The band will be the first hard rock group to perform at Soundstorm
Metallica is wrapping up 2023 with its first-ever performance in Saudi Arabia. The band will close the opening night of the Soundstorm festival in Binban, Riyadh on December 14th.
“We’re not done with 2023 just yet, as an amazing opportunity has just come our way to perform at a major festival that we have never played in a part of the world we rarely get to visit,” the band shares. “We’re excited to announce that on Thursday, December 14 we’ll be the first hard rock band to ever play at the Soundstorm Festival in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.”
Festival and single-day tickets are available now at mdlbeast.com. The event runs from December 14-16 and also features Pharrell Williams, Chris Brown, HER, Black Eyed Peas, J Balvin, and other popular acts.
MDLBeast created Soundstorm in 2019 as a cultural catalyst for Saudi youth. More than 600 thousand people attended last year’s event which has “pushed boundaries, ripped bandaids, opened doors, and shaped new culture by shedding layers, and experimenting with new forms of creative expression” that were once banned for public consumption in the region.
The festival site spans more than five and a half million square meters and is dubbed “the loudest week in Riyadh.”
Metallica is set to resume its M72 World Tour next year. Presented worldwide by Liquid Death and Blackened American Whiskey, in North America only, and promoted by Live Nation, Metallica’s M72 World Tour sees the band playing two nights in every city it visits with each No Repeat Weekend featuring two completely different setlists and support lineups. The trek will play 44 shows in 22 cities around the world through 2024, and feature Pantera, Mammoth WVH, Architects, Five Finger Death Punch, Ice Nine Kills and Greta Van Fleet at select stops.
A portion of proceeds from every ticket sold benefits the band’s All Within My Hands Foundation. Founded in 2017, AWMH’s efforts to assist and enrich the lives of members of the communities who have supported the band have raised nearly $13 million – providing $5.9 million in grants to career and technical education programs in the US, over $2.5 million to combat food insecurity, and more than $3.2 million to disaster relief efforts worldwide.
It was also announced today (Mon, Nov 27th) that Metallica was honored with the SoundExchange Hall of Fame Award as one of the most streamed acts in the organization’s 20-year history.
