Emerson, Lake & Palmer to return (sort of)

Touring hologram shows, in which a dead musician is “resurrected” on the concert stage, tend to malfunction or, in most cases, get canceled before they leave the laboratory stage. When they work, they’re generally pretty cheesey.

Carl Palmer, the sole surviving member of 1970s prog rock supergroup Emerson, Lake & Palmer, is going a different route with an upcoming world tour. Palmer, the trio’s drummer, will be “joined” onstage by large-screen projected footage of Keith Emerson and Greg Lake, both of whom died in 2016.

The footage of Emerson (the brilliant keyboard wizard who anchored all ELP music) and Lake (vocals, guitar, bass) comes from a 1992 reunion concert at London’s Royal Albert Hall.

Palmer (very much alive) and two “side musicians” will augment the sound. “This is not a tribute act – This is the real thing,” reads the media release announcing the new venture. “Through modern technology, they will reunite the band.”

The show has been booked into Clearwater’s Rutrh Eckerd Hall Feb. 23, 2024. Tickets go on sale Friday.