RONNIE JAMES DIO Hologram To Embark On 'Dio Returns' World Tour; First Dates Announced

July 26, 2017

Live music's premier hologram production company Eyellusion today revealed initial dates for "Dio Returns: The World Tour", featuring a hologram of Ronnie James Dio reunited with the late rock star's former bandmates from the DIO band. The tour will make more than eighty stops around the globe, kicking off in Helsinki, Finland on November 30. It marks the first tour of its kind, breaking new ground just as Dio did throughout an accomplished career as a lead singer and songwriter in defining bands such as RAINBOW, BLACK SABBATH and DIO.

The "Dio Returns" tour will also make stops throughout Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, France, Germany, Japan, Mexico, New Zealand, Paraguay, United Kingdom, Venezuela and other countries, with dates to be announced. The tour is expected to come to the United States in spring 2018 and play festivals globally during the summer.

The Ronnie James Dio hologram will perform for the majority of the show, treating fans to an alternating set list that will feature songs such as "Holy Diver", "Rainbow In The Dark", "We Rock", "King Of Rock And Roll", BLACK SABBATH's "Neon Knights" and "Heaven And Hell" and RAINBOW's "Man On The Silver Mountain" and more.

In August 2016, Eyellusion surprised fans when it debuted the Ronnie James Dio hologram at the Wacken Open Air heavy metal festival in Germany. The hologram was also tapped to open the 2017 Pollstar Awards, wowing bookers and promoters in attendance and creating excitement for the forthcoming tour. The "Dio Returns" tour will feature Dio's actual live vocals, backed by a live band consisting of former DIO members Simon Wright (drums),Craig Goldy (guitar) and Scott Warren (keyboards) alongside bassist Bjorn Englen (YNGWIE MALMSTEEN). Veteran metal vocalist Tim "Ripper" Owens (JUDAS PRIEST, ICED EARTH, YNGWIE MALMSTEEN) will also perform, with singer Oni Logan (LYNCH MOB) also joining on select dates.

"Working with Eyellusion over the past year and a half to turn our dream of this tour into a reality has been absolutely incredible," said Wendy Dio, who managed Ronnie James Dio throughout his career and is overseeing every aspect of the "Dio Returns" tour. "No one has ever been able to put together a show and tour like this and we like to think of Ronnie smiling down as we continue to find new ways to share his music with all generations of fans. We cannot wait to be able to finally bring this incredible experience to Ronnie's fans around the world."

"We've really only given DIO fans a small taste of what they're going to see on this tour," said Jeff Pezzuti, CEO and founder of Eyellusion. "We are creating a completely new hologram of Ronnie, designing an amazing light show and continuing to add more dates around the world to make sure that as many fans as possible get an opportunity to take part in this experience."

Eyellusion's holograms and live productions are supported by a team of live music and special effects veterans, including Wendy Dio, who leads industry relations, veteran rock manager Todd Singerman, who supports artist relations, and Kenny Aronoff, world renowned live and studio drummer, who supports business development and technical live production efforts. Chad Finnerty at Digital Frontier FX is Eyellusion's exclusive content creation partner, working directly with clients to bring every project vision to the live stage. Legendary Hollywood digital effects executive Scott Ross advises Eyellusion on overall content creation for all productions.

Eyellusion is actively raising funding to secure additional artist rights and finance projects and tours in its growing pipeline.

"Dio Returns" tour dates

Nov. 30 - Helsinki, Finland @ The Circus
Dec. 03 - Stockholm, Sweden @ Fryshuset
Dec. 04 - Oslo, Norway @ Rockefeller Music Hall
Dec. 06 - Warsaw, Poland @ Progresja
Dec. 13 - Barcelona, Spain @ Bikini
Dec. 15 - Santander, Spain @ Escenario Santander
Dec. 17 - Bucharest, Romania @ Arelene Romane
Dec. 20 - Antwerp, Belgium @ Trix
Dec. 21 - Tilburg, Netherlands @ 013

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