A hologram of Central New York native Ronnie James Dio is going on tour in the U.S. this year.
Rolling Stone reports the “Dio Returns” tour will include a live band that performed with the late heavy metal legend’s eponymous band, Dio. Concerts begin May 31 in Fort Myers, Florida, and wrap up June 29 in Las Vegas; no Upstate New York concerts are scheduled, but additional dates are expected soon.
Currently, the closest shows to Dio’s hometown of Cortland, are June 6 at The Palladium in Worcester, Massachusetts; June 7 at the Kewswick Theatre in Glenside, Pennsylvania; and June 9 at The Paramount in Huntington, N.Y.
The “Dio Returns” lineup will include Dio guitarist Craig Goldy, Dio drummer Simon Wright, Dio keyboardist Scott Warren, and Dio Disciples bassist Bjorn Englen. According to Rolling Stone, Tim “Ripper” Owens, who briefly replaced Rob Halford in Judas Priest, and Lynch Mob singer Oni Logan will serve as guest vocalists.
Ronnie James Dio, who spent much of his life in CNY, was born Ronald James Padavona in New Hampshire in 1942 and raised in Cortland. He graduated from Cortland High School in 1960 and briefly attended the University at Buffalo. He died in 2010 of stomach cancer at age 67.
He performed with Rainbow, Elf, Heaven & Hell, and Dio; he also replaced Ozzy Osbourne as the lead vocalist for Black Sabbath in 1979. He popularized the “devil horns” in rock and roll, had a metal festival named after him (Hell and Heaven in Mexico), and was honored with a Dio monument in Bulgaria. In Cortland, there’s a street named after him (“Dio Way”) and the town holds “Dio Days” concerts in his honor. He was posthumously awarded a SAMMYs Lifetime Achievement Award from the Syracuse Area Music Hall of Fame in 2014.
The Dio hologram, created by Los Angeles company Eyellusion, first appeared at a German metal festival in 2016 and made its American debut at the Pollstar Awards in 2017. The hologram appears on stage with live band members, singing and throwing up devil horns.
“I cried the first time I saw it,” the singer’s widow, Wendy Dio, said in 2016. “It was quite, quite scary. Our crew, when they first saw it at rehearsal, they were in tears. It’s absolutely amazing.”
Similar digital projections of Michael Jackson, Elvis Presley, Tupac Shakur and other late music legends have made appearances at festivals or tours. Holograms of Buddy Holly and Roy Orbison are going on a joint tour in the UK this fall.
Dio’s legacy has also continued with tributes from artists like Tenacious D and Metallica. Some of his bandmates also performed in a group called Last in Line, named after Dio’s second solo album.
Dio Returns Tour Dates
May 31 – Ft. Myers, FL @ Barbara B. Mann Performing Arts Hall
June 1 – Orlando, FL @ The Plaza Live
June 2 – St. Petersburg, FL @ Palladium Theatre
June 3 – Atlanta, GA @ Vinyl at Center Stage
June 6 – Worcester, MA @ The Palladium
June 7 – Glenside, PA @ Keswick Theatre
June 8 – Asbury Park, NJ @ Paramount Theatre
June 9 – 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