The soaring success of Bohemian Rhapsody – the Freddie Mercury/Queen movie that is set to become the biggest grossing music biopic of all time – has proven that the public’s love for Queen remains as strong as ever. Longtime fans and recent converts will be thrilled to discover then, that Queen – original band members Brian May and Roger Taylor, teaming up once more with longtime frontman Adam Lambert on lead vocals – will return to North America next year. Produced by Live Nation, the epic 23-date arena and stadium Rhapsody tour is set to run from mid-July through late August with an all-new concert experience stopping in Atlanta on Thursday, August 22nd at the All-New State Farm Arena.
Tickets for the Rhapsody tour go on sale to the general public starting December 7th at LiveNation.com at 10AM local time. Queen and Adam Lambert Fan Club Presales will run from 10AM local time through 10PM local time on Thursday, December 6th.
Going under the Rhapsody header, the six-week tour will debut a brand new larger-than-life production. Stufish Entertainment Architects’ set designer Ric Lipson says: “Queen + Adam Lambert’s Rhapsody tour will, once again for them, expand the parameters of what a live music experience can be. This new show promises to be their most spectacular yet, an innovative and interactive celebration of the continued power of Queen’s music.”
The tour follows an acclaimed run of 10 sold-out shows at the MGM Park Theater, Las Vegas in September 2018 and will kick off July 10th at Vancouver Rogers Arena. Stop-offs include some of the most history-packed venues in the US and Canada, including The Forum in Los Angeles (the last venue the original line-up played in North America on September 15, 1982) and New York City’s Madison Square Garden (the site of past Queen glories, including a memorable performance from Queen + Adam Lambert on July 17, 2014). It will wrap August 23 at Spectrum Center in Charlotte, NC.
Since Adam Lambert first shared the stage with Queen for the 2009 American Idol final, his dynamic performances have reinvigorated the band and delighted fans worldwide. Their first full show together – starting as they meant to go on – thrilled a half-a-million-strong crowd in the Ukraine capital city of Kiev in June 2012. Since then May and Taylor’s musical fireworks have been matched by Lambert’s vocal prowess and stage presence, making for an explosive combination. Over 180 gigs later, the partnership has proven a commercial and critical triumph, playing to enraptured full houses in every corner of the world.
Completing the tour line-up are long-term collaborator Spike Edney on keyboards, Neil Fairclough on bass, and Tyler Warren on percussion.
The tour follows a hugely successful time for Queen + Adam Lambert. 2014 saw them complete their first, rapturously-received North American tour together, as well as massive festival headline slots in Asia and a sold-out arena tour of Australia and New Zealand, leading to them being crowned Band Of The Year at the 10th annual Classic Rock Roll Of Honor awards and Best Live Band Of The Year in Ultimate Classic Rock’s Reader’s Poll.
And they kept up the momentum – in early 2015 they embarked upon their first full European tour together, including two nights at London’s O2 Arena and in September of that year they hit South America, with a headline appearance at Brazil’s Rock In Rio festival seeing them rock a crowd of more than 80,000 people. 2016 saw yet more enormous headline slots, with a celebratory set at the legendary Isle Of Wight Festival one of many highlights. They continued in 2017/2018 with full-blown tours of North America, Australia, and New Zealand, and Europe. Their run of UK dates earlier this year sold out in less than half-an-hour, their reputation obviously preceding them.
When Freddie sang The Show Must Go On all those years back, even he couldn’t have guessed that Queen music would still be storming the charts in 2018. Next summer, the stages of North America will be well and truly rocked again. You can’t help thinking Freddie would be overjoyed.
DATE
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CITY
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VENUE
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Wed Jul 10
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Vancouver, BC
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Rogers Arena
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Fri Jul 12
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Tacoma, WA
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Tacoma Dome
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Sun Jul 14
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San Jose, CA
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SAP Center
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Tue Jul 16
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Phoenix, AZ
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Talking Stick Resort Arena
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Fri Jul 19
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Los Angeles, CA
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The Forum
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Tue Jul 23
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Dallas, TX
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American Airlines Center
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Wed Jul 24
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Houston, TX
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Toyota Center
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Sat Jul 27
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Detroit, MI
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Little Caesars Arena
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Sun Jul 28
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Toronto, ON
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Scotiabank Arena
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Tue Jul 30
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Washington, DC
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Capital One Arena
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Wed Jul 31
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Pittsburgh, PA
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PPG Paints Arena
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Sat Aug 03
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Philadelphia, PA
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Wells Fargo Center
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Sun Aug 04
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Boston, MA
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Xfinity Center
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Tue Aug 06
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New York, NY
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Madison Square Garden
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Fri Aug 09
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Chicago, IL
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United Center
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Sat Aug 10
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St. Paul, MN
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Xcel Energy Center
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Tue Aug 13
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Columbus, OH
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Nationwide Arena
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Thu Aug 15
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Nashville, TN
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Bridgestone Arena
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Sat Aug 17
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Ft. Lauderdale, FL
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BB&T Center
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Sun Aug 18
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Tampa, FL
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Amalie Arena
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Tue Aug 20
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New Orleans, LA
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Smoothie King Center
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Thu Aug 22
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Atlanta, GA
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State Farm Arena
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Fri Aug 23
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Charlotte, NC
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Spectrum Center
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