originally published: 04/27/2025
The Ultimate Queen Celebration featuring Yvan Pedneault. Photo by Veronyc Vachon
(NEWTON, NJ) -- The Ultimate Queen Celebration comes to The Newton Theatre on Friday, July 18, 2025. The band features vocalist Yvan Pedneault (endorsed by Queen) and backed by some of the finest musicians on the scene who have toured with the likes of Trans-Siberian Orchestra, Rock of Ages, Cher and more. Doors are at 7:00pm, showtime is 8:00pm.
This thrilling production once again brings to life Queen’s greatest hits such as Radio Gaga, Tie Your Mother Down, Fat Bottomed Girls, Killer Queen, Somebody to Love, Bohemian Rhapsody and more bringing audiences to their feet.
Tickets range from $58 - $80 and are available for purchase online. The Newton Theatre is located at 234 Spring Street in Newton, New Jersey.
This incredible concert produced by Paul Horton and Quinn Lemley has been touring to packed on your feet audiences around the world for the past 8 years. The band includes Yvan Pedneault, MiG Ayesa, Angus Clark, Nico Sleator, Steve Renko, Ray Cetta, Bob Wegner, and Mark Klett.
When Brian May of Queen says “He’s the kind of performer you dream of finding,” and Roger Taylor of Queen says, “fantastic, magnetic!” You know it’s going to be a good show. If you are looking for the best Queen tribute band on the market, The Ultimate Queen Celebration is simply the best.
Yvan Pedneault is a natural choice to be a part of UQC. Yvan was 25 when rock legends Brian May and Roger Taylor, members of the iconic band Queen selected him to play the lead role of Galileo in their Canadian production of We Will Rock You. It was a smash hit rock musical that was performed nearly 800 times in front of over 1 million theatre-goers over the course of its two and a half year run in Toronto. In the spring of 2007, Pedneault was nominated for the “Outstanding Performance by a Male in a Principal Role” at the 28th Annual Dora Mavor Moore Awards for his work in We Will Rock You. Yvan went on to land parts in major projects between 2010 and 2014. He landed the starring role of Drew in the Mirvish production of Rock Of Ages in Toronto. His next venture brought him back to his love of QUEEN, where he was chosen to be a part of the first North-American tour of Queen Extravaganza. This was followed with his next leading role with the touring company of Notre-Dame-de-Paris, where he travelled to 8 different countries in Eastern Europe as well as Asia, as he sang his role of Phoebus in both English and French. In 2016, Yvan made his way to the finals of the very popular televised singing contest, La Voix (Quebec’s adaptation of The Voice) as the finalist from Team Marc Dupré. Yvan is currently taking part in a British musical tribute called The Britshow.
Mig Ayesa star of Broadway and The West End played “Galileo Figaro” in three tours of Queen’s We Will Rock You internationally & Queen Symphonic Spectacular which sold out the Sydney Opera House. Brian May said, “MiG is one of the only singers who are in that select league who can actually DO the stuff we do …:”
MiG attended St. Patrick's College, Strathfield and went on to study communications at Macquarie University, Sydney. During this time MiG was also a singer/songwriter forming several bands, as he pursued his life-long dream of becoming a recording artist.
Angus Clark is a guitarist, singer, songwriter, and producer. Guitarist for Cher, Trans-Siberian Orchestra, Ultimate Queen Celebration and others. He has toured with the internationally renowned and Grammy-winning New Age artist Kitaro, as well as with the hard rock acts Drill and Naked Sun, and is currently touring with the Trans-Siberian Orchestra and DareDevil Squadron. Clark is also an on-stage guitarist with the fictional 1980s rock band Arsenal in the Broadway musical Rock of Ages. His stage performance on the Kitaro 1999 concert DVD "An Enchanted Evening" clearly demonstrates his unique talent and skill. IE: Kokoro. His first solo album, "Grace Period", was released in 2004.
Nico Sleator (keys, piano, musical director) is a New York based pianist, producer, composer, DJ, musical director, and educator coming from a background of classical, jazz, rock, and electronic music. At the age of 20, he toured stadiums across America and Canada opening for Marylyn Manson and Rob Zombie with modern emo rock band Palaye Royale. Nico has also performed at various festivals like Vans Warped Tour and Elements Festival with his own band The Living Strange. He has recently started releasing his own original electronic music, combining Drum’n’Bass, UK Garage and Trance with his own distinct piano style. Alongside his numerous projects, Nico is also an official Steinway partnered piano teacher.
Born and raised in Pittsburgh PA, Nico has been studying classical piano since the age of 7, and has been named a Steinway young artist at the age of 13. He then began to study jazz and taught himself music production, inspired by artists like Bill Evans, Porter Robinson, Chopin and Skrillex. After playing in many different musical groups at a young age, he found himself playing rock, jazz, classical, and electronic music back to back. Since then, he has played venues from Lincoln Center and Arthur Ashe Stadium in New York City to La Place Vendôme in Paris, and a generous amount of arenas across America and Canada. His work has also been mentioned in magazines like The Fader and the Pittsburgh Post Gazzette. He recently graduated from The New School for Jazz with a BFA for Jazz Piano Performance, and works as a freelance keyboard player, producer, DJ, and music teacher in New York city.
Steve Renko (drums) is a Cleveland-based, award-winning drummer and percussionist. A widely sought sideman with Jazz, Blues, Rock and Funk outfits. Holding a bachelor’s degree from the New School for Jazz in New York. He has studied with world renowned musicians like Bobby Sanabria, Matt Wilson, Jamey Haddad, and The Clayton Brothers. A regular in the recording studio. Steve has worked with acclaimed songwriters and producers in NYC and across North America.
Ray Cetta (bass) has performed at major venues from Carnegie Hall and Jazz at Lincoln Center, to renowned clubs including The Bitter End and Le Poisson Rouge. He also is an in-demand sousaphone player, holding down the tuba chair in the widely acclaimed High and Mighty Brass Band. Ray is equally at home in front of ensembles, enjoying an accomplished career as a composer. He has written for a huge variety of performing groups, and his music appeared on the NBC Sports 2012 Summer Olympic broadcast.
Bob Wegner (guitar) is a professional musician with 20 years of experience playing in theatres, on the road, and in the studio. In 2006 he was selected by Queen's Brian May and Roger Taylor to play guitar in the Toronto production of the We Will Rock You musical, ultimately leading to about 1,200 performances in various incarnations of the show around the world. He has since performed with Classic Albums Live and a number of tribute bands, and done hundreds of solo acoustic guitar shows on dry land and cruise ships. His playing has also been heard on ad jingles and in films such as "In Saturn's Rings" and the award-winning "Touch." Bob's debut solo album "Changing Of The Guard" was released in 2017, with influences spanning from baroque to 1960s British folk.
Mark Klett is a piano and guitar player from Las Cruces, New Mexico. He started playing piano at the age of five and guitar at age 17. After attending NMSU for a few years studying Mechanical Engineering, he decided to pursue a career in music instead. In New Mexico, he was very in-demand as an accompanist. He worked with high school choirs, university choirs, university theater, and community theater. He also was a music director at a church, did private student teaching, and played in bands as well as a solo performer. After over a decade-long career in NM, he decided to relocate to New York City, where he now has a steady array of gig-work including ballet accompaniment, choir accompaniment, band work and audio production. He is a classically trained musician but a lover of all styles of music. In addition to making a living as a professional musician performing with a wide variety of acts, he enjoys making piano and guitar arrangements for his YouTube channel where he has over 6.5 million views and over 25,000 subscribers and can bring all of his musical experiences together to make new and exciting arrangements of his favorite music.
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