Judas Priest Plot 2019 North American Tour
Heavy metal architects Judas Priest will celebrate part of their 50th anniversary year with a spring and summer tour of North America next year in support of this year’s Firepower, their 18th studio album. The tour will run from May 3rd to June 29th and will feature two-night stands in Long Island, Milwaukee, Austin and San Francisco.
“Metal maniacs, Judas Priest is roaring back to the USA for one more blast of Firepower!” the band said in a joint statement. “Firepower 2019 charges forth with new first time performances born out of Firepower, as well as fresh classic cuts across the decades from the Priest world metalsphere. Our visual stage set and light show will be scorching a unique, hot, fresh vibe — mixing in headline festivals, as well as the in-your-face venue close ups. We can’t wait to reunite and reignite our maniacs … the Priest is back!”
Firepower was the band’s highest-charting album ever in the United States, making it up to Number Five on Billboard’s album chart. The song “Lightning Strike” also charted well on the Mainstream Rock Songs chart, reaching Number 21 — their first showing there since 2005’s “Revolution,” off their Angel of Retribution album.
“Only until recently, I have had this naïve perception that Priest were in a place generation-wise where rock radio was playing age bias,” frontman Rob Halford told Rolling Stone earlier this year of the chart success. “Whenever we’ve been in the studio in recent years, we’ve always gone, ‘Oh, maybe this will get on the radio.’ And we’re told, ‘They don’t play Priest on the radio.’ It’s apparently this thing where you’ve got to be young and beautiful. I’m just so grateful radio has picked up on this track. It’s an affirmation.”
Coinciding with the release of Firepower, Judas Priest announced that guitarist Glenn Tipton would no longer be able to tour with the band, as he had developed Parkinson’s. Producer Andy Sneap has been playing in his stead on their recent tours, and Tipton has been making appearances for encores at various dates.
Judas Priest Tour Dates
May 3 – Hollywood, FL @ Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino
May 6 – Nashville, TN @ Nashville Municipal Auditorium
May 8 – Atlanta, GA @ Fox Theatre
May 9 – Biloxi, MS @ Beau Rivage Resort & Casino
May 12 – Washington, DC @ The Anthem
May 14 – Huntington, NY @ The Paramount
May 15 – Huntington, NY @ The Paramount
May 16 – Uncasville, CT @ Mohegan Sun Arena
May 18 – Albany, NY @ Palace Theatre
May 19 – Albany, NY @ Palace Theatre
May 22 – Milwaukee, WI @ Riverside Theater
May 23 – Milwaukee, WI @ Riverside Theater
May 25 – Rosemont, IL @ Rosemont Theatre
May 28 – Austin, TX @ ACL Live at The Moody Theater
May 29 – Austin, TX @ ACL Live at The Moody Theater
May 31 – Dallas, TX @ The Bomb Factory
June 1 – Little Rock, AR @ First Security Amphitheater
June 3 – St. Louis, MO @ Stifel Theatre
June 5 – Colorado Springs, CO @ Broadmoor World Arena
June 8 – Saskatoon, SK @ SaskTel Centre
June 10 – Lethbridge, AB @ ENMAX Centre
June 11 – Edmonton, AB @ Rogers Place
June 13 – Dawson Creek, BC @ Encana Events Centre
June 14 – Prince George, BC @ CN Centre
June 16 – Kelowna, BC @ Prospera Place
June 17 – Abbotsford, BC @ Abbotsford Centre
June 19 – Airway Heights, WA @ Northern Quest Resort and Casino
June 21 – Kent, WA @ Accesso Showare Center
June 22 – Portland, OR @ Moda Theatre of the Clouds
June 24 – San Francisco, CA @ Warfield Theatre
June 25 – San Francisco, CA @ Warfield Theatre
June 27 – Los Angeles, CA @ Microsoft Theater
June 29 – Las Vegas, NV @ The Joint at Hard Rock Hotel