Metallica headlining 5 fests in ’20
Metallica plans to headline five hard rock music festivals in 2020, the group has announced — the only live dates the Bay Area metal icons are scheduled to play next year.
In an exclusive agreement with Danny Wimmer Presents, Metallica is slated to perform two separate headlining sets in Charlotte, N.C., on May 13; Welcome to Rockville in Daytona Beach, Fla., on May 810; Sonic Temple Art + Music Festival in Columbus, Ohio, on May 1517; Louder Than Life at Highland Festival Grounds in Louisville, Ky., on Sept. 1820; and Aftershock at Discovery Park in Sacramento on Oct. 911, 2020.
The band will close Friday
and Sunday of each festival, performing different sets each night.
“This is something we haven’t done before,” drummer Lars Ulrich said during a news conference announcing the Metallica XX shows Thursday. “How awesome is it that 38 years into a career you can find new challenges, new mountains to climb? We’re really looking forward to next year.”
He was the only member of the band present, along with promoter Wimmer.
Tickets for all the events were released Thursday to Metallica fan club members and for past purchasers of tickets for Danny Wimmer Presents events. General ticket sales begin 9 a.m. Monday, Oct. 14, at www.metal licaxx.com.
On Sept. 27, Metallica announced that frontman James Hetfield had entered rehab, forcing the band to cancel its “WorldWired” tour dates in Australia and New Zealand. Earlier that month, Metallica played a pair of shows with the San Francisco Symphony, called “S&M2,” to mark the grand opening of Chase Center, the new home of the Golden State Warriors in San Francisco’s Mission Bay neighborhood.
Hetfield was not present for the the news conference, and band members did not address the issue. But Ulrich added that Metallica hopes to someday be the first band to play in space and that guitarist Kirk Hammett was in contact with Elon Musk.
“If you can figure out a way to make it work in space, I’ll f—ing be there,” he said.