Former Megadeth guitarist, Marty Friedman, has checekd in with the following update:

"It`s a great honor to be an Ambassador of Japan Heritage. Occasionally I will be requested to speak or perform at events related to Japan Heritage. I`ll be doing both of those things at the Japan Heritage Symposium on Feb. 13.

The date, 'February 13', if you translate it to numeric Japanese, would be ni (2) I (1) san (3). This becomes a play on words as 'ni' is short for 'Nihon', which is the Japanese word for Japan, and 'isan' which is the Japanese word for heritage, hence the Japan Heritage event taking place on that day each year.

Of all the places I get to play guitar, this has got to be the farthest from what I envisioned as a little kid!

You can watch my performance at the Japan Heritage Symposium here live on 2/13 between 10:00am and 11am JST."

Friedman was recently announced as direct support on the upcoming Queensrÿche tour. Marty is confirmed to perform on 31-dates with Queensrÿche kicking off on March 3 in Orlando, FL and running through April 16 where is wraps up in St. Petersburg, FL.

Along the way, the tour will make stops in Dallas, TX (March 11); Anaheim, CA (March 19); Chicago, IL (March 31), New York, NY (April 10) and Nashville, TN (April 14) to name a few.

Also, Marty has announced two headline shows on his own: March 17 in Las Vegas, NV at Counts Vampd and March 18 in Los Angeles, CA at the Whisky A Go Go. The tour marks Marty’s first time performing in the US since 2019. Tickets for all performances by Marty Friedman can be found here.

Marty Friedman tour dates:

March
3 - Orlando, FL - Plaza Live*
4 - Ft. Lauderdale, FL - Culture Room*
5 - Jacksonville, FL - Florida Theater*
7 - Destin, FL - Club LA*
9 - San Antonio, TX - The Vibes Event Center*
10 - Houston, TX - Scout Bar*
11 - Dallas, TX - House Of Blues*
12 - Midland, TX - La Cienda Event Center*
14 - Tempe, AZ - Marquee Theater*
16 - Sacramento, CA - Ace Of Spades*
17 - Las Vegas, NV - Counts Vampd#
18 - Los Angeles, CA - Whisky A Go Go#
19 - Anaheim, CA - House Of Blues*
21 - Portland, OR - Crystal Ballroom*
22 - Seattle, WA - The Neptune Theater*
24 - Englewood, CA - Gothic Theater*
25 - Kansas City, MO - The Truman*
26 - St. Louis, MO - Delmar Hall*
28 - Milwaukee, WI - The Rave*
29 - Ft. Wayne, IN - The Clyde*
31 - Chicago, IL - Concord Music Hall

April
1 - Grand Rapids, MI - The Intersection*
2 - Detroit, MI - St. Andrews Hall*
4 - Columbus, OH - Newport Music Hall*
5 - McKees Rocks, PA - Roxian Theater*
7 - Worcester, MA - The Palladium*
8 - Huntington, NY - The Paramount*
10 - New York, NY - Irving Plaza*
11 - Baltimore, MD - Baltimore Soundstage*
12 - Charlotte, NC - The Underground*
14 - Nashville, TN - Brooklyn Bowl*
15 - Atlanta, GA - Heaven at Masquerade*
16 - St. Petersburg, FL - Jannus Landing*

* Queensrÿche date
# Headline date

Friedman released Tokyo Jukebox 3 via The Players Club / Mascot Label Group in April 2021. The record is the third in a series that began with Tokyo Jukebox in 2009, and then Tokyo Jukebox 2 following in 2011.

Tracklisting:

"Makenaide"
"Senbonzakura"
"Gurenge"
"Kaze Ga Fuiteiru"
"Echo"
"The Perfect World" (feat. Alfakyun)
"U.S.A."
"Shukumei"
"Ikuze Kaitou-Shoujo"
"Sazanka"
"Time Goes By"
"Japan Heritage Official Theme Song"

"Makenaide" video:

"The Perfect World" video:

"Kaze Ga Fuiteiru"