Watch: ACCEPT Performs With Guitarist JOEL HOEKSTRA For First Time

Legendary German/American metallers ACCEPT kicked off their South American tour last night (Wednesday, May 10 at Carioca Club Pinheiros in São Paulo, Brazil. It marked the band's first appearance with WHITESNAKE and TRANS-SIBERIAN ORCHESTRA guitarist Joel Hoekstra, who is temporarily filling in for Phil Shouse.

ACCEPT's setlist for the São Paulo show was as follows:

01. The Reckoning (live debut)
02. Humanoid
03. Restless And Wild
04. Midnight Mover
05. London Leatherboys
06. Dying Breed
07. Overnight Sensation
08. Demon's Night / Starlight / Losers And Winners / Flash Rockin' Man
09. Breaker
10. Ravages Of Time (live debut)
11. Shadow Soldiers
12. Princess Of The Dawn
13. Fast As A Shark
14. Metal Heart
15. Teutonic Terror
16. Pandemic

Encore:

17. Zombie Apocalypse
18. Balls To The Wall
19. I'm A Rebel

In a February 2024 interview with The Logan Show, Hoekstra spoke about how he was recruited to play guitar for ACCEPT for all of the band's European festival appearances in 2024 and the South American tour in May. Joel said: "Yeah, it all clicked. It happened so quickly. And Wolf [Hoffmann, ACCEPT guitarist and leader] is just a real bright, sharp, super-friendly guy as well as being a great player.

"Sometimes you have people make those intros," Joel explained. "[Michael Cartellone from DAMN YANKEES and LYNYRD SKYNYRD] connected us. First, Michael hit me and said, 'Hey, I'm with Wolf Hoffmann.' Sometimes the next thing is, like, 'Well, I'll connect you guys via text.' And maybe that means a week later or maybe that means two weeks later or something, via e-mail or whatever. But it was literally five minutes later — not even; it was like a minute later. He said, 'Okay, Wolf, here's Joel.' 'Joel, [here's] Wolf.' And Wolf was, like, 'Great.' And I said, 'Well, I'm in Nashville in a couple of days [with TRANS-SIBERIAN ORCHESTRA]. Let's have coffee.' It was two days later or something like that, that we were all set and ready to go with this, because it made sense for both of us. They needed somebody to fill in for Phil Shouse, and I needed something to get out this year and play some of the bigger shows, be able to do the European festivals."

Regarding how he feels about the prospect of performing with a veteran metal act like ACCEPT, Joel said: "They're a great live band. They sound great. Wolf is a great guitarist [with] a killer tone. And they're a well-oiled machine live. All the YouTube footage I've been watching is very impressive and I'm looking forward to being a part of it.

"It's just gonna be, I think, something that's good for everybody," he continued. "It's kind of a fun little window for the fans to see me hop in and play with them. And it works out great for me because I would obviously prefer that to sitting on my couch at home or something like that, or, for that matter, playing smaller shows. So having the opportunity to get out and be seen and play with a great-sounding live band like ACCEPT, it makes a lot of sense and it just worked out great, like it was meant to be in a way."

New York-based Joel Hoekstra is best known to fans as a current member of the legendary band WHITESNAKE and is part of TRANS-SIBERIAN ORCHESTRA. He has also played with Cher, NIGHT RANGER and FOREIGNER, to name just a few of his numerous collaborations.

When Hoekstra's addition to ACCEPT's touring lineup was first announced in January, Hoffmann said in a statement: "It is a great honor for us to be on stage with Joel Hoekstra. Joel is an exceptional guitarist and I have huge respect for him. The whole band is really looking forward to playing with this string magician."

ACCEPT's latest album, "Humanoid", was released on April 26 via Napalm Records. The LP was once again produced, recorded, mixed and mastered by critically acclaimed heavy metal producer Andy Sneap.

ACCEPT recently announced a massive European headline tour, with more than 20 shows across the continent for autumn 2024. This summer, ACCEPT will also return to some of the world’s most important rock and metal festivals, like Wacken Open Air, Hellfest and more, following their South American spring tour.

Mark Tornillo joined ACCEPT in 2009 as the replacement for the band's original lead singer, Udo Dirkscheider. He can be heard on ACCEPT's last six studio albums, "Blood Of The Nations" (2010),"Stalingrad" (2012),"Blind Rage" (2014),"The Rise Of Chaos" (2017),2021's "Too Mean To Die" and 2024's "Humanoid".