RONNIE JAMES DIO Hologram: Month-Long U.S. Tour Announced

The new Ronnie James Dio hologram will embark on a month-long U.S.tour at the end of May.

The legendary heavy metal singer died in 2010 at the age of 67 from stomach cancer. His hologram made its debut at the Wacken Open Air festival in August 2016 in front of more than 75,000 fans.

The Dio hologram production uses audio of Ronnie's live performances from throughout his career, with the DIO DISCIPLES band playing live, consisting of Simon Wright on drums, Craig Goldy on guitar, and Scott Warren on keyboards, along with Bjorn Englen on bass. Also appearing with them are former JUDAS PRIEST singer Tim "Ripper" Owens and ex-LYNCH MOB frontman Oni Logan.

After the tour's initial seven-date run was completed in December 2017, Ronnie's hologram underwent "some changes" before the launch of the next leg of the "Dio Returns" world tour.

Tour dates:

May 31 - Ft. Myers, FL @ Barbara B. Mann Performing Arts Hall
June 01 - Orlando, FL @ The Plaza Live
June 02 - St. Petersburg, FL @ Palladium Theatre
June 03 - Atlanta, GA @ Vinyl at Center Stage
June 06 - Worcester, MA @ The Palladium
June 07 - Glenside, PA @ Keswick Theatre
June 08 - Asbury Park, NJ @ Paramount Theatre
June 09 - Huntington, NY @ The Paramount
June 11 - Detroit, MI @ The Fillmore
June 12 - Grand Rapids, MI @ 20 Monroe Live
June 14 - St. Charles, IL @ The Arcada Theatre
June 15 - St. Paul, MN @ Myth
June 16 - Milwaukee, WI @ Pabst Theater
June 19 - Kansas City, MO @ Uptown Theater
June 20 - Oklahoma City, OK @ The Criterion
June 21 - Dallas, TX @ Bomb Factory
June 28 - Los Angeles, CA @ The Wiltern
June 29 - Las Vegas, NV @ Brooklyn Bowl

Tickets for all confirmed tour dates go on sale this Friday, April 12 at 10:00 a.m. local time via all major ticketing outlets.

Wright says: "Looking forward to hitting the road with this incredible piece of technology and celebrating Ronnie and his timeless music again with his friends and fans."

Hologram production company Eyellusion, which created the Dio hologram, recently signed with the Agency for the Performing Arts (APA),represented by agency partner Steve Martin.

Eyellusion CEO Jeff Pezzuti says: "Ronnie James Dio was not only known for his amazing vocals, but also his incredible stage shows and performances. This show is a must-see for all fans of Ronnie, new and old. The new stage production we have created, plus the brand new Ronnie James Dio hologram, have to be seen to be believed. This is a first-ofits kind -metal show! We are celebrating Ronnie, with his live vocals, with his band he toured with for the last 17 years, and with a show that his fans will love! It's an over-the-top metal experience that will have the fans raising their horns throughout the show! We are excited for everyone to see what we have in store for the U.S. beginning on May 31 and the world to follow!"

Ronnie's widow and longtime manager, Wendy Dio, who is a member of the Eyellusion team, previously said that the people that criticize the Ronnie James Dio hologram should at least see it in person before voicing their disapproval. "Don't criticize it if you haven't seen it," she told "Whiplash", the KLOS radio show hosted by Full Metal Jackie. "It's done with love. The band love doing it. And we just wanna keep Ronnie's memory and his music alive."

She added that a digital version of Dio makes perfect sense. "I think that Ronnie was an innovator of heavy metal music, so why not be an innovator of technology?" she said. "And I think technology is coming a long way with holograms — a lot of people are doing it now. And I think the reason is because we are losing all of our innovators; everybody is getting older. And we need to keep them alive and keep their memory and their music alive. I think it's a new way. It's like when people first came out with a CD or a cassette: 'Ooh, we don't want that.' But then it was the way of technology."