This show is a must-see!
No stranger to fronting Queen projects, Marc Martel was handpicked by Roger Taylor and Brian May (original Queen members) to front their official Queen tribute in 2012. Martel launched his own tribute project, The Ultimate Queen Celebration, in March 2017. Today, Marc Martel’s voice can be heard in the #1 movie and Oscar Nominated Best Picture Bohemian Rhapsody. The Ultimate Queen Celebration starring Marc Martel will be performing at DPAC on Friday June 28, 2019 and is an absolute must see for Queen fans.
Tickets go on sale Friday, March 1 at 12 pm:
- Online at DPACnc.com
- Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina Ticket Center at DPAC: 919.680.2787, 123 Vivian Street, Durham, NC
- Ticketmaster.com / Ticketmaster Charge by phone at 800.745.3000
Long before his YouTube videos went viral, spawning an appearance on “The Ellen DeGeneres Show” and a performance with the surviving members of Queen on “American Idol,” Marc Martel spent 13 years recording and touring the globe with Canadian rockers Downhere. Not only did the rock band visit 49 American States, but also toured throughout Europe and even Northern Africa, collecting worldwide acclaim and four Juno Awards in their native land. Fast forward to 2017, and Martel is the ideal match for The Ultimate Queen Celebration, an explosive, attention-commanding tribute where some of the most iconic rock anthems of all time collide with a theatrical performance style and eye-popping production. At its core, the riveting show focuses on the extremely diverse body of the band’s greatest hits, from the grandiose “Bohemian Rhapsody” to the adrenaline-pumping “We Will Rock You,” the euphoric “We Are The Champions,” the funky “Another One Bites The Dust,” the stadium-shaking David Bowie collaboration “Under Pressure,” the soulful “Somebody To Love” and the swinging “Crazy Little Thing Called Love” (to name but a few from the steroid-stacked set list).
In addition to the obligatory but nonetheless consistently astounding selections, the Ultimate Queen Celebration also incorporates an entirely unique angle that will have die-hards and casual appreciators alike clamoring to hear several other sides of Martel. “Near the end of Freddie’s life, he explored other styles of music beyond rock, including opera, so with that in mind, the show also includes a segment of familiar songs in the flavor of what they might have sounded like had Freddie ever gotten the chance to sing them,” he explains. “For instance, I perform ‘Ave Maria’ by myself on piano and also the great opera aria ‘Nessun Dorma’ in the style of Freddie, so it gives the night some imaginative elements in the spirit of Queen, rather than strictly the letter of Queen. You could call it a greatest hits show with a twist where I get to explore other things that I wish Freddie could have recorded himself and wonder what could have been.”
The Ultimate Queen Celebration is a 5-piece band comprised of lead vocalist Marc Martel, accompanied by a short list of uber-talented musicians, including Brandon Ethridge (keys), Tristan Avakian (guitar), Jason Gianni (Drums), Mike Cohen (bass), Angus Clark (guitar), J.R. McNeely (bass), and others.