Yesterday was a big day for tour announcements!
First up ... hot on the heels of the success of their smash motion picture "Bohemian Rhapsody" (we told you yesterday that the film became the largest grossing music biopic in history this past weekend) ... Queen (featuring Adam Lambert) has announced that they will be touring North America in 2019.
Tickets for all 23 shows go on sale to the general public this Friday (December 7th).
Adam Lambert told Billboard Magazine that the new show will push production boundaries, continuing to celebrate
the innovation of Queen’s music and featuring the band’s most popular
hits. “We have been designing a brand new visual spectacle that will
reframe these iconic songs and we are excited to unveil it!” said
Lambert in a statement.
Guitarist Brian May elaborated: “Our last tour featured our most ambitious production ever, and got out
best notices ever ... so we decided to rip it apart
and get even more ambitious! Watch out, America!"
The tour kicks off in Canada on July 10th ... and they hit The United Center here in Chicago on August 9th. (Watch for more dates to be added ... the fact that there is only one Madison Square Garden show listed right now with three "off days" to follow tells me that this will likely be the first venue to benefit from an additional night ... or two.) Some of the other dates are scheduled pretty tightly ... but this should be a VERY hot show to see ... Queen has reached a new peak in popularity thanks to the film ... and even though the tour doesn't kick off for another seven months, the fact that tickets are going on sale NOW should a sure coast-to-coast sell-outs.
The Queen + Adam Lambert Tour Schedule (as we know it) -
Tickets go on sale Friday, December 7th:
Jul 10 -- Vancouver, BC @ Rogers Arena
Jul 12 -- Tacoma, WA @ Tacoma Dome
Jul 14 -- San Jose, CA @ SAP Center
Jul 16 -- Phoenix, AZ @ Talking Stick Resort Arena
Jul 19 -- Los Angeles, CA @ The Forum
Jul 23 -- Dallas, TX @ American Airlines Center
Jul 24 -- Houston, TX @ Toyota Center
Jul 27 -- Detroit, MI @ Little Caesars Arena
Jul 28 -- Toronto, ON @ Scotiabank Arena
Jul 30 -- Washington, DC @ Capital One Arena
Jul 31 -- Pittsburgh, PA @ PPG Paints Arena
Aug 03 -- Philadelphia, PA @ Wells Fargo Center
Aug 04 -- Boston, MA @ Xfinity Center
Aug 06 -- New York, NY @ Madison Square Garden
Aug 09 -- Chicago, IL @ United Center
Aug 10 -- St. Paul, MN @ Xcel Energy Center
Aug 13 -- Columbus, OH @ Nationwide Arena
Aug 15 -- Nashville, TN @ Bridgestone Arena
Aug 17 -- Ft. Lauderdale, FL @ BB&T Center
Aug 18 -- Tampa, FL @ Amalie Arena
Aug 20 -- New Orleans, LA @ Smoothie King Center
Aug 22 -- Atlanta, GA @ State Farm Arena
Aug 23 -- Charlotte, NC @ Spectrum Center
Also announcing a brand new tour yesterday (and a reunion tour at that!) was Hootie and the Blowfish! (The very popular, "love 'em or hate 'em" '90's band have done the occasional one-off appearances since they split ... but this time it's a full-blown tour.) Lead singer Darius Rucker is putting his very successful country music solo career ... eight #1 country hits ... on hold for a couple of months in order to reunite with the band that brought him his first round of success with eight Top 40 Pop Hits between 1995 and 1998. Original Blowfish members Mark Bryan (guitar), Dean Felber (bass) Jim Sonefeld (drums) will all be on hand for their first trip on the road in over ten years. A brand new Hootie and the Blowfish album is also in the works.
Their 44-date "Group Therapy" tour will kick off May 30th with a concert in Virginia Beach, Virginia, and run through September 13th. (They'll hit Chicago on August 24th with a show at the Hollywood Casino Amphitheater in Tinley Park.)
