William Shatner, 95, Makes Heavy Metal Debut Ahead of Riot Fest
At 95, William Shatner has become a heavy metal frontman. He played his heavy metal debut on Saturday, September 19, with his new band the *uckers at a Riot Fest Chicago after-hours show. The late-night set came one night before the band's first official festival appearance on Sunday.
The warm-up gig took place at Park West in Chicago. Riot Fest billed it as Riot Fest Presents: William Shatner and listed the start for 10:00 PM at 322 W. Armitage Ave, according to Riot Fest. A separate listing billed the night as Riot Fest Late Night: William Shatner and The *uckers. That late-night format is common during festival weekends, when artists play smaller indoor rooms after the main outdoor programme ends.
The Park West set ran six songs, as reported by Rolling Stone. Three of the six came from the band's upcoming album, What the F Is Heavy Metal? The other three were covers, meaning songs first recorded by other artists.
Shatner took on Ozzy Osbourne's "Crazy Train." He also covered Metallica's "Enter Sandman" and Motörhead's "Ace of Spades." Three songs. Three different corners of metal history.
The upcoming album carries the same title as the question behind the project: What the F Is Heavy Metal? It features appearances by Tony Iommi, Brian May, Rob Halford and Dave Lombardo. The published report did not give a release date.
Riot Fest first confirmed the booking in July, saying Shatner would bring his brand-new heavy metal band The *uckers to Douglass Park on Sunday, according to Riot Fest. Shatner followed that with his own note on Facebook, writing that he would perform a new live heavy metal spectacle at Douglas Park in Chicago. For readers picking this up fresh, that Sunday festival slot is the official debut. Saturday at Park West was the warm-up.
What makes this stand out is straightforward. A 95-year-old actor stepping into a metal set, backed by a full band, is rare. The six-song club show gave Shatner and the *uckers a first run in front of a late-night audience before carrying the same show to a festival stage.
The Sunday Riot Fest set is listed as the band's first official show. Saturday was the test. Chicago heard it first.
