JEFF SCOTT SOTO (TRANS-SIBERIAN ORCHESTRA, ex-TALISMAN, JOURNEY, YNGWIE MALMSTEEN) has announced that he will appear at the Rock Of Ages Festival on July 28th.

In order to do so he will be bringing his current lineup to undertake three gigs in Germany and Austria immediately ahead of the festival date.

Jeff commented; “I can’t wait to perform at the Rock Of Ages Festival, it’s gonna be great to reunite with the guys and bash it out again. But before that, we decided to pick up a few warm-up dates along the way for two reasons, the first so we can shake off the cobwebs and have a little fun before the main event and second because I couldn’t wait to debut some of the new songs from Damage Control! I plan to build a hard rocking set on this mini-run so I am inviting you to come get your rocks off with us!

I know there will be moans and groans I am not doing more widespread gigs but we had to stay somewhat local to the where we’re ending up and the bigger tour comes later when everyone’s back from summer holidays, these dates are for those who wanna rock with me before that! But come join us for some serious damage control, you won’t be disappointed!”

Dates are as follows:

July

25 – Headbangers Ballroom - Hamburg, Germany
26 – Mad Dog – Wuppertal, Germany
27 – Harly’s - Innsbruck, Austria
28 - Rock Of Ages Festival - Seebronn, Germany

Soto recently announced that he has announced that he's joined The QUEEN Extravaganza - The Official Queen Tribute Show.

Soto says: "I am proud to announce my involvement in the Queen Extravaganza that will storm North America and Canada this summer! As long time friends of both Roger Taylor and Brian May but also a lifetime fan of the legend that is Queen, I was honored to be personally invited by Roger for this exciting venture. My own personal fans know what it means to me to sing these songs and I hope to be a contributing factor in helping make it a whopping success. See you on the road, I promise you, you won't want to miss what's in store with this show!"

The Official Queen Extravaganza press release can be read below:

Queen's Roger Taylor: "What an amazing storehouse of talent we have unlocked. The standard is mind-blowingly high, it has really been a thrill to discover them."

Launching summer 2012, The Queen Extravaganza is a spectacular touring concert show designed to take the glorious music and the live experience of legends of rock Queen to generations of fans in cities coast-to-coast across the US and Canada.

Behind the show are Queen: legendary guitarist Brian May and iconic drummer Roger Taylor, whose talents as writers and musicians have inspired such legends of modern times as the FOO FIGHTERS, RED HOT CHILI PEPPERS, KATY PERRY, and even LADY GAGA, who took her name from one of Taylor's biggest hit songs. Taylor's idea was to the create the ultimate Queen concert experience in an electrifying road show that celebrates the band's music and legacy performed by some of the best new music talent out there today. Taylor personally takes the role of producer and music director.

To guarantee the touring show matches the fabled design and excitement of Queen at its live best, Taylor has enlisted a heavyweight production team headed by stage designer Mark Fisher. Fisher has been responsible for some of the most memorable rock concerts ever staged, including The Wall for PINK FLOYD, every ROLLING STONES show since 1989, and, working with lighting designer Willie Williams, every U2 concert.

The Queen Extravaganza touring band - four vocalists and five musicians (two guitars, bass, drums and keyboards) - were hired after an intensive 12 week online audition search. The buzz surrounding the public auditions sparked worldwide interest with video submissions generating more than 10 million views. Television host Ellen DeGeneres was so impressed with the level of talent, that she invited one hopeful to perform his audition on her show. That contestant, Nashville's Marc Martel, secured himself a place in the final band. The rest of The QE band includes vocalists and QE contestant Jennifer Espinoza along with addition vocalists Yvan Pedneault and Jeff Scott Soto; bassist Francois Olivier Doyon; guitarists Brian Gresh and Tristan Avakian; drummer Tyler Warren and keyboardist & musical director Brandon Ethridge.

In a show which will run just over two hours of playing time, with a 30 minute break, The QE band will perform close on 40 true Queen classics drawn from a list of the band's biggest all-time chart hits: 'Bohemian Rhapsody', 'Another One Bites the Dust', 'Crazy Little Thing Called Love', 'Under Pressure','We Will Rock You/We Are the Champions', 'A Kind of Magic', 'Radio Ga Ga', 'Somebody to Love', 'Killer Queen' - as well as highlighting some of the band's finest heavy-duty rock based anthems which have long been at the core of their live performances, so audiences can also expect a healthy dose of early period Queen with songs such as 'I'm In Love With My Car', 'Tie Your Mother Down', 'Seven Seas of Rye' and 'In the Lap Of The Gods' among them.

Production values will be boosted with the inclusion of never-before-seen video footage.

"The Queen Extravaganza will not be like a traditional tribute show," says Taylor. "It is a brand new show specially designed to enable these new fans, together with fans of old, to celebrate the music of Queen in a heart stopping event." Adds Taylor, "It's going to be very spectacular, it's going to be very visual, there are going to be some shocks and some tremendous surprises. It will be a rock celebration in the Royal tradition."

The Queen Extravaganza tour dates are as follows:

May

26 - Quebec, QC - Grand Theatre du Quebec
27 - Montreal, QC - St. Denis
29 - Toronto, ON - QE Theatre
31 - Detroit, MI - Fox Theatre

June

1 - Chicago, IL - House of Blues
2 - Minneapolis, MN - The Brick
5 - St. Louis, MO - The Pageant
7 - Philadelphia, PA - Theatre of Living Arts
8 - Washington, DC - 9:30 Club
9 - Wallingford, CT - Oakdale
10 - Bethlehem, PA - Event Center
11 - Boston, MA - House of Blues
12 - Huntington, NY - Paramount Theatres
15 - Tampa, FL Louis - Lykes Ferguson Hall
17 - Orlando, FL - The Plaza Live
19 - Dallas, TX - Grand Prarie
20 - Houston, TX - House of Blues
23 - Las Vegas, NV - House of Blues
24 - San Diego, CA - Humphrey's
25 - Los Angeles, CA - Club Nokia
26 - San Francisco, CA - Regency
28 - Seattle, WA - Showbox
30 - Vancouver, BC - Orpheum

July

2 - Calgary, AB - Jack Singer
3 - Edmonton, AB - Jubilee