‘The Queen Extravaganza’

Legendary hard rock vocalist Jeff Scott Soto (TRANS-SIBERIAN ORCHESTRA, TALISMAN, JOURNEY, YNGWIE MALMSTEEN) has joined The Queen Extravaganza, the spectacular touring concert show designed to take the glorious music and the live experience of legends of rock QUEEN to generations of fans in cities coast-to-coast across the U.S. and Canada.

Commented Soto: “I am proud to announce my involvement in The Queen Extravaganza that will storm North America and Canada this summer! As long time friends of both Roger Taylor and Brian May but also a lifetime fan of the legend that is QUEEN, I was honored to be personally invited by Roger for this exciting venture. My own personal fans know what it means to me to sing these songs and I hope to be a contributing factor in helping make it a whopping success. See you on the road. I promise you you won’t want to miss what’s in store with this show!”

Behind The Queen Extravaganza are QUEEN — legendary guitarist Brian May and iconic drummer Roger Taylor — whose talents as writers and musicians have inspired such legends of modern times as the FOO FIGHTERS, RED HOT CHILI PEPPERS, Katy Perry, and even Lady Gaga, who took her name from one of Taylor‘s biggest hit songs. Taylor‘s idea was to the create the ultimate QUEEN concert experience in an electrifying road show that celebrates the band’s music and legacy performed by some of the best new music talent out there today. Taylor personally takes the role of producer and music director.

To guarantee the touring show matches the fabled design and excitement of QUEEN at its live best, Taylor has enlisted a heavyweight production team headed by stage designer Mark Fisher. Fisher has been responsible for some of the most memorable rock concerts ever staged, including “The Wall” for PINK FLOYD, every THE ROLLING STONES show since 1989, and, working with lighting designer Willie Williams, every U2 concert.

The Queen Extravaganza touring band — four vocalists and five musicians (two guitars, bass, drums and keyboards) — were hired after an intensive 12-week online audition search. The buzz surrounding the public auditions sparked worldwide interest with video submissions generating more than 10 million views. Television host Ellen DeGeneres was so impressed with the level of talent, that she invited one hopeful to perform his audition on her show. That contestant, Nashville’s Marc Martel, secured himself a place in the final band. The rest of The Queen Extravaganza band includes vocalist and The Queen Extravaganza contestant Jennifer Espinoza along with addition vocalists Yvan Pedneault and Jeff Scott Soto; bassist Francois Olivier Doyon; guitarists Brian Gresh and Tristan Avakian; drummer Tyler Warren and keyboardist and musical director Brandon Ethridge.

In a show which will run just over two hours of playing time, with a 30-minute break, The Queen Extravaganza band will perform close on 40 true 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”, “Killer Queen” — as well as highlighting some of the band’s finest heavy-duty rock based anthems which have long been at the core of their live performances, so audiences can also expect a healthy dose of early-period QUEEN with songs such as “I’m In Love With My Car”, “Tie Your Mother Down”, “Seven Seas of Rye” and “In the Lap Of The Gods” among them.

Production values will be boosted with the inclusion of never-before-seen video footage.

“The Queen Extravaganza will not be like a traditional tribute show,” says Taylor. “It is a brand new show specially designed to enable these new fans, together with fans of old, to celebrate the music of QUEEN in a heart stopping event.” He adds, “It’s going to be very spectacular, it’s going to be very visual, there are going to be some shocks and some tremendous surprises. It will be a rock celebration in the Royal tradition.”

The Queen Extravaganza tour dates are as follows:

May 26 Quebec, QC – Grand Theatre du Quebec
May 27 Montreal, QC – St. Denis
May 29 Toronto, ON – QE Theatre
May 31 Detroit, MI – Fox Theatre
Jun. 01 – Chicago, IL – House of Blues
Jun. 02 – Minneapolis, MN – The Brick
Jun. 05 – St. Louis, MO – The Pageant
Jun. 07 – Philadelphia, PA – Theatre of Living Arts
Jun. 08 – Washington, DC – 9:30 Club
Jun. 09 – Wallingford, CT – Oakdale
Jun. 10 – Bethlehem, PA – Event Center
Jun. 11 – Boston, MA – House of Blues
Jun. 12 – Huntington, NY – Paramount Theatres
Jun. 15 – Tampa, FL Louis – Lykes Ferguson Hall
Jun. 17 – Orlando, FL – The Plaza Live
Jun. 19 – Dallas, TX – Grand Prarie
Jun. 20 – Houston, TX – House of Blues
Jun. 23 – Las Vegas, NV – House of Blues
Jun. 24 – San Diego, CA – Humphrey’s
Jun. 25 – Los Angeles, CA – Club Nokia
Jun. 26 – San Francisco, CA – Regency
Jun. 28 – Seattle, WA – Showbox
Jun. 30 – Vancouver, BC – Orpheum
Jul. 02 – Calgary, AB – Jack Singer
Jul. 03 – Edmonton, AB – Jubilee