Benson Boone channels inner Mercury at Coachella

Brian May and Benson Boone; Kevin Mazur/Getty Images for Coachella

April 16, 2025 at 8:44 am CDT

One of the watershed moments of live music history was Queen at Live Aid. The return of Queen, the power and majesty of Freddie Mercury controlling the crowd. It was just this side of magic. Now, there is no single vocal force that match that but, it’s closest competition came oddly enough from a former American Idol named Benson Boone. He conjured the spirit of Freddie and summoned the spectral manifestation of one Brian May to once again remind us that legends never die.

Jake "Tank" Mitchell

If you asked Tank why he got in to radio he will tell you “Some kids wanted to be Zach Morris. I wanted to be ‘Dr’ Johnny Fever.” There isn’t anything else in the world that Tank could see himself doing.