MARTY FRIEDMAN: First European Concert Tour in Twelve Years

Tickets available HERE

Right after celebrating his upcoming Latin American shows with his latest single “2 Rebeldes (Spanish Vocal)”, the enigmatic guitar legend and Japanese pop culture phenomenon Marty Friedman finally announces his return to European and UK stages in April 2027.

Soon, a 12-year absence will finally be over, when Marty makes his long-awaited return in peak shape to bring the unique musical vision he recorded with “Drama” to life in its most irresistible and addictive form: as spectacular live performances that will see his guitars whisper, scream, weep and rejoice for his loyal fans and all guitar aficionados that decide to come along for the ride. With this stage-proven band of passionate performers, one thing is certain – European audiences will immerse themselves in an inspiring, uplifting musical experience that will stay with them forever or as Marty himself puts it: “The EU/UK ‘Live Drama in Europe’ tour is a must-see for music fans of all ages and types, as well as the most discriminating grade of guitar lovers. Prepare to find out how much fun a little ‘Drama’ can be.”

Following an intense intermezzo of ten shows in South America to fully relive his ground-breaking 1992 album “Scenes” live this November as part of the “Scenes – 34th Anniversary Tour”, and stops at the Hero Rock Festival in Korea in December as well as two more shows in Los Angeles on January 28 and 29, it’s time for his latest work “Drama” to receive its well-earned place in the spotlights for European concert goers.

Almost three years after its release in May 2024, the old continent can expect nothing short of spectacular, as Marty and his exceptionally skilled Japanese band have been touring and bringing out everything this incredibly multifaceted, moving album has to offer on stage – captivating audiences all across the globe night after night ever since its launch.

Fans who dedicated their own musical journey to exploring and finding the unexpected, the extravagant, and the exceptional in rock, metal, soundtrack and neo-classical music might very well be familiar with Marty’s numerous forays into a variety of genres, bands, and productions to date; his guest appearances on the latest albums by Rodrigo y Gabriela and Worm alone are enough to give a sense of the iconic guitarist’s wide-ranging interests and his expansive musical versatility. In Marty Friedman’s musical universe, no one is judged based on the genre they work in, but rather on their own vision and how they bring it to life. 

With “Drama”, a circle closes and the seasoned composer and performer meets his younger self. Stepping away from his heavy-hitting, vivid “Tokyo Jukebox” series of records for the moment, Marty returns to the atmospherically dense ways that he once started on his critically acclaimed second album “Scenes”. 34 years later, he has evolved his composing along with the original vision to a whole new level of storytelling, making “Drama” play out its magic like an adventurous journey that takes you to places you’ve never been and lets you feel things that you’ve never felt, covering an intense range of emotions like only a true epos could.

Genres don't collide on “Drama”. They don't even exist anymore, as Marty carefully aligns their intrinsic means of expression, their varying degrees of intensity, their artistic methods and the anchor points that we seek, find and love in them, unifying them all through his own signature sound in one decisive moment in time and space for us. Find out when and where here:

“Live Drama in Europe 2027” Tour

April 4 – Zoetermeer, NL – Boerderij
April 5 – Paris, FR – Petit Bain
April 6 – London, UK – Underworld
April 8 – Aschaffenburg, GER – Colos-Saal
April 9 – Zurich, CH – Plaza
April 10 – Milan, IT – Legend Club
April 13 – Athens, GR – Kyttaro
April 14 – Thessaloniki, GR – Eightball Club
April 15 – Sofia, BG – Vidas Art Arena
April 16 – Bucharest, RO – Quantic Club
April 18 – Zlin, CZ – Master Rock Café
April 19 – Budapest, HU – Durer Kert
April 20 – Krakow, PL – Hype Park
April 22 – Ankara, TR – Soldout Ankara
April 23 – Istanbul, TR – If Besiktas

Don’t forget to secure your ticket here.

About Marty Friedman

Marty Friedman’s exceptional career started alongside Jason Becker’s when they founded Cacophony and released two highly rated albums together before Marty joined Megadeth in 1990, where his guitar play thrilled metal fans around the world on albums such as “Rust In Peace” and “Countdown To Extinction”. Reaching music lovers far beyond the borders of the band’s own genre, he contributed massively to Megadeth’s international standing that came to fruition throughout the ‘90s.

Being fascinated and partially driven by Japanese culture, Marty has lived in Tokyo since 2003 where he not only managed to enter several segments of the country’s cultural scene across music, film, and books, but also became a household name that his new fellow countrymen speak of with great respect and goodwill today – an achievement that is almost impossible to reach as a foreigner in this culturally rich, proud country.

In his roughly two decades in the land of the rising sun, he appeared in over 900 TV shows, four motion pictures, and countless commercials in Japan. A string of 15 highly successful solo albums that started in 1988 with “Dragon’s Kiss” and is far from over today also incorporates “Tokyo Jukebox”, a trilogy of records that interprets music of Japanese origin for a world-wide audience. Taking these songs out on the road saw Marty naturally evolve into the role of a cultural ambassador: “I've been playing stuff from the first two 'Jukebox' albums live all over the world, and it's taken on a life of its own, especially in places like North and South America, Australia, Italy, France and even India, of all places. My fanbase is very dedicated, and what I have found is that lots of new fans have been introduced to Japanese music and culture through me, which is very gratifying. On the tours it seems like aside from the dedicated guitar fans, the Japan fanatics have been noticeably growing.”

Acknowledging his life-long passion and dedication, the Japanese government appointed him an Ambassador of Japan Heritage – effectively putting a title to everything Marty had committed his life to as both a person and an artist. 

Consequently, he has been performing at the opening ceremony of the Tokyo Marathon four times in a row, along with further performances at the Paralympics. Building on his achievements, he even got commissioned by the Japanese Government to compose the “Japan Heritage Theme Song” – an anthem that got recorded by the Tokyo Philharmonic Orchestra to be played at official governmental events. The guitarist, who is fluent in Japanese, also wrote and released two best-selling books in this language that not many westerners can claim to fully comprehend, and got honoured in a book chronicling his musical life and analyzing his playing style that Young Guitar has recently released. Becoming an author himself put him in the right position to give seminars around the world on the benefits of learning a second language. 
With several Top Ten hits in Japan alone, Marty Friedman looks back on seven Grammy nominations, 27 Gold and Platinum records, and over 10 million records sold. He’s toured the world multiple times, played with top tier symphony orchestras all over Japan, and rocked every major Japanese venue more than once.

Marty Friedman online

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