The rockers will embark on The Rhapsody Tour, their first North American tour since 2019, in October
Don’t stop them now — especially not when they’re having such a good time!
Queen rockers Brian May and Roger Taylor are hitting the road once more with Adam Lambert for what will be their first North American tour in four years, and the legends tell PEOPLE that taking the stage together is just as much of a thrill as it’s always been.
“We get these two-and-a-half hours to connect with people,” says May, 75. “So we’ll give them everything we got, but it’s fun. And if it wasn’t fun, I don’t think we could do it. It’s a shared experience.”
The trio announced The Rhapsody Tour on Friday, which will see them kick things off in Baltimore in October and wrap in Los Angeles in November after 14 shows.
Each performance will feature 150 minutes of hits that span their decades-long career, including classics like “We Will Rock You,” “Don’t Stop Me Now,” “Radio Ga Ga” and “Somebody to Love,” plus deep cuts and old-school favorites.
Bojan Hohnjec/Miracle Productions LLP
May jokes that the lengthy setlist requires “a bit of fitness” physically, but that he relies upon adrenaline to power through, as well as the “chemistry” fizzling between him, Taylor and Lambert, who joined the fold in an official capacity in 2011.
“The audience is definitely the battery, for me,” says Lambert, 41. “To see these wonderful people that are singing along with you and having the time of their lives and it charges you. It gives you a lot of fuel to get out there and push and keep giving them more and more. It’s sort of addicting.”
While Taylor, 73, says he enjoys listening to Lambert’s extensive vocal warm-ups, he quips that he’s content to do so while tending to his own pre-show routine: an Irish whiskey and a Diet Coke.
Though Queen + Adam Lambert toured the UK and Europe last year together, this is their first North American tour since 2019. In the years since, all three have kept busy; May released special editions of two solo projects, while Taylor put out his first solo album in eight years. Lambert, meanwhile, released his covers album High Drama last month.
Adam Lambert on Facing Homophobia, Mental Health Struggles Since American Idol: ‘I’ve Proven a Lot to Myself’
Ric Lipson/Stufish
While each musician has his own special interests, May says that their union was something of a fateful one, especially considering the fact that he and Taylor assumed Queen would end with the tragic loss of frontman Freddie Mercury in 1991.
“The amazing thing is we didn’t look for Adam. I often think, ‘My God, how did this happen?’ He is kind of a gift from God,” he marvels. “Roger and I, after we lost Freddie, said ‘OK, this is the end of it.’ We knew consciously, ‘No, we’re not going to this anymore.’”
The rocker — who was recently knighted at Buckingham Palace by King Charles — says that after a brief, “wonderful” stint with Bad Company’s Paul Rodgers, things came “to a natural end” with the band, and he and Taylor resigned themselves to accepting that they’d never play the massive arena stages they once played. Then, of course, came Lambert, whom they first met when he was a contestant on American Idol in 2009.
King Charles Knights Queen! See Brian May Receive His Honor at Buckingham Palace
Bojan Hohnjec/Miracle Productions LLP
“He just appeared,” says May. “The voice is extraordinary. There is no other voice in the universe like his voice. Plus he has all the other stuff, I mean, look at the guy. He’s born to wear diamonds.”
He continues: “He doesn’t try to be Freddie, which is wonderful. He always pays tribute to Freddie, which we love. We all do. Freddie’s with us, but Adam interprets, he finds new ways to go and we are very much a team now. We discuss everything, we build, we rebuild and it’s fun.”
Lambert agrees, calling his partnership with May and Taylor a “team effort,” and acknowledging that Mercury “laid the groundwork” for all that they’ve accomplished together.
“He’s the originator. He can’t be replaced, but it gives me so much freedom to just exist in a playful, kind of silly place,” he says. “Freddie had a great sense of humor, from what I hear and what I’ve seen, and he was sort of limitless.”
That humor is still evident in his surviving bandmates, and never more so than when they’re asked what they’ve learned from the others.
May jokes that Lambert has taught them “how to stay young,” while the “What Do You Want from Me” singer quips that he’s given May and Taylor knowledge of “eye shadow and platform boots.”
“It’s just great having somebody with the vocal ability that Adam has,” says Taylor. “We have such confidence and trust in that wonderful voice out in the front.”
As for what’s next for the group, May is quick to shut down any suggestion that retirement is even a possibility.
“No,” he says simply. “It’s just a privilege to be able to do this at the top level that we are. How wonderful. How could you possibly ask for more? I think we’re very happy doing it. I’m probably going to do it ’til I drop.”
News
BREAKING: Just 10 minutes ago, Karoline Leavitt and Elon Musk stunned the nation by releasing a shocking exposé targeting ‘The View’. With a vault of video and insider testimony, they claim the daytime show has a “hidden agenda” and a “manipulative script.” Leavitt declared live: “That show is not just a talk show—it’s where narratives are weaponized.” Millions are demanding answers. Is this the beginning of the end for the most controversial panel on television?
Just 10 Minutes Αgo: Karoline Leavitt Officially Joins Hands with Elon Musk – Reveals Shocking Truths Αbout ‘The View’“It’s not…
A Punchline That Changed Everything: Kat Timpf’s Darkest Joke Becomes Fox News’ Bravest Moment
In the world of late-night political satire, outrageous jokes are par for the course. But on a recent episode of…
Daytime Drama Shattered: Karoline Leavitt’s Lawsuit Topples The View—And Megyn Kelly’s Warning Signals a Media Reckoning
For decades, ABC’s “The View” was the untouchable queen of daytime television—an arena where celebrity hosts traded jabs, hot takes,…
The Last Stand at CBS: Lesley Stahl, Corporate Power, and the Fight for America’s Newsroom Soul
In the heart of Midtown Manhattan, inside a windowless CBS News boardroom, Lesley Stahl sat with her phone gripped tightly…
The White House Press Secretary’s baby shines in a touching Instagram post
It can sometimes be difficult to separate your home life and your work life. This is especially true when you…
Karoline Leavitt mercilessly lectured Morgan Freeman on the topic of R@CIST and INEQUALITIES on live TV!
In a dramatic and tense exchange that has captured the attention of viewers across the nation, Karoline Leavitt launched into…
End of content
No more pages to load