For the first time in more than four years, Queen + Adam Lambert are returning to North America for a series of live dates, performing 23 shows throughout the months of October and November.
When the COVID-19 pandemic hit in early 2020, the band was – like every other musical artist in the world – forced to set aside any plans they might had for touring. As such, they played a show on February 29, 2020 in Australia, after which they went on a performance hiatus until May 27, 2022, when they returned to the stage in Belfast, Ireland. The last time the band played in North America, however, way back on September 28, 2019, when they performed a set at the Global Citizen Festival on the Great Lawn at New York City’s famed Central Park.
Queen (Adam Lambert, Brian May & Roger Taylor), Global Citizen Festival, 2019
Since returning to the road last year, Queen + Adam Lambert have performed shows not only in Ireland but also in England (including the Platinum Party at the Palace), Scotland, Germany, Switzerland, the Netherlands, Span, Italy, France, Belgium, Denmark, Sweden, Norway, and Finland.
After their upcoming North American dates, the band will take a break for the holidays, after which they will return to the road in 2024 with a series of shows in Japan.
Brian May atop Buckingham Palace in 2022
There are still a significant number of Queen purists who still can't wrap their heads around the idea of the band carrying on without Freddie Mercury, who died on November 24, 1991, after succumbing to bronchial pneumonia resulting from AIDS.
Guitarist Brian May, however, believes that carrying on without him is precisely what Freddie would've wanted.
Freddie Mercury
“There are people who feel like we shouldn’t even be going on stage without Freddie," May told Guitar World earlier this year. "But I think that would have been very sad, and it’s not what Freddie would have wanted either. He would have wanted us to continue developing. And of course, because we are continuing and developing, it keeps that legacy alive."
“The last tour we did was fantastic," May continued. "Probably the biggest arena tour we’ve ever done, and the most exciting in terms of all the shows being sold out and the energy in those audiences. The thing is, people want live music. They need live music. And we’re happy to go on supplying it as long as we can. As long as I’m alive, I’ll be there!”
