Lars Ulrich, left, James Hetfield, Kirk Hammett, and Robert Trujillo of Metallica perform at Louder Than Life Festival 2021 at Highland Festival Grounds on Friday, Sept. 24, 2021, in Louisville, KY.
Amy Harris/Invision/APMetallica will stream their two 40th-anniversary concerts next week in a free broadcast.
The gigs will take place at San Francisco’s Chase Center on Dec. 17 and 19 and will be viewable through the Coda Collection via Amazon Prime; the streams will begin at 9 p.m. PT. Full tune-in details are available on the Coda Collection website. Amazon is also offering specific links to the first night’s concert and the second night’s.
The band will kick off its anniversary festivities, which they’re describing as a takeover of their adopted hometown, with a block party and a concert by the band White Reaper (opened by Lars Ulrich’s sons’ band, Tapei Houston) on Thursday. The city will host music events the whole weekend, including concerts by Kamasi Washington (who contributed to the band’s Blacklist tribute project), a Metallica tribute-band showcase, a film fest, and other events detailed on the group’s website. Part of the film fest includes screenings of their Cunning Stunts and Orgullo, Pasión, y Gloria: Tres Noches en la Ciudad de México concert films, which will also be available to stream that weekend via the Coda Collection.
Non-music happenings that weekend include trivia, opportunities to give back to the community (a pop-up food bank and oceanside cleanup), events related to the band’s Blackened whiskey, and a gallery showing of photos of the band. A list of all of these is also available on the band’s website.
The quartet has also partnered with Amazon Music for The Metallica Takeover, a guest-hosted station where the group recalls the stories behind its songs set to a soundtrack of entries from its entire catalogue.
NEWS
Lola Young has joined forces with Campaign Against Living Miserably (CALM) to release a new T shirt for the charity’s Lifelines collection.
The shirt supports CALM’s suicide prevention work, with proceeds helping to fund vital resources such as its helpline and CALMzone mental health app.
CALM introduced the Lifelines range last year, with Fontaines D.C., Blossoms and Inhaler also contributing their own designs to the collection.
Young’s design includes the words, “There’s a flicker of light. There’s always morning after the night”, taken from her track ‘Flicker Of Light’.
“I wrote this song about realising there is hope. I have often felt like there isn’t, but there is always a reason to keep going,” Young said. “That’s even when you don’t want to get out of bed, you do, and that is amazing, and you’re still here, and you’re still alive, and if anything, that’s something to be proud of.”
CALM CEO Simon Gunning also shared his appreciation for the collaboration, saying: “We couldn’t be more grateful to Lola for supporting ‘Lifelines’ and showing just how powerful music can be as a force for good.”
Priced at £30, the T shirts come in both standard and boxy fits and are available to purchase here.
Young has regularly spoken about her experiences with mental health. She returned to performing earlier this year after calling off her 2025 tour because of exhaustion. The decision followed her collapse during a performance in New York City. During her time away, she later discussed receiving support for addiction and attending AA meetings as part of her recovery.
In an interview with NME in May, Young explained that she believes “all healing journeys are never ending”, although she is now “definitely in a much better place”. She also said she feels “excited and ready to perform and to release music”.
Reflecting on the encouragement she received after publicly discussing those challenges, Young said: “My fans inspire me in the same way I hope to inspire them. I feel like I’ve never tried to be especially honest… it just comes very naturally to me.”
“I don’t really have any other choice but to be honest, so if people connect to that, and that’s amazing.”
Several musicians have also applauded the ‘Messy’ singer for honestly addressing the pressure placed on touring performers. Lily Allen said she was “in awe” of the BRIT and Grammy winner, while Victoria Canal credited Young with bringing greater attention to the damaging impact demanding tour schedules can have on artists’ mental wellbeing.
When NME asked whether musicians were beginning to establish firmer boundaries around their health, Young replied: “I never intended it to start a movement, but I hope that it does in some way.”
