sibiu, from July 25 to 26. ARTmania Festival is the first event in Romania to blend art with rock music, becoming a symbol of contemporary culture. With a unique concept, the festival has offered not only concerts but also art exhibitions, book launches, and film screenings. Sibiu’s Piața Mare, with its rich history and unique atmosphere, has become the festival’s stage, hosting legendary bands like Meshuggah, Nightwish, Serj Tankian, Porcupine Tree, Helloween, and many others. The 17th edition featured KORN, The Flower Kings, Spiritbox, Borknagar, Igorrr, Satyricon, Lavina, Alpha Q, Awake the Demons, and TAINE, gathering 25,000 participants over three days.