Metallica announces S&M² 20th Anniversary Concert

Metallica returns to perform with the San Francisco Symphony Orchestra

Metallica has announced its returning to perform with the San Francisco Symphony Orchestra for the first time in twenty years. The group is performing at the grand opening celebration of the Chase Center with S&M² on Friday, September 6th which marks the 20th anniversary of the original S&M (“Symphony & Metallica”) concerts.

The groundbreaking original S&M concerts were performed by Metallica and the San Francisco Symphony conducted by the late Michael Kamen in spring of 1999 at the Berkeley Community Theatre. The S&M album, was released later that year, winning a Best Rock Instrumental Performance GRAMMY for its version of “The Call of Ktulu.” The S&M² concert will feature the first live performances of these arrangements in 20 years, plus the first ever Metallica/San Francisco Symphony renditions of songs written and released since the original S&M, with new orchestral charts by Bruce Coughlin.

Legendary conductor Michael Tilson Thomas will kick off his final season as San Francisco Symphony Musical Director with a special appearance conducting a portion of the show. James Hetfield and Lars Ulrich joined Thomas, along with representatives from the Golden State Warriors and San Francisco mayor London Breed, to make the announcement at the Chase Center Monday (Mar 18th). See the announcement.

“This is beyond exciting on so many fronts,” states Metallica’s Lars Ulrich. “The fact that San Francisco is finally getting a much needed world-class arena, the fact that Metallica get to be part of the opening celebration, the fact that we get to revisit S&M 20 years later, and the fact that we get to share the stage not only with the San Francisco Symphony once again, but with the legend himself, MTT, as he kicks off his final year as music director here in San Francisco. This is mind-blowingly awesome… bring it on ASAP!!!”

“The San Francisco Symphony is delighted to be a part of the Chase Center’s opening week, and to perform once again with Metallica to recreate the magic of the historic S&M concerts,” says San Francisco Symphony Music Director Michael Tilson Thomas. “I’m happy to join with my friends in Metallica to make this an extraordinary only-in-San Francisco music event.”

Pre-sales for Fan Club members begin Tuesday, March 19th with the Legacy Member sale beginning at 9 am PT and the Fifth Member sale beginning at 10 am PT. Tickets will go on sale the general public on Friday, March 22nd at 10 am PT at chasecenter.com.

Buddy Iahn
Buddy Iahn

Buddy Iahn founded The Music Universe when he decided to juxtapose his love of web design and music. As a lifelong drummer, he decided to take a hiatus from playing music to report it. The website began as a fun project in 2013 to one of the top independent news sites. Email: info@themusicuniverse.com