Metallica have their eyes on the 2026 Super Bowl Halftime Show and a residency at the Las Vegas Sphere, according to drummer Lars Ulrich.
Next year, the Super Bowl will take place at the Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, San Francisco. While a headline act has yet to be announced, Ulrich has shared that San Francisco thrash metal icons Metallica would be more than keen to play the coveted slot in their hometown.
Speaking to Howard Stern (per Consequence) on a recent episode of the latter’s long-running SiriusXM radio show, Ulrich responded to Stern asking if the metal band would be interested in playing the Super Bowl next year.
“Fuck yeah, of course we would,” Lars answered. “First of all we would do it. Second of all to do it in San Francisco would be a dream come true and would be the right fit… Certainly as somebody who’s represented San Francisco all over the world and shouted for decades about San Francisco and our love for the Bay Area, that part of it is the right fit. Ultimately it’s not our decision.”
Metallica, 2022. CREDIT: Tim Saccenti
Elsewhere, Stern asked Lars about recent reports that Metallica in talks for a residency at the Las Vegas Sphere next year. Lars replied: “I’m not going to confirm anything, because there’s nothing to confirm. But I’m not going to deny it, because we’re all such fans of this venue.”
“All of our managers and our production people have been there and looked at it. It’s something that we’re considering, [but] nothing is etched in stone or green-lit. It’s something that we’re looking at at some point when the 2026 tour is done.”
He continued: “I would fucking love to do it, let there be no question about it. It’s not signed, sealed and delivered, but speaking to me and asking my opinion, I would fucking love to do it.”
The futuristic state-of-the-art venue opened in 2023 and has since hosted residencies from the likes of U2, Phish, The Eagles and the Backstreet Boys. It was also recently confirmed that a new Sphere venue will be constructed in Abu Dhabi. U2 were the first band to play at the Sphere. NME give their performance a glowing five-star review, sharing that it “truly takes your breath away”.
In April, Kirk Hammett said the band would love the chance to play the Sphere, saying it was a “great example of how venues are changing”. He added: “That’s using modern technology to the fullest, to really up the levels of production and entertainment, connected to AI and making it a crazy experience.”
Metallica. Credit: Tim Saccenti
The metal icons will be playing a string of stadium shows in the UK and Europe in 2026, including dates in Dublin, Glasgow, Cardiff and London. Opening sets will come from Gojira, Pantera, Knocked Loose and Avatar. See the full list of dates here and find any remaining tickets here.
In other Metallica news, the band appeared at Black Sabbath’s ‘Back To The Beginning’ farewell show last month, playing Sabbath’s ‘Hole In The Sky’ and ‘Johnny Blade’. The band paid tribute to Ozzy Osbourne, who died last month (July 22), only weeks after the concert, and they attended his funeral last week.
Metallica also provided new parts for Tomorrowland’s main stage last month, after the original was destroyed during a fire, which broke out less than 48 hours before the dance festival in Boom, Belgium, was set to kick off.
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