Eric Church and Metallica will headline "ATLive," a weekend concert series coming to Atlanta in November.
Amy Harris/Invision/AP; KGC-138/STAR MAX/IPx/APThe Atlanta weekend concert series “ATLive” returns in November with a night dedicated to country and a night dedicated to hard rock. George Strait, Eric Church and singer-songwriter Caitlyn Smith will perform at Mercedes-Benz Stadium on Friday, November 5th, while Metallica, Cage the Elephant, and Greta Van Fleet take the stage on Saturday, November 6th.
Strait and Metallica drummer Lars Ulrich announced the concerts in a promotional video. “Hello, Atlanta. It’s been a while,” Strait says, before Ulrich suggests the domed stadium will have to open its retractable roof to accommodate the din. Tickets for each night of ATLive go on sale Friday, July 16th, at 10 a.m. ET via Ticketmaster.
This marks the second installment of the concert weekend, produced by AMB Sports and Entertainment and presented by Mercedes-EQ. In 2019, artists like Church, Keith Urban, and Luke Combs topped an all-country bill. Strait played the stadium that same year too, with Chris Stapleton in support.
The 2021 ATLive also features a charitable component: Metallica’s All Within My Hands organization and the Military Warriors Support Foundation, a favorite charity of Strait’s that provides housing for wounded U.S. veterans, will receive a portion of the proceeds.
Strait retired from regular touring in 2014, but continues to play regular concerts in Las Vegas. His first Strait to Vegas shows since the onset of the pandemic are set for August 13th and 14th at the city’s T-Mobile Arena. Church, meanwhile, will kick off his Gather Again arena tour in September in Kentucky.
Metallica is gearing up for the 30th anniversary of their blockbuster Black Album, which arrives in September with The Blacklist, a re-creation of the LP by artists like Miley Cyrus, Jason Isbell, Ghost, and Royal Blood.
Fontaines D.C. have teamed up with Rosalía for their new collaboration, Where Is Gone?.
The song features on the Irish rock band's forthcoming album, Dopamine Chamber, which arrives on Friday (16.10.26). For guitarist Carlos O’Connell, working with the Spanish superstar is particularly special because of his own Spanish roots.
He explained: “I’ve admired Rosalía ever since her debut album, which I thought was absolutely beautiful.
“What excited me most was the way she continued to preserve Spain's musical traditions, something that felt spiritually connected to what we've been trying to achieve with Irish music. Having roots in both countries, it's been really special to witness. "She's an artist who has continued to amaze me at every point in her career.”
Frontman Grian Chatten has also described the collaboration with Rosalía as one of the most memorable achievements of his career.
He revealed that he felt "humbled" when she agreed to lend her voice to the band's album.
Speaking to NPR, Grian said: “I've always felt there's something almost like a single big idea that I'm personally trying to communicate to the world before I get old and die, if that makes sense. There's one thing I think I'll spend my life trying to express. I have a feeling she has a similar outlook. … I mean, she's an amazing arranger, composer and lyricist. It means so much that she wanted to sing on something we'd put together. It's definitely one of the highlights of my career.”
Rosalía's links to Irish rock music extend beyond Fontaines D.C. She also offered inspiration and helped develop the Spanish lyrics for U2's The Mirror Maker (Rosalía), a track from their forthcoming album, Carnaval de Luz.
During an appearance on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon last week, she spoke about frontman Bono, saying: “I don't know him personally, but he sent me a text explaining that he was working on a new project and had written a song called The Mirror Maker."
Rosalía joked that Bono had invented a few words of his own.
She recalled telling him: “I wasn't sure what to make of it, but I told him he could create his own language if he wanted to.”
She described the opportunity to collaborate with the 66 year old music veteran as a real privilege.
She added: “Bono is a legend.
“It's amazing.”
Bono recently revealed that he was worried about seeming like a stalker when he reached out to Rosalía to ask whether he could name the song after her.
