Ronnie James Dio Hologram Tour To Feature Dio Bandmates
Ronnie James Dio rides again with the announcement of the ‘Dio Returns’ hologram tour that pairs the late metal legend with his old Dio bandmates.
Ronnie James Dio rides again with the announcement of the ‘Dio Returns’ hologram tour that pairs the late metal legend with his old Dio bandmates.
The US tour kicks off on 31 May at the Barbara B Mann Performing Arts Hall in Ft Myers, Florida and wraps up on 29 June at Brooklyn Bowl in Las Vegas, Nevada.
‘Dio Returns’ reunites the late frontman with his former bandmates including guitarist Craig Goldy, drummer Simon Wright, keyboardist Scott Warren and Dio Disciples bassist Bjorn Englen. The tour also boasts guest vocalists Tim “Ripper” Owens, who temporarily took over for Rob Halford in Judas Priest in the 90s, as well as Lynch Mob’s Oni Logan.
The Dio hologram first premiered at the 2016 Wacken festival in Germany and a year later, ‘Dio Returns’ toured Europe and made its US debut at the Pollstar Awards. Now the show has expanded to include a new 90-minute, career-spanning setlist that features all of Dio’s defining hits from Rainbow to Black Sabbath to Dio, respectively.
In a previous interview with Rolling Stone, Goldy discussed the fan’s reactions to the idea of a hologram tour, saying, “Ronnie was and still is so revered by his fans, which really are his extended family, and they, too, had a special relationship with the man himself which entitles them to a voice. Like all families, not everyone agrees, but this was a gift to the fans that was created in the very same spirit in which Ronnie gave throughout his whole career and created these amazing stage shows that rivalled Madonna and Michael Jackson”.
Dio joins other announced hologram tours this year including Roy Orbison, Frank Zappa and Amy Winehouse. Tickets for the Dio Returns tour go on sale 12 April at 10 am local time with more dates expected to be announced.
See the announced tour dates below and visit the official site for more details.
Dio Returns Tour Dates
May 31 – Ft. Myers, FL @ Barbara B. Mann Performing Arts Hall
June 1 – Orlando, FL @ The Plaza Live
June 2 – St. Petersburg, FL @ Palladium Theatre
June 3 – Atlanta, GA @ Vinyl at Center Stage
June 6 – Worcester, MA @ The Palladium
June 7 – Glenside, PA @ Keswick Theatre
June 8 – Asbury Park, NJ @ Paramount Theatre
June 9 – Huntington, NY @ The Paramount
June 11 – Detroit, MI @ The Fillmore
June 12 – Grand Rapids, MI @ 20 Monroe Live
June 14 – St. Charles, IL @ The Arcada Theatre
June 15 – St. Paul, MN @ Myth
June 16 – Milwaukee, WI @ Pabst Theater
June 19 – Kansas City, MO @ Uptown Theater
June 20 – Oklahoma City, OK @ The Criterion
June 21 – Dallas, TX @ Bomb Factory
June 28 – Los Angeles, CA @ The Wiltern
June 29 – Las Vegas, NV @ Brooklyn Bowl
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Pheet
April 9, 2019 at 9:47 pm
Welcome to the future of rock and pop entertainment. I was outraged at first when I heard of these hologram shows, including Frank Zappa being part of the scene. Is it a cash grab? Of course it is. Isn’t every concert? But where’s that special vibe, that thrill you get seeing a hero live on stage, even from a distance when it’s a computerized lighting effect?
And what happens if halfway through one of these hologram shows the computer freezes or there’s a power outage? Will “Ronnie” blink in and out, in and out, get those fuzzy lines through his “body”, or stutter manically in place? I guess that’s why metal’s most well known second banana vocalist Tim Owens is on board.
But in an entertainment world that has spawned thousands of Elvis impersonators, “heroes in concert” that feature clones in cheapo venues in Vegas, Branson or small casinos, and who the hell knows how many “tribute” bands that are out there, one might actually have a better argument seeing the hologram.
I personally would never stoop to being a mere imitation of anybody. A comic impersonator is one thing. Pretending I’m Elvis is another. Who knows, in the Year of the Jetsons in our future, we might be able to download “celebrities” to play in our living rooms.