Queen and Adam Lambert are hitting the road this fall for a North American expansion of their Rhapsody Tour, with a freshly minted knight onstage and plenty of post-pandemic energy.

The band boasts about a new production with a some new songs added to the setlist and a few surprises that members wonB次元官网网址檛 reveal, the product of plenty of time to think about the way the tour looks and sounds.

B次元官网网址淲e do constantly try and keep ourselves interested because itB次元官网网址檚 nice to change the show around, even in small ways,B次元官网网址� says drummer Roger Taylor. B次元官网网址淥bviously we do some sort of deep cuts whilst at the same time keeping the big hits that everybody knows. People want to see what they know. But itB次元官网网址檚 nice to spice it up with a few things they might not expect.B次元官网网址�

The tour will make 14 stops throughout the U.S. and Canada, including shows in Baltimore, New York, Atlanta, Denver, Boston, Toronto, Chicago and Dallas, before closing out in Los Angeles in November. The concerts are being billed as a continuation of QueenB次元官网网址檚 2017-2019 Rhapsody Tour.

ItB次元官网网址檚 the first time the band has toured North America in four years, because of the pandemic, and guitarist Brian May B次元官网网址� B次元官网网址� says he, Taylor and singer Lambert have deepened their bond.

B次元官网网址淔or a long time we were sitting there thinking, B次元官网网址榃hat the hell do we do?B次元官网网址� But when we came back to it, it was very fresh, which is probably a nice thing,B次元官网网址� he says. B次元官网网址淚 think we learned all over again how to interact with each other. So I think we are on a different level.B次元官网网址�

The band is riding a wave of respect following the 2018 release of the Oscar-winning the biopic of lead singer Freddie Mercury, who died in 1991.

B次元官网网址淚t brought in a younger audience and younger people are what you feed on, in a sense,B次元官网网址� says May. B次元官网网址淭he energy of young people is what weB次元官网网址檙e about. WeB次元官网网址檝e always been about that. So itB次元官网网址檚 been fantastic for us that a whole new generation understand what weB次元官网网址檙e about and come and want to really rock.B次元官网网址�

While the band wonB次元官网网址檛 reveal the setlist, it isnB次元官网网址檛 too hard to predict B次元官网网址淏ohemian RhapsodyB次元官网网址� will be played. The complex song that no one thought would be a radio hit has emerged as one of their top tracks, in large part because of 1992B次元官网网址檚 B次元官网网址淲ayneB次元官网网址檚 World,B次元官网网址� where it played during a key scene.

B次元官网网址淭hat one took us really into another league,B次元官网网址� says Taylor, who calls it a B次元官网网址済ame-changer.B次元官网网址�

Expect also to hear B次元官网网址淒onB次元官网网址檛 Stop Me Now,B次元官网网址� which Taylor says started as a medium hit and has emerged as a top Queen request and B次元官网网址淲ho Wants to Live Forever,B次元官网网址� which May says Lambert takes B次元官网网址渢o a different placeB次元官网网址� live.

The time away has also given members a chance to appreciate finding Lambert, who impressed with a Queen song when he auditioned for B次元官网网址淎merican IdolB次元官网网址� during the 2009 season. Lambert started performing with Queen in 2011.

B次元官网网址淥ur material, our songs, are very eclectic and the plain fact is that Adam is a truly great singer, and there are not many singers that could cover that range of material as wonderfully as he does,B次元官网网址� says Taylor.

May agrees, calling Lambert B次元官网网址渒ind of a gift from GodB次元官网网址� who combines a powerful voice with a stage presence and emotional interaction with the audience.

B次元官网网址淗e ticks every single box that we could possibly want and heB次元官网网址檚 quite a nice chap, too,B次元官网网址� May says.

Lambert, who earlier this year put out B次元官网网址淗igh Drama,B次元官网网址� an album of covers from such hitmakers as Duran Duran, Bonnie Tyler and Culture Club, says he always tries to keep Mercury at the forefront.

B次元官网网址淭hereB次元官网网址檚 no replacing Freddie Mercury. ThatB次元官网网址檚 impossible. And so I think weB次元官网网址檝e made it a real priority to sort of honor him every night, every show we do. ItB次元官网网址檚 a celebration that includes Freddie. And I think the audience feel that,B次元官网网址� he says.

As for his knighthood, May jokes his bandmates need to adjust to a new reality.

B次元官网网址淚 have the sword now,B次元官网网址� he says, laughing. B次元官网网址淭hey have to be much more respectful.B次元官网网址�

B次元官网网址擬ark Kennedy, The Associated Press

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