Queen, Adam Lambert team up for North American tour
The Queen + Adam Lambert lineup -- guitarist Brian May, singer Adam Lambert, drummer Roger Taylor -- announce a North American tour at Madison Square Garden on Mar. 6, 2014. Credit: Kevin Mazur
Queen is joining forces with Adam Lambert for a North American tour that includes a stop at Madison Square Garden on July 17.
"This is a combination we believe works very well," Queen guitarist Brian May said at a news conference Thursday in the lobby of the Garden. "It'll be great to do this one more time."
Lambert, "American Idol" runner-up in 2009, and currently on "Glee," said he looked at the tour as a way to "pay my respects" to the late Freddie Mercury, Queen's legendary frontman. "I'm so excited," Lambert said, adding that he has never played Madison Square Garden. "It's an honor. I feel very humbled."
May said that he and drummer Roger Taylor felt comfortable with Lambert when they met him to prepare for the "Idol" finale, when they first performed together. Queen and Lambert then toured Europe for six shows, including a show in Ukraine, where they played to a crowd of 300,000.
They decided that a North American tour was a natural extension of the partnership, Taylor said. "I think Adam is a great diva," Taylor said, adding that he meant it in the most complimentary way possible.
Though the band hasn't picked the set list for the tour, Lambert said they have already started rehearsing the album cut "Dragon Attack" from Queen's 1980 album, "The Game," because he likes the band's music from that era best.
Tickets go on sale at 10 a.m. March 14 through Ticketmaster. American Express cardholders can purchase pre-sale tickets starting at 10 a.m. Monday.
