Metallica have postponed their second show in Glendale, CA after frontman James Hetfield tested positive for COVID-19.
The band’s M72 No Repeat Weekend Tour features two shows per city with totally different set lists on each of the dual nights. Metallica played night one in Glendale on Friday, with night two scheduled for Sunday 9/3. Now, that show will be moved back by a week.
A post on their social channels shows Hetfield’s inked fingers next to a positive COVID test. It says in part:
“NIGHT TWO IN GLENDALE IS RESCHEDULED TO SEPTEMBER 9! We’re very sorry to report that tomorrow’s scheduled M72 date at State Farm Stadium has been postponed to Saturday, September 9, 2023, as, unfortunately, COVID has caught up with James. We’re extremely disappointed and regret any inconvenience this has caused you; we look forward to returning to complete the M72 No Repeat Weekend in Glendale next Saturday. All tickets for September 3 will be honored at the September 9 show.”
NIGHT TWO IN GLENDALE IS RESCHEDULED TO SEPTEMBER 9!
We’re very sorry to report that tomorrow’s scheduled M72 date at State Farm Stadium has been postponed to Saturday, September 9, 2023, as, unfortunately, COVID has caught up with James. We’re extremely disappointed and regret… pic.twitter.com/neRSNMwxp5
— Metallica (@Metallica) September 2, 2023
They added: “All M72 Weekend Takeover events scheduled for today and tomorrow (9/2 and 9/3) are still happening.” Fans are encouraged to keep an eye on Metallica.com for more updates.
The North American leg of the M72 Tour launched about a month ago just up the road from Philadelphia. WMMR was at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, NJ for complete concert coverage. You can see photos by Digital Noise Mag from the second show below, and get Brent Porche’s official recap here.
At the first MetLife gig, Sara sat down backstage with guitarist Kirk Hammett, who told her he’s “blown away” by how far Metallica has come over the last forty years: “We were all so young, but we had a very clear vision of what we wanted to do, what we wanted to sound like, how we wanted to execute things, the type of songs we wanted to write… When we were making those (first and second) albums and touring behind them, we just kind of took it for granted… We never sat down and really thought about the accomplishment that we made, right? And so, 40 years later, I’m able to do that and go, man, we really pulled something off.”
Watch that interview in its entirety here.