BLABBERMOUTH.NET
METALLICA has regretfully had to cancel their headline performances at
Sonic Temple Art + Music Festival in Columbus, Ohio (May 15 and May 17) and
Louder Than Life in Louisville, Kentucky (September 18 and September 20) to allow singer
James Hetfield to continue his road to recovery.
METALLICA reassures its fans that the band will appear at
Danny Wimmer Presents festivals
Epicenter (May 1 and May 3),
Welcome To Rockville (May 8 and May 10) and
Aftershock (October 9 and October 11) as scheduled.
RED HOT CHILI PEPPERS (recently reunited with guitarist
John Frusciante) and
TOOL have been announced as new headliners for
Sonic Temple, joining Saturday's headliner
SLIPKNOT for the May 15-17 festival at MAPFRE Stadium in Columbus.
RED HOT CHILI PEPPERS will headline Friday, May 15 while
TOOL will headline Sunday, May 17.
Hetfield has released the following statement regarding the cancelations:
"Dear
METALLICA Family,
"It pains me to write this, but I have to let all of you know that I cannot make it to
Sonic Temple in Columbus and
Louder Than Life in Louisville this year. As part of my continuing effort to get and stay healthy, I have critical recovery events on those weekends that cannot be moved. I apologize to all of our fans who have bought tickets for these festivals. We are working with the festival promoters to provide for refunds or exchanges.
"My intent with this statement is saying 'I apologize' to each one of you. The reality is that I have not prioritized my health in the past year of touring and I now know that my mental health comes first. That might sound like a no-brainer for most of you but I didn’t want to let the
METALLICA team/family down and, I alone completely compromised myself.
"Looking on the brighter side, my therapy is going well. It was absolutely necessary for me to look after my mental, physical, and spiritual health.
"I want to stress that the band will play all other announced 2020 shows.
"I am looking forward to getting back to playing and seeing all our great South American fans in April. And, of course, playing the
Epicenter in Charlotte,
Welcome To Rockville, in Daytona and
Aftershock Festival in Sacramento. We will still play two unique sets at each of these festivals.
"Beyond 2020, I am optimistic about the blessings I have been given and what the future brings. I appreciate all the great prayers and support from everyone since I went into rehab last September. Like the moth into the flame, being human in this career has its huge challenges and can be difficult. Your understanding helps the healing."
Danny Wimmer Presents founder and festival creator
Danny Wimmer says: "First and foremost, I want to say how much I respect and support
James for taking care of himself, and for his commitment to getting healthy. At the same time, I am also deeply devoted to providing our festivalgoers with the biggest and best festival experience in the world. As disappointed as we all are to lose
METALLICA, I am thrilled that
RED HOT CHILI PEPPERS and
TOOL, dear friends of both
DWP and
METALLICA, are stepping up on short notice to join
SLIPKNOT, keeping
Sonic Temple on track to be the greatest rock festival in America."
Sonic Temple and
Louder Than Life pass holders who would like to exchange their passes to see
METALLICA at another
Danny Wimmer Presents festival, or would like to receive a refund, will be able to do so starting this Friday, February 28. An email will be sent out to purchasers from Front Gate Ticketing on Friday at 10:00 a.m. EST with complete exchange and refund details.
Hetfield has been largely out of the public eye since last fall when
METALLICA canceled an Australian tour and announced that
Hetfield was returning to rehab to battle his addictions. The singer/guitarist first got treatment in 2002, a process that was chronicled in the 2004 documentary
"Metallica: Some Kind Of Monster".
James made his first major public appearance since entering rehab on January 30, when an exhibit featuring 10 of his classic custom cars opened with a ticketed reception at the Petersen Automotive Museum in Los Angeles.
Hetfield performed live for the time since his rehab stay on Thursday (February 20) at a tribute to
Eddie Money. The
METALLICA frontman played an acoustic rendition of
Money's
"Baby Hold On" at Saban in Beverly Hills, California.
Dear Metallica Family,
It pains me to write this, but I have to let all of you know that I cannot make it to Sonic...
Posted by Metallica on Monday, February 24, 2020