Brian May said last year that Queen were looking at the possibility of performing at the Sphere in Las Vegas.
He’s now ruled out any future concerts in America.
“America is a dangerous place at the moment, so you have to take that into account,” May tells the Daily Mail. “It’s very sad because I feel like Queen grew up in America and we love it, but it’s not what it was. Everyone is thinking twice about going there at the moment.”
May’s comments come in the wake of the U.S. government killing two American citizens in Minneapolis. Renee Good and Alex Pretti were murdered by Immigrations and Customs Enforcement officers deployed to Minnesota in January.
May had previously expressed excitement about returning to the U.S. for a Las Vegas residency.
“I’m very keen on the Sphere,” he told Rolling Stone. “It’s got my mind working. I sat there watching the Eagles, thinking, ‘We should do this. The stuff that we could bring to this would be stupendous.’ So, yeah, I would like to do it. We’re having conversations.”
Queen + Adam Lambert last performed in the U.S. in November 2023. The guitarist has been cautious about returning to the road following a minor stroke in 2024, although he has been onstage since then, including a performance with Benson Boone at Coachella, where he performed his electric guitar solo to “Bohemian Rhapsody.”
May recently told the Daily Mail that Queen would never perform at Glastonbury Festival due to the practice of culling of badgers on the grounds of Worthy Farms, where the music event is held.
“I wouldn’t do Glastonbury next year because of the politics of the people who run it,” he said, “Unless that changes, I won’t do it.”
