Brian May invites Steve Vai to Starmus festival

Steve Vai
Steve Vai

Brian May has announced he won’t be playing this year’s Starmus festival – but has confirmed that Steve Vai will take to the stage in his absence.

May has performed at the festival for its first three years, but his touring commitments mean he’s had to miss this year.

But as a member of the festival’s advisory board, May has invited Vai to headline the event, which will take place on June 18 - 23 at Trondheim, Norway.

And the guitar maestro is bringing his own special guests Nuno Bettencourt, Devin Townsend and Grace Potter with him for the occasion.

May says: “Gutted I can’t be at Starmus this year… but I will be there in spirit. And Steve Vai and his very special guests will keep the flame burning.”

The Starmus festival celebrates science and the arts “with the goal of bringing an understanding and appreciation of science to the public at large.”

This year’s event will feature scientists, artists, musicians, writers and business leaders for live music, talks, debates and more.

Tickets are available directly through the festival website, while a trailer for Starmus 2017 can be seen below.

Tangerine Dream & Brian May: Starmus – Sonic Universe

Scott Munro
Louder e-commerce editor

Scott has spent more than 30 years in newspapers, magazines and online as an editor, production editor, sub-editor, designer, writer and reviewer. Scott joined our news desk in the summer of 2014 before moving to the e-commerce team in 2020. Scott maintains Louder’s buyer’s guides, scouts out the best deals for music fans and reviews headphones, speakers, books and more. He's written more than 11,000 articles across Louder, Classic Rock, Metal Hammer and Prog and has previous written for publications including IGN, the Sunday Mirror, Daily Record and The Herald, covering everything from daily news and weekly features, to video games, travel and whisky. Scott's favourite bands are Fields Of The Nephilim, The Cure, New Model Army, All About Eve, The Mission, Cocteau Twins, Drab Majesty, Marillion and Rush.