RITCHIE BLACKMORE's RAINBOW Announces U.K. Tour

December 6, 2016

Following the triumphant sold-out show at the Birmingham Genting Arena earlier this year, Kennedy Street and Kilimanjaro have announced Ritchie Blackmore's RAINBOW will be returning to tour the U.K. in June 2017. The very special opening night will see them headlining the second annual Stone Free Festival at The O2, London, which will be Blackmore's first London show since 1995, with further dates in Manchester, Glasgow and Birmingham.

Ritchie Blackmore's RAINBOW live in the UK:

June 17 - London, UK - The O2 (Stone Free Festival)
June 22 - Manchester, UK - Manchester Arena
June 25 - Glasgow, Scotland - The SSE Hydro
June 28 - Birmingham, UK - Genting Arena

Playing classics from both RAINBOW and DEEP PURPLE's anthemic catalogue, the legendary guitarist needs no introduction and is universally acknowledged as a singular and visionary talent, one who has helped shape and define the landscape of rock music and the evolution of the guitar at its core. With a background immersed in classical and R&B, he was a founding member and driving force of DEEP PURPLE, going on to form RAINBOW in 1973, who sold in excess of 28 million albums.

The RAINBOW tour promises to be an unmissable event, not only for DEEP PURPLE and RAINBOW fans, but also those who want to soak up the electrifying genius of the legendary guitarist live and to revel in the unforgettable songs he crafted with two of music's most celebrated bands. Blackmore will also be joined by former stalwart Meister Bob on bass, BLACKMORE NIGHTS' drummer David Keith, STRATOVARIUS's keyboardist Jens Johansson and singer, Ronnie Romero from Santiago, Chile whom Blackmore describes as "a cross between Ronnie James Dio meets Freddie Mercury."

Starting the U.K. tour at The O2 in London, Ritchie Blackmore's RAINBOW will be the headline act for the 2017 Stone Free Festival.

Following the hugely successful and highly acclaimed inaugural Stone Free Festival in June this year — which featured electrifying performances from the likes of Alice Cooper, Rick Wakeman, THE DARKNESS, MARILLION and many more — the festival returns with even more stages next year, utilizing the full array of facilities at The O2 including the Brooklyn Bowl. It will again feature a full line-up of artists and events such as the Speakeasy Lounge and the vinyl fair, alongside special acoustic performances, cinema screenings and exclusive after parties.

Further details regarding the lineup of Stone Free Festival 2017 will be revealed in due course.

rainbowuktour2017bigger

Find more on Ritchie blackmore
  • facebook
  • twitter
  • reddit
  • email

Comments Disclaimer And Information

BLABBERMOUTH.NET uses the Facebook Comments plugin to let people comment on content on the site using their Facebook account. The comments reside on Facebook servers and are not stored on BLABBERMOUTH.NET. To comment on a BLABBERMOUTH.NET story or review, you must be logged in to an active personal account on Facebook. Once you're logged in, you will be able to comment. User comments or postings do not reflect the viewpoint of BLABBERMOUTH.NET and BLABBERMOUTH.NET does not endorse, or guarantee the accuracy of, any user comment. To report spam or any abusive, obscene, defamatory, racist, homophobic or threatening comments, or anything that may violate any applicable laws, use the "Report to Facebook" and "Mark as spam" links that appear next to the comments themselves. To do so, click the downward arrow on the top-right corner of the Facebook comment (the arrow is invisible until you roll over it) and select the appropriate action. You can also send an e-mail to blabbermouthinbox(@)gmail.com with pertinent details. BLABBERMOUTH.NET reserves the right to "hide" comments that may be considered offensive, illegal or inappropriate and to "ban" users that violate the site's Terms Of Service. Hidden comments will still appear to the user and to the user's Facebook friends. If a new comment is published from a "banned" user or contains a blacklisted word, this comment will automatically have limited visibility (the "banned" user's comments will only be visible to the user and the user's Facebook friends).