Patsy Cline to Return as Hologram in Interactive Concert
UPDATE: An earlier version of this story mistakenly indicated that Hologram USA was responsible for the Tupac Shakur hologram at the Coachella Music Valley and Arts Festival in 2012. Our sincere apologies to Digital Domain Media Group and AV Concepts, who created the Shakur hologram. This story has been corrected.
Fifty-two years after her death, Patsy Cline is hitting the stage once again — this time as a hologram.
Although details are still scarce, the Cline hologram will be unveiled next year as part of an interactive concert that will feature both “live” performance and commentary. Hologram USA, the company that employs technology similar the kind used to bring Tupac Shakur back to life at 2012’s Coachella, will oversee the project. While Buddy Holly and Liberace are also slated to receive the holographic treatment in the coming years, Cline will be the company’s very first female subject, as well as its first country star.
So far, most holographic projects have been short, one-off events. Tupac’s hologram (which was created by Digital Domain Media Group, in conjunction with AV Concepts) rapped alongside Dr. Dre and Snoop Dogg for five minutes at Coachella; Elvis Presley’s hologram duetted with Celine Dion during a 2007 episode of American Idol; and Michael Jackson’s 3D likeness made an onstage appearance during the 2014 Billboard Music Awards. Announced as a “full concert experience,” the Patsy Cline project may prove to be one of the longest holographic shows in history. The Liberace hologram may give Cline a run for her money, though, with a full-scale holographic tour reportedly in the works.
Charlie Dick, who married Cline in 1957 and helps manage her estate, approves of the project. “We are very glad to share Patsy and her music with this new technology and format and honored by Hologram USA’s choice to have her as the first [country hologram],” he wrote in a statement. “I am sure her fans, old and new, will be thrilled.”
Cline, country’s seminal female artist, is best known for hits like “Walking After Midnight,” “I Fall to Pieces” and “Crazy,” written by Willie Nelson. She died in 1963 in a plane crash at age 30, en route back to Nashville from a performance in Kansas City, Kansas.