UPDATE #2 (2/26 9:51 AM) – The complete North American itinerary for the Metallica tour 2018 and 2019 has been confirmed by the band. We got about 98% of the cities and venues correct 🙂 Ticket info can be found here. The full list of dates and venues is below:
September 2, 2018: Madison, WI (Kohl Center)
September 4, 2018: Minneapolis, MN (Target Center)
September 6, 2018: Lincoln, NE (Pinnacle Bank Arena)
September 8, 2018: Grand Forks, ND (Alerus Center)
September 11, 2018: Sioux Falls, SD (Premier Center)
September 13, 2018: Winnipeg, MB, Canada (Bell MTS Place)
September 15, 2018: Saskatoon, SK, Canada (Sasktel Centre)
October 16, 2018: Milwaukee, WI (Wisconsin Entertainment and Sports Center)
October 18, 2018: Pittsburgh, PA (PPG Paints Arena)
October 20, 2018: State College, PA (Bryce Jordan Center)
October 22, 2018: Charlotte, NC (Spectrum Center)
October 27, 2018: Buffalo, NY (Keybank Center)
October 29, 2018: Albany, NY (Times Union Center)
November 26, 2018: Las Vegas, NV (T-Mobile Arena)
November 28, 2018: Boise, ID (Taco Bell Arena)
November 30, 2018: Salt Lake City, UT (Vivint Arena)
December 2, 2018: Spokane, WA (Spokane Arena)
December 5, 2018: Portland, OR (Moda Center)
December 7, 2018: Sacramento, CA (Golden 1 Center)
December 8, 2018: Fresno, CA (Save Mart Center)
January 18, 2019: Tulsa, OK (BOK Center)
January 20, 2019: Little Rock, AR (Verizon Arena)
January 22, 2019: Birmingham AL (Legacy Arena)
January 24, 2019: Nashville, TN (Bridgestone Arena)
January 28, 2019: Raleigh, NC (PNC Arena)
January 30, 2019: Cincinnati, OH (US Bank Arena)
February 1, 2019: Cleveland, OH (Quicken Loans Arena)
February 28, 2019: El Paso, TX (Don Haskins Center)
March 2, 2019: Lubbock, TX (United Supermarkets Arena)
March 4, 2019: Wichita, KS (Intrust Bank Arena)
March 6, 2019: Kansas City, MO (Sprint Center)
March 9, 2019: Louisville, KY (KFC Yum Center)
March 11, 2019: Indianapolis, IN (Bankers Life Fieldhouse)
March 13, 2019: Grand Rapids, MI (Van Andel Arena)
–Original article resumes here–
The next leg of the Metallica tour 2018 is coming — and, thanks to the wonder of social media, we know both that they’re headed back to North America *and* the cities and venues where they’ll be playing.
Friday afternoon, Metallica’s social media accounts all shared a short clip, with stylized text matching that of Hardwired to Self-Destruct, the band’s most recent album. By Sunday, the clip had been updated to include the words “Worldwired Tour”:
Within a few hours of the original post, almost three dozen different venues around the U.S. and Canada had shared either the exact same message or a stylized variant featuring the clip appearing on that venue’s scoreboard. So, while nothing’s official yet, it seems a pretty safe bet that Metallica’s next stop will be back in North America, where they last toured in stadiums during summer 2017.
Here’s a complete list of the 33 cities and venues currently teasing the Metallica tour 2018, with a link to each teaser embedded in each venue’s name:
Kansas City, MO (Sprint Center)
Wichita, KS (Intrust Bank Arena)
Lincoln, NE (Pinnacle Bank Arena)
Sioux Falls, SD (Premier Center)
Grand Forks, ND (Alerus Center)
Winnipeg, MB, Canada (Bell MTS Place)
Saskatoon, SK, Canada (SaskTel Centre)
Minneapolis, MN (Target Center)
Milwaukee, WI (Wisconsin Entertainment and Sports Center)
Indianapolis, IN (Bankers Life Fieldhouse)
Louisville, KY (KFC Yum Center)
Cincinnati, OH (US Bank Arena)
Cleveland, OH (Quicken Loans Arena)
Grand Rapids, MI (Van Andel Arena)
Pittsburgh, PA (PPG Paints Arena)
University Park, PA (Bryce Jordan Center)
Buffalo, NY (KeyBank Center) — Saturday, October 27th (Rumored)
Albany, NY (Times Union Center)
Raleigh, NC (PNC Arena)
Charlotte, NC (Spectrum Center)
Birmingham, AL (BJCC)
Nashville, TN (Bridgestone Arena)
North Little Rock, AR (Verizon Arena)
Tulsa, OK (BOK Center)
Lubbock, TX (United Supermarkets Arena)
El Paso, TX (Don Haskins Center)
Salt Lake City, UT (Vivint Arena)
Boise, ID (Taco Bell Arena)
Spokane, WA (Spokane Arena)
Portland, OR (Moda Center)
Las Vegas, NV (T-Mobile Arena)
Fresno, CA (Save Mart Center)
Sacramento, CA (Golden 1 Center) — Friday, December 7th (Rumored)
In addition, Live Nation Detroit and Live Nation Los Angeles both shared variants of the “Monday” teaser that have since been deleted. If Monday’s announcement confirms shows in those two cities, the total number of North American gigs for the Metallica tour 2018 would come to 35 (assuming one night each).
Given that frontman James Hetfield recently reaffirmed the band’s pledge to play no more than 50 shows per year “for [their] health,” plus the fact that Metallica already has 24 shows confirmed or on the books for 2018, the 33 dates above seemingly represent the band’s last gigs of the year. Sorry, South America and the Pacific Rim 🙁
In any event, we’ve still got to wait for Monday for official word. Here’s something to help you pass the time:
(Photo credit: Metallica tour 2018 via C.M. Wiggins / WENN.com; h/t to Metforum)
