JUDAS PRIEST ANNOUNCE RESCHEDULED “50 HEAVY METAL YEARS” NORTH AMERICAN TOUR DATES

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 No. 5 on the Billboard 200 chart.

Produced by Live Nation, the North American tour — which will run throughout September, October and early November — 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 10 a.m. local time at Ticketmaster. Tickets for the previously announced tour dates are available now.

Said singer Rob Halford, “Defending the heavy metal faith for fifty years, the Priest is back.”

Added guitarist Glenn Tipton, “Time to don the leather and studs and roll out the Priest machine — celebrating our 50 Heavy Metal Years.”

Said bassist Ian Hill, “After the horrific year of restrictions we’ve all had to endure, what better place to break free than the land of the free — the USA.”

Judas Priest 2021 tour dates:

Sep. 8 – Reading, PA – Santander Arena* 
Sep. 9 – Virginia Beach, VA – Veterans United Home Loans Amphitheater*+ 
Sep. 11 – Orlando, FL – Central Florida Fairgrounds^# 
Sep. 13 – Charlotte, NC – PNC Music Pavilion 
Sep. 14 – Raleigh, NC – Red Hat Amphitheater* 
Sep. 16 – Grand Rapids, MI – Van Andel Arena* 
Sep. 17 – Youngstown, OH – Covelli Centre^ 
Sep. 19 – Detroit, MI – Fox Theatre* 
Sep. 20 – Rosemont, IL – Rosemont Theatre* 
Sep. 22 – Milwaukee, WI – Miller High Life Theatre^ 
Sep. 23 – Minneapolis, MN – The Armory* 
Sep. 25 – Maryland Heights, MO – Saint Louis Music Park 
Sep. 26 – Louisville, KY – Louder Than Life Festival^# 
Sep. 29 – Denver, CO – The Mission Ballroom^ 
Sep. 30 – West Valley City, UT – Maverik Center* 
Oct. 2 – Everett, WA – Angel Of The Winds Arena* 
Oct. 3 – Portland, OR – Moda Center* 
Oct. 5 – Oakland, CA – Fox Theater^ 
Oct. 6 – Los Angeles, CA – Microsoft Theater^ 
Oct. 8 – Las Vegas, NV – Zappos Theater at Planet Hollywood 
Oct. 9 – Phoenix, AZ – Arizona Federal Theatre 
Oct. 12 – San Antonio, TX – Freeman Coliseum^ 
Oct. 13 – Cedar Park, TX – HEB Center Cedar Park^ 
Oct. 15 – Irving, TX – The Pavilion at Toyota Music Factory 
Oct. 16 – Oklahoma City, OK – The Zoo Amphitheatre^ 
Oct. 19 – Independence, MO – Cable Dahmer Arena* 
Oct. 21 – Nashville, TN – Nashville Municipal Auditorium* 
Oct. 22 – Alpharetta, GA – Ameris Bank Amphitheatre* 
Oct. 24 – Charleston, WV – Charleston Civic Center Coliseum* 
Oct. 25 – Philadelphia, PA – The Met* 
Oct. 27 – Newark, NJ – Prudential Center* 
Oct. 28 – Oxon Hill, MD – The Theater at MGM National Harbor 
Oct. 30 – Mashantucket, CT – Foxwoods Resort Casino – Grand Theater^ 
Oct. 31 – Lowell, MA – Tsongas Center At UMass Lowell* 
Nov. 2 – Halifax, NS – Scotiabank Centre* 
Nov. 4 – Laval, QC – Place Bell* 
Nov. 5 – Hamilton, ONT – First Ontario Centre*

* new show 
^ not a Live Nation event 
# festival date 
SABATON not support on this date; support is to be determined

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. 

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11 Responses

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  • Doug R. on

    Sep. 9 – Veterans United Home Loans Amphitheater… I would love to be there


  • robert davenport on

    As much as I love priest I’ve seen them with downing and Tipton several times , when halford was at the top of his game and vocal register – now with Tipton unable to really perform anymore who knows if hes well enough to even play 1 tune ( very sad ) my heart breaks for him and his family – on top of that the petty idiocy of keeping KK out
    I have zero desire to see them at all – if Kk was back different story altogether ~


    • Medved on

      As much of a Priest fan as I am, Rob’s voice is also an issue to me. He’ll always be the Metal God, but Priest needs to realize that their time is over. Please don’t become another embarrassment like KI$$.


  • Doug on

    Sep. 29 – Denver, CO – The Mission Ballroom….is where I would love to be! 🙂 Gonna try!


  • Rattlehead on

    I really wish KK was back in the band. Without both KK and Tipton (I’m assuming he will not be performing due to his health status), I have a hard time accepting the current touring lineup as Judas Priest, even with Halford still in it.


    • robert davenport on

      I feel the same way


    • Doug on

      I always find it interesting that no one ever quibbles over Scott Travis….i personally think he is the best drummer Priest has ever had, but he too is not an original. Just my two cents…..


    • Rattlehead on

      Doug, yes Scott Travis is not an original, but I’ve always accepted him as part of Priest cuz of his work beginning on Painkiller, one of my top Priest albums. His drumming on that album is just insane. IMO, Travis’ playing really “umphed up” the music of Judas Priest.

      Travis is a great drummer, but I think I would have to pick Les Binks as my favorite Priest drummer just cuz he performed on some of those classic Priest albums of the 70s, including my fave Priest album, “Unleashed in the East”.


  • Medved on

    So sort of off topic but somewhat related. Eddie has mentioned several times on his show that the members of Judas Priest don’t want to come talk on his show any more, specifically Rob Halford. This more than likely occurred when KK Downing appeared on Eddie’s show to promote his recently released tell-all book. It also doesn’t help that Eddie constantly reminds his listeners that Priest only has two original members left performing on stage.

    But back in March, Eddie had a Black Sabbath week in which he interviewed the surviving Dio era members (Geezer Butler, Vinny Appice, Tony Iommi, Bill Ward). He was scheduled to interview Dio’s wife Wendy, but that got scrapped right at the last minute. Eddie mentioned it could be related to Geezer’s revelation that he was the muse for Dio using the devil horns gesture. As silly as it sounds, I would hate to think Wendy was pissed off enough to cut off all ties with Eddie. What’s the status on that? Will Wendy ever appear on Trunk Nation again? Will Eddie continue to host the Dio Cancer Fund charity events in the future (Ride for Ronnie and Bowl for Ronnie)?


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