Marc Martel evokes Freddie Mercury as he brings the Ultimate Queen show to Indian Ranch

Marc Martel was a singer in a Canadian Christian rock band named downhere when the bassist pointed out something that others had noticed as well:

When he sings, Martel's voice has an uncanny resemblance to the late, great Freddie Mercury of the beloved British rock band, Queen. That's quite a compliment given that the legendary Mercury (1946-1991) reputedly had a four octave range with a voice described as "escalating within a few bars from a deep, throaty rock-growl to tender, vibrant tenor, then on to a high-pitched, perfect coloratura, pure and crystalline in the upper reaches."

Martel wasn't really all that familiar with Queen at the time, but "I would learn a lot by listening to the music," he said. "It is definitely the most challenging material that I've sung, and I've definitely become a better singer because of it."

Martel now sings in a different band, Ultimate Queen Celebration Starring Marc Martel, which will revisit Queen classics and deeper cuts (and more) in a show at Indian Ranch in Webster at 1 p.m. Sept. 4.

“Bohemian Rhapsody,” "We Will Rock You,” “We Are The Champions,” "Another One Bites The Dust,” “Under Pressure,” “Somebody To Love” and “Crazy Little Thing Called Love” are likely all part of the set list.

Queen represented a bit of a shock to rock and pop when it started out in England in the 1970s with its almost operatic style. Nothing quite like it had been heard before, or has been since. 

But there is Martel's voice.

The Ultimate Queen Celebration show has great production values and visuals, but the band won't be dressed up like Queen. "We're all about the music," Martel said during a recent telephone interview.

"But at the same time you're not  going to hear anything that's closer to the music anywhere else."

The makers of the 2018 movie "Bohemian Rhapsody" noticed Martel's vocal similarities to Mercury as well, bringing on Martel to sing parts at Abbey Road studios in London that tapes of Mercury could not be matched up to.

Martel grew up as a son of a church pastor father and church choir director mother in Montreal. In college he became a member of downhere, as the band was stylized, which had some success and relocated to Nashville — where Martel still lives, now with his, wife, Crystal Martel.

In his mid-teens Martel had seen the opening scene of the movie "Wayne's World," which features the Queen masterpiece "Bohemian Rhapsody," but "I didn't even realize there was band called Queen," he said. Indeed, in Montreal, "I didn't even know anyone who was a professional musician."

In developing his own singing voice, Martel had in mind Eddie Vedder of Pearl Jam. But, "When I listened to Queen I started to develop what I had naturally," Martel said.    

He had discovered somebody to love.

"The fact that you can  fill up two whole hours with greatest hits, it's hard not to love that … It was just a treasure trove of accessible music that's really hard to play. Second only to the Beatles, in my opinion, in terms of the work they were able to crank out in such a short period of time," he said. 

Downhere "worked, we like to say, longer than a band with our level of success should have. We lasted for about 13 years," Martel said. By 2013 the band been wrapped up.

Martel also writes and performs his own music, and has released several Christmas albums and EPs.

Meanwhile, in 2011, encouraged and prodded by friends, Martel entered a competition launched by Queen original drummer Roger Taylor to join an official Queen  tribute project, the Queen Extravaganza.

Martel uploaded a video of himself singing Queen's "Somebody to Love" and the soaring vocals quickly generated more than one million views on YouTube. Martel not only won a spot as the lead singer on Queen Extravaganza but also appeared on The Ellen DeGeneres Show. Queen Extravaganza made its debut in 2012, ahead of its first tour as guests on "American Idol."

Taylor remarked to the Daily Record: “That voice. You listen, close your eyes and you think it’s Freddie. It’s really uncanny.” 

Martel has toured with Queen Extravaganza, and, in 2017, he also  started The Ultimate Queen Celebration. Both shows have toured all over the world.

Besides the classic hits, in the Ultimate Queen Celebration Martel explores another aspect of Mercury that fits in with the often operatic nature of Queen. “Near the end of Freddie’s life, he explored other styles of music beyond rock, including opera, so with that in mind, the show also includes a segment of familiar songs in the flavor of what they might have sounded like had Freddie ever gotten the chance to sing them,” Martel said. “For instance, I perform ‘Ave Maria’ by myself on piano and also the great opera aria ‘Nessun Dorma’ in the style of Freddie, so it gives the night some imaginative elements in the spirit of Queen, rather than strictly the letter of Queen. You could call it a greatest hits show with a twist where I get to explore other things that I wish Freddie could have recorded himself and wonder what could have been.”

The Academy Award-winning 2018 film "Bohemian Rhapsody" tells the story of Queen and Mercury leading up to their famous performance at Live Aid in 1985. Rami Malek (Oscar for Best Actor) plays Mercury, but as he told The New York Times, “No one wants to hear me sing.” 

Film producer Graham King said in a Rolling Stone interview that Mercury's singing vocals came from either Queen master tapes or new recordings by Martel. "Literally, you could close your eyes and it's Freddie," King said. 

"It was an amazing ride to be part of that," Martel said of the experience. "I got to see how a movie's made, brush elbows with really talented people, and be part of the whole thing."

It "definitely didn't hurt" his career, either.

Particularly as a Queen tribute singer in America.

Queen has always been more popular in Great Britain, Europe and other parts world-wide than in the United States, Martel noted.

"England is probably my favorite place to perform Queen. The Brits are mad about Queen, that's for sure," he said.   

"I would say the United States lags behind every other country I have performed in. In the 1970s American music was saturated with many talented acts." Also, the classical operatic style might not have been to everyone's taste here.

However, the success of the movie "Bohemian Rhapsody" might have changed things.

"Now it's funny to see people catching on to this music that's about 40 years old," Martel said. "I think the move 'Bohemian  Rhapsody' put  the band up front and center. It's interesting, you can see up front which songs people  know."

For the Queen song “Radio Ga Ga,” international audiences will do raised arm handclaps unprompted, but here it is a different story, Martel observed.

 Still, when the Ultimate Queen Celebration is onstage, "We're simply being ourselves," he said. So no one has to copy.

"I've never donned the yellow jacket (Mercury's iconic stage costume). That's a stipulation Roger Taylor had for his band."    

Asked if he would have left Nashville were it not for the Queen shows, Martel said, "I don't think so. I think I would have stayed in Nashville. I had just got married two years prior. My wife and I really loved Nashville."

Martel mostly recently performed in Massachusetts in 2019 in a Queen celebration with with the Boston Pops at Tanglewood. 

The pandemic shut down Martel's touring for a while. "You know what, I got to wake up in my own bed and it was really nice. We were able to make it work with the technology available now, taking some vocal recording jobs. I got to see my wife quite a bit, and work around the house."  

But back on the road, "it's going awesome," Martel said. "Awesome to see how essential live music is to people. To  see the look of elation on their faces confirms how important art is, live art is. We're glad to be back on the road."

Regarding how long he can keep performing Queen shows, Martel said, "Time will tell. Right now there doesn't   seem to be any sign of slowing down. The world still seems to have an insatiable appetite for Queen."   

On the other hand he does enjoy writing his own material, and he will have more Christmas songs to put out his year, he said.    

"There's so many levels of just being thankful that I've been able to perform for a living and perform some of the most beloved songs in rock and roll," Martel said.

What: The Ultimate Queen Celebration starring Marc Martel

When: 1 p.m. (doors 11:30 a.m.) Sept. 4

Where: Indian Ranch, 200 Gore Road, Webster

How much: $15 to $55.50. www.indianranch.com