In case you haven’t heard, there is going to be a hologram tour for Dio and Frank Zappa in 2019 and it looks like the show is getting bigger. More than 100 Ronnie James Dio hologram shows were added ti the 2019 line up and the Frank Zappa tour is also currently being set up.
The hologram company behind the live show, Eyellusion along with partners Dio’s widow, Wendy, and Frank Zappa’s son, Ahmet Zappa, has teamed up with the Agency For The Performing Arts for this upcoming tour.
The legendary heavy metal singer died in 2010 at the age of 67 from stomach cancer. Eyellusion created a hologram of Dio that made its debut performance at Wacken Open Air in Germany back in 2016 in front of 75,000 fans and then at the Pollstar Awards the following year.
Since then, the hologram, accompanied by a real live band Dio Returns had successful tours across US and Europe.
Eyellusion partner Jeff Pezzuti, says,
“The big question when we first toured Dio through Europe was, ’Is anyone actually going to show up?’
“We sold out the last three shows in Europe and we did really well. We’re such believers in what we were doing and we’re all such massive fans.
“In my sixth-grade class picture, I’m wearing a Dio shirt, so you can imagine taking this all the way across the finish line has been a dream come true.”
Pezzuti adds,
“The Zappa show is going to set the bar for everything and totally blow everything else out of the water.
“It is the most incredible visual show that’s ever been assembled and every song has a different look and feel. It’s going to be an absolute mind fuck, in a good way.”
However, not everyone is supportive of the hologram tours. Former Dio guitarist Doug Aldrichhas expressed that Ronnie James Dio “would be pissed” about it. Meanwhile, while Zappa’s son Dweezil confirms he won’t participate in the Frank Zappa hologram tour.
“Dio Returns” is due to kick off in April of 2019 while the Frank Zappa one is still in its final development stages.