The first rock-focused concert by Ritchie Blackmore in nearly two decades has apparently been confirmed. The former Deep Purple and Rainbow leader will play June 18, 2016 at the Monsters of Rock festival in Bietigheim-Bissingen, Germany, according to SWP.de.

Blackmore has said he intended to put on as many as five shows devoted to material from Deep Purple and Rainbow next year in Europe. He hasn't yet said who will be part of this new backing band – though they reportedly won't be figures from his former band's earlier lineups.

"I'm now 70, so I just felt like playing some rock 'n' roll for a few days," Blackmore told Billboard. "We're going to do four or five dates of just playing the old rock stuff, Purple stuff and Rainbow. I'm doing it for the fans, for nostalgia, and the singer I found is very exciting. He's a cross between [former Rainbow frontman Ronnie James] Dio meets Freddie Mercury. So, this will mean exposing a new singer to the masses, and I'm sure he'll become pretty famous because of his voice."

Monsters of Rock tickets go on sale Nov. 6, SWP.de reports. Blackmore hasn't played rock music since 1997, when he formed the medieval folk band Blackmore's Night with his wife Candice Night. They've since issued nine studio albums, including the current release All Our Yesterdays, which arrived in September.

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