Metallica schedules its first 2020 concert... at a drive-in theater near you

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Ross Halfin

Odds are high that we won't see any arena concerts until at least next year, which is a bummer for both large venues and the artists that fill them.

That's where Metallica comes in.

The band filmed a live performance to be screened exclusively as a one-night-only event at dozens of drive-in theaters around the country, including pop-up outdoor theaters at the University of Idaho in Moscow and at Hayden Discount Cinemas, on Sat. Aug. 29. The show starts as soon the sun goes down: exit light, enter night.

Tickets are $115 per car — which is a maximum of 6 people per carload — and each purchase comes with four downloads of Metallica's upcoming live double album S&M2. Three Days Grace opens the show.

The metal icons aren't the first artists to take advantage of the inherent social distancing of drive-in theaters: Garth Brooks started the trend with a specially-filmed drive-in concert in June, and Blake Shelton followed his lead in July.

Tickets for the Metallica drive-in concert go on sale this Friday, Aug. 14, through Ticketmaster — you can see all participating locations there.