Their opening act throughout the tour will be The Barenaked Ladies ... so this should make for a killer line-up. (After first announcing the tour Monday Morning on NBC's Today Show, Hootie and the Blowfish made a follow-up appearance on The Tonight Show last night with Jimmy Fallon. "There’s nothing like playing music live. For the first time in nearly 20
years we’ll be coming back to Columbia, South Carolina where it all
began,” Bryan said. "And we’re ready to rock!" added Rucker.
Hootie and the Blowfish Tour Schedule:
May 30 -- Virginia Beach, VA @ Veterans United Home Loans Amphitheater
May 31 -- Raleigh, NC @ Coastal Credit Union Music Park at Walnut Creek
June 1 -- Atlanta, GA @ Cellairis Amphitheatre at Lakewood
June 6 -- Orange Beach, AL @ The Wharf
June 7 -- Tampa, FL @ MIDFLORIDA Credit Union Amphitheatre
June 8 -- West Palm Beach, FL @ Coral Sky Amphitheatre
June 13 -- Austin, TX @ Austin360 Amphitheater
June 14 -- Houston, TX @ The Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion presented by Huntsman
June 15 -- Dallas, TX @ Dos Equis Pavilion
June 19 -- Phoenix, AZ @ Ak-Chin Pavilion
June 21 -- Chula Vista, CA @ North Island Credit Union Amphitheatre
June 22 -- Las Vegas, NV @ T-Mobile Arena
June 23 -- Irvine, CA @ FivePoint Amphitheatre presented by Mercury Insurance
June 25 -- Los Angeles, CA @ Hollywood Bowl
June 28 -- Wheatland, CA @ Toyota Amphitheatre
June 29 -- Mountain View, CA @ Shoreline Amphitheatre
July 11 -- Englewood, CO @ Fiddler’s Green Amphitheatre
July 13 -- Maryland Heights, MO @ Hollywood Casino Amphitheatre
July 14 -- Rogers, AR @ Walmart AMP
July 19 -- Monticello, IA @ Great Jones County Fair
July 20 -- Cincinnati, OH @ Riverbend Music Center
July 21 -- Burgettstown, PA @ KeyBank Pavilion
July 26 -- Cleveland, OH @ Blossom Music Center
July 27 -- Bristow, VA @ Jiffy Lube Live
July 28 -- Camden, NJ @ BB&T Pavilion
Aug. 2 -- Guilford, NH @ Bank of New Hampshire Pavilion
Aug. 3 -- Mansfield, MA @ Xfinity Center
Aug. 4 -- Saratoga Springs, NY @ Saratoga Performing Arts Center
Aug. 8 -- Columbia, MD @ Merriweather Post Pavilion
Aug. 9 -- Canandaigua, NY @ Constellation Brands-Marvin Sands Performing Arts Center: CMAC
Aug. 10 -- New York, NY @ Madison Square Garden
Aug. 16 -- Detroit, MI @ DTE Energy Music Theatre
Aug. 17 -- Noblesville, IN @ Ruoff Home Mortgage Music Center
Aug. 18 -- Des Moines, IA @ Iowa State Fair
Aug. 22 -- St. Paul, MN @ Minnesota State Fair
Aug. 23 -- East Troy, WI @ Alpine Valley Music Theatre
Aug. 24 -- Tinley Park, IL @ Hollywood Casino Amphitheatre
Aug. 29 -- Toronto, ON @ Budweiser Stage
Aug. 30 -- Hershey, PA @ Hersheypark Stadium
Aug. 31 -- Hartford, CT @ XFINITY Theatre
Sept. 5 -- Charlotte, NC @ PNC Music Pavilion
Sept. 6 -- Birmingham, AL @ Oak Mountain Amphitheatre
Sept. 7 -- Nashville, TN @ Bridgestone Arena
Sept. 13 -- Columbia, SC @ Colonial Life Arena
