Metallica Hits the Stage for First Show of 2020 — at the Drive-In

Metallica is returning to the stage for the first time since 2019 — kind of. The band will be the inaugural rock act to partner with the Encore Drive-In Nights series, screening a full set at drive-ins and outdoor theaters in the U.S. and Canada on August 29th.

As with other recent drive-in shows, staff will wear appropriate PPE and cars will be stationed six feet apart in light of COVID-19. Tickets and payments will be contactless. A list of participating theaters will be available on the Encore Drive-In Nights website.

According to a release, a new concert will be shot near the band’s home of Northern California for August 29th; the show will feature material from their decades’ long career. Three Days Grace will “open” the concert, tickets for which go on sale to fans on August 12th and to the general public on August 14th. One ticket gets a carload of six into the show and will include four downloads of Metallica’s S&M2, an album and concert film featuring Metallica and the San Francisco Symphony out August 28th.

S&M2 was filmed in 2019 at San Francisco’s Chase Center and features Metallica collaborating with the symphony for the first time since 1999. The band recently teased their performance of “Moth Into Flame” from the upcoming release, as well as “Nothing Else Matters” and “All Within My Hands.”

Metallica also posted a clip on their Instagram of the band rehearsing their concert favorite, “Creeping Death.” The musicians seemed to maintain social distance from one another in the clip and each wore masks, other than James Hetfield who had to sing.