At Saturday’s (September 24) Global Citizen Festival in New York City, rock met country in a very powerful way. Country singer Mickey Guyton, who performed a solo set earlier in the day, joined the famed band for one of their biggest hits. Guyton, 39, sang a version of “Nothing Else Matters.” Last year, Guyton recorded a version of the song for The Metallica Blacklist. With both artists on the bill, it seemed like a given that they’d perform it together, and the results were very cool. When she joined the band on stage, James Hetfield joked, “Finally! We have a real singer!”
The band’s hour-long setlist also included classics like “Creeping Death,” “For Whom The Bell Tolls,” “Enter Sandman,” “Sad But True,” “The Unforgiven,” “Wherever I May Roam,” and “Master of Puppets.”
The band posted a series of photos on Instagram getting chummy alongside Guyton. Her most popular songs are “Remember Her Name” and “All American.” Last year, Guyton made history at the 63rd Grammy Awards by being the first Black solo female artist to earn a nomination in a country music category. A month later at the 2021 Academy of Country Music Awards, she became the first Black female artist to host a major country music awards show.
As of Sunday afternoon, a video of the Metallica/Mickey Guyton collaboration has not been posted officially. But you can see a fan-shot video of Guyton performing with Metallica in Central Park, New York City below:
Here’s Guyton’s original cover of “Nothing Else Matters!” from 2021: