Roy Orbison and Buddy Holly will be the stars of an upcoming hologram show.
The high-tech digital process that in 2018 enabled an eerily lifelike Orbison image to appear on stages, backed by live musicians and singers, will now pair him with the other iconic rock pioneer from Texas.
Base Hologram, which produced the Orbison show, has announced a Rock ‘N’ Roll Dreams Tour for this fall. More than 40 dates are on tap, beginning September 19th in San Francisco.
Unlike Orbison, who lived into the late '80s and experienced a career resurgence with the filmed all-star concert A Black and White Night, most people have only seen Holly in grainy black-and-white footage on TV. The hologram Holly, set in 1957, when "That'll Be the Day" made him a star, is colorized and remarkably lifelike.
Base CEO Brian Becker tells Rolling Stone, "This was when Buddy was in his prime, where he was on top of the charts and charming audiences across the country with his catchy tracks and trademark ‘geek chic’ look... What people may not have realized is most of the color shots of him had been retouched over the years and the video is in grainy black and white,” he continued. “What you are going to see here is true Buddy at his finest and exactly how he would have looked if you saw him on tour."
Holly's widow Maria Elena approves of pairing Buddy with Roy as "Texans who shared a mutual respect and admiration for each other’s creative musical genius and brilliant songwriting abilities."