One of heavy metal’s all-time greats, Judas Priest, will finally get the opportunity to celebrate their 50th anniversary this year with the launch of a North American tour this fall. The 50 Heavy Metal Years Tour will also feature Sabaton as openers and is being fueled by the highest charting album of Priest’s career, ‘Firepower,’ which peaked at #5 on the Billboard 200.
Produced by Live Nation, the North American tour – which will run throughout September (kicking off on September 8th in Reading, PA) and November (concluding on November 5th in Hamilton, Ontario), will feature a variety of special effects, which will undoubtedly enhance the might of Priest’s metal.
Tickets for the newly announced dates will go on sale beginning this Friday, June 11th at 10am local time at Ticketmaster.com. Tickets for the previously announced tour dates are available now.
Judas Priest originally formed in 1970 in Birmingham, England (an area that many feel birthed heavy metal). The original nucleus of musicians would go on to change the face of heavy metal. Throughout the 70’s Priest were responsible for helping trail blaze metal with such classic offerings as ‘Sad Wings of Destiny’ (1976) ‘Sin After Sin’ (1977) and ‘Hell Bent for Leather’ (1978) as well as one of the genre’s top live recordings ‘Unleashed in the East’ (1979) among others.
It was during the 80’s that Priest conquered the world, becoming a global arena headliner on the strength of such all-time classics as ‘British Steel’ (1980) and ‘Screaming for Vengeance’ (1982), as well as being one of the first metal bands to be embraced by the then-burgeoning MTV, plus performing at some of the decades biggest concerts (1980’s Monsters of Rock, 1983’s US Festival, and 1985’s Live Aid) and being the first to exclusively wear leather and studs – a look that began during this era and would eventually be embraced by metal heads throughout the world. Priest’s success continued throughout the 90’s and beyond with the addition of drummer Scott Travis, as evidenced by such additional stellar offerings as ‘Painkiller’ (1990) ‘Angel of Retribution’ (2005) and ‘A Touch of Evil: Live’ (2009) the latter of which saw Priest win a Grammy Award for a killer rendition of the classic ‘Dissident Aggressor’
In 2011 new guitarist Richie Faulkner came in to replace the previous guitarist who had left in 2010 – the move seemed to have reinvigorated the band, as evidenced by a show-stealing performance on the ‘American Idol’ TV program that also served as Faulkner’s debut performance with the band (also in 2011 was the release of a new compilation ‘The Chosen Few’ which included Priest classics selected by some of metal’s biggest names) and the ‘Epitaph’ concert DVD in 2013.
Priest’s next studio effort would arrive in 2014 ‘Redeemer of Souls’ which was supported by another strong tour. In 2017 (and again in 2019) Judas Priest received a nomination for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and got ready to unleash their latest studio album ‘Firepower’ (produced by Andy Sneap and Tom Allom) which received global success and critical acclaim. In 2020, a fully official and authorized photographic book, ‘Judas Priest: 50 Heavy Metal Years,’ was issued.
Few rock or metal acts remain as much of a must-see live attraction as Judas Priest. Having been forced off the road for over a year, Priest will soon make a most-welcomed return to metalheads coast to coast, with the 50 Heavy Metal Years Tour.
CONFIRMED TOUR DATES:
9/8/2021 Reading PA Santander Arena*
9/9/2021 Virginia Beach VA Veterans United Home Loans Amphitheater*+
9/11/2021 Orlando FL Central Florida Fairgrounds^#
9/13/2021 Charlotte NC PNC Music Pavilion
9/14/2021 Raleigh NC Red Hat Amphitheater*
9/16/2021 Grand Rapids MI Van Andel Arena*
9/17/2021 Youngstown OH Covelli Centre^
9/19/2021 Detroit MI Fox Theatre*
9/20/2021 Rosemont IL Rosemont Theatre*
9/22/2021 Milwaukee WI Miller High Life Theatre^
9/23/2021 Minneapolis MN The Armory*
9/25/2021 Maryland Heights MO Saint Louis Music Park
9/26/2021 Louisville KY Louder Than Life Festival^#
9/29/2021 Denver CO The Mission Ballroom^
9/30/2021 West Valley City UT Maverik Center*
10/2/2021 Everett WA Angel Of The Winds Arena*
10/3/2021 Portland OR Moda Center*
10/5/2021 Oakland CA Fox Theater^
10/6/2021 Los Angeles CA Microsoft Theater^
10/8/2021 Las Vegas NV Zappos Theater at Planet Hollywood
10/9/2021 Phoenix AZ Arizona Federal Theatre
10/12/2021 San Antonio TX Freeman Coliseum^
10/13/2021 Cedar Park TX HEB Center Cedar Park^
10/15/2021 Irving TX The Pavilion at Toyota Music Factory
10/16/2021 Oklahoma City OK The Zoo Amphitheatre^
10/19/2021 Independence MO Cable Dahmer Arena*
10/21/2021 Nashville TN Nashville Municipal Auditorium*
10/22/2021 Alpharetta GA Ameris Bank Amphitheatre*
10/24/2021 Charleston WV Charleston Civic Center Coliseum*
10/25/2021 Philadelphia PA The Met*
10/27/2021 Newark NJ Prudential Center*
10/28/2021 Oxon Hill MD The Theater at MGM National Harbor
10/30/2021 Mashantucket CT Foxwoods Resort Casino – Grand Theater^
10/31/2021 Lowell MA Tsongas Center At UMass Lowell*
11/2/2021 Halifax NS Scotiabank Centre*
11/4/2021 Laval QC Place Bell*
11/5/2021 Hamilton ON FirstOntario Centre*
* new show
^ not a Live Nation event
# festival date
+ Sabaton not support on this date; support is TBD
