QUEEN EXTRAVAGANZA TOUR OPENS

THE QUEEN EXTRAVAGANZA NORTH AMERICAN TOUR OPENS TO SOLD-OUT SHOWS & STANDING OVATIONS IN CANADA

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Official Queen Tribute Show Produced by Roger Taylor Hits the U.S. on May 31 in Detroit

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(photo credit: Patrick Beaudry, evenko)

The Queen Extravaganza, a spectacular touring concert show designed to celebrate the glorious music and live experience of legendary rockers Queen, kicked off this past weekend with electrifying performances that dazzled Canadian audiences. The accolades are sure to continue when the Queen Extravaganza makes their live U.S. concert debut on Thursday, May 31 at the Fox Theatre in Detroit, Michigan.

During the tour opener at the Grand Theatre Du Quebec on May 26^th, as well as concerts in Montreal and Toronto, the band was met with rave reviews by fans and critics alike. La Presse remarked that there were “ovations at almost every song…the tour could have a long life,” while Journal De Quebec stated that the sound was “mind-blowing.”

The recent Canadian performances marked The Queen Extravaganza’s first live shows since their public debut last month on American Idol, when the group performed with Queen’s Roger Taylor and Brian May for an explosive rendition of “Somebody to Love.” USA Today noted that lead singer Marc Martel’s “ability to sound like Freddie Mercury remains staggering,” and the National Post imagined that “Freddie Mercury was giving them a thumbs up from the heavens as they hit every note bang on, just as he would have.” Examiner stated, “if you missed Queen during the 70’s and 80’s, be prepared to be impressed,” and FOX News raved that “the new band not only has musical chops, but they actually physically resemble the members of the original Queen, circa 1975.” Billboard.com summed up the Queen Extravaganza by simply stating that they “sounded magnificent.”

Conceived and produced by Queen’s Roger Taylor, whose idea was to create the ultimate Queen concert experience in an electrifying road show featuring some of today’s best new music talent, The Queen Extravaganza touring band includes four vocalists and five musicians. Taylor led the judging of an intensive 11-week talent search in which singers Marc Martel and Jennifer Espinoza; bassist Francois Olivier Doyon; guitarists Brian Gresh and Tristan Avakian; and drummer Tyler Warren were selected as winners of the competition. Vocalists Yvan Pedneault and Jeff Scott Soto, and keyboardist/musical director Brandon Ethridge, joined the group earlier this year.

(photo credit: Patrick Beaudry, evenko)

In a two-set show that runs just over two hours, the band performs nearly 40 Queen classics drawn from a list of the band’s biggest all-time chart hits: “Bohemian Rhapsody,” “Another One Bites The Dust,” “Crazy Little Thing Called Love,” “Under Pressure,” “We Will Rock You/We Are The Champions,” “A Kind Of Magic,” “Radio Ga Ga,” “Somebody To Love” and “Killer Queen.” The show also highlights some of the band’s finest heavy-duty rock anthems which have long been at the core of their live performances, such as “I’m In Love With My Car,” “Tie Your Mother Down,” “Seven Seas Of Rye,” and “In The Lap Of The Gods.”

In addition, the excitement on stage is enhanced with the inclusion of never-before-seen video footage, and a heavyweight production team headed by stage designer Mark Fisher, who has been responsible for some of the most memorable rock concerts ever staged, including The Wall for Pink Floyd and every Rolling Stones show since 1989.

Remaining Queen Extravaganza tour dates are:

May 31                Detroit, MI                                          Fox Theatre
June 1                  Chicago, IL                                           House of Blues
June 2                  Minneapolis, MN                             The Brick
June 4                   Cleveland, OH                                   House of Blues

June 5                  St. Louis, MO                                     The Pageant
June 7                  Philadelphia, PA                               Theatre of Living Arts
June 8                  Washington, DC                                9:30 Club
June 9                  Wallingford, CT                                 Oakdale
June 10                 Bethlehem, PA                                 Event Center
June 11                 Boston, MA                                        House of Blues
June 12                 Huntington, NY                                Paramount Theatre
June 15                 Tampa, FL                                           Louis Lykes Ferguson Hall
June 17                 Orlando, FL                                         The Plaza Live
June 19                 Dallas, TX                                             Grand Prairie
June 20                 Houston, TX                                       House of Blues
June 23                 Las Vegas, NV                                   House of Blues
June 24                 San Diego, CA                                    Humphrey’s
June 25                 Los Angeles, CA                                Club Nokia
June 26                 San Francisco, CA                             Regency
June 28                 Seattle, WA                                        Showbox
June 30                 Vancouver                                          Queen Elizabeth Theatre
July 2                    Calgary                                                 Jack Singer
July 3                    Edmonton                                           Jubilee