The Queen Extravaganza

The 'Queen Extravaganza' is an official Queen tribute show, which will tour throughout North America in 2012, combining live music with never before seen video footage and advanced stage and lighting designs. The project was launched in September 2011 by Roger Taylor, and recruited musicians through an online talent search.

The first round auditions were open to vocalists, guitarists, drummers, bass players and keyboard players. Each entrant had to submit a video performance of one of four Queen songs through the website, www.queenextravaganza.com. The first round attracted over 6.4 million entrants, and Roger and a team of judges chose the best 50 to advance to the second round.

The second round started in November, and each entrant had to submit video of them performing a specific Queen track, depending on their category. Vocalists had to perform 'Crazy Little Thing Called Love', drummers 'One Vision', guitarists 'Keep Yourself Alive', bass players 'Another One Bites The Dust', and finally keyboard players had to perform 'Bohemian Rhapsody'. Each video was then subject to a public vote with the top 10 entrants progressing to the final round.

The final round was a live event in Los Angeles on 8 December, judged by Roger himself and a panel of judges. The final band members chosen were:

Jennifer Espinoza - Vocals
Marc Martel - Vocals
Tristan Avakian - Guitar
Brian Gresh - Guitar
Tyler Warren - Drums
Francois-Olivier Doyon - Bass

Additionally, Jeff Scott Soto and Yvan Pedneault were later added as a additional vocalists, while Brandon Ethridge was added on keyboards and as musical director.

Tickets went on sale on 31st March 2012 for the following dates:

26 May 2012 - Grand Theatre du Quebec, Quebec, Canada
27 May 2012 - Theatre St. Denis, Montreal, Canada
29 May 2012 - QE Theatre, Toronto, Canada
31 May 2012 - MI Fox Theatre, Detroit, USA
1 June 2012 - House Of Blues, Chicago, USA
2 June 2012 - The Brick, Minneapolis, USA
5 June 2012 - The Pageant, St Louis, Missouri
7 June 2012 - Theatre Of Living Arts, Philadelphia, USA
8 June 2012 - 9:30 Club, Washington, USA
9 June 2012 - Oakdale Theatre, Wallingford, USA
10 June 2012 - Event Center, Bethlehem, USA
11 June 2012 - House Of Blues, Boston, USA
12 June 2012 - Paramount Theatre, Huntington, USA
15 June 2012 - Louis Lykes Ferguson Hall, Tampa, USA
17 June 2012 - The Plaza Live, Orlando, USA
19 June 2012 - Grand Prarie, Dallas, USA
20 June 2012 - House Of Blues, Houston, USA
23 June 2012 - House Of Blues, Las Vegas, USA
24 June 2012 - Humphrey’s, San Diego, USA
25 June 2012 - Nokia Theatre, Los Angeles, USA
26 June 2012 - Regency Ballroom, San Francisco, USA
28 June 2012 - Showbox, Seattle, USA
30 June 2012 - Orpheum Theatre, Vancouver, Canada
2 July 2012 - Jack Singer Concert Hall, Calgary, Canada
3 July 2012 - Jubilee Auditorium, Edmonton, Canada

The band appeared on American Idol to promote the tour, performing 'Somebody To Love' with Brian and Roger on 26th April 2012.

The initial Queen Extravaganza focuses entirely on North America but there are plans for similar competitions and tours for other territories.

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