Drive-in Metallica show coming to Sacramento offers an alternative to live music

Drive-in movies made a comeback during the pandemic. Next up: drive-in concert films.

Northern California Metallica fans can catch the band’s first performance of 2020 on August 29 at the West Wind Drive-In Theaters in Sacramento and Concord, the Alameda County Fairgrounds in Pleasanton and the Nightlight in Los Banos.

“Drive in. Rock out,” says the event website.

The upcoming Metallica show is part of the Encore Drive-In Nights series, which has already featured artists including Blake Shelton and Gwen Stefani.

“You could tell that they were excited to be back on the stage performing again,” said Encore Live CEO Walter Kinzie shortly after viewing the recording of the performance in a secret Northern California location on August 11. “The energy that they have, they’re really anxious to be able to get in front of their fans.”

Kinzie grew up in Kansas going to drive-in movies. Social distancing requirements during the pandemic posed a challenge to the live entertainment industry, he said, and the drive-in concert idea grew out of a conversation with his pastor about how to adapt.

Admission to the upcoming Metallica show is $115 per vehicle. No more than six people are allowed per car — but the price tag remains the same whether you show up alone or accompanied by five friends or family members.

Tickets go on sale noon Friday at ticketmaster.com/encore-metallica. Pre-sales, available to members of Metallica’s Fifth Member fan club, opened Wednesday morning.

Each ticket purchase will include four digital downloads of “S&M2,” an album documenting Metallica’s September 2019 collaboration with the San Francisco Symphony at the Chase Center.

Kinzie said there will be a touchless check-in process at the drive-in events. Fans will be required to observe social distancing rules and other precautions related to the coronavirus, and cars will have to stay at least six feet apart from each other.

“The concert, the band’s first show in nearly a year, will feature material from throughout their near four-decade career and provide Metallica fans with an intimate, unique and truly memorable concert experience,” according to a press release.

Metallica has a long history performing in Sacramento. The band has played a dozen shows in Sacramento since 1985, including their most recent appearance at the Golden 1 Center in December 2018.

Metallica is still slated to headline the Aftershock Music Festival in Sacramento next fall. Festival organizers finally decided in July to postpone the event from October 2020 to October 2021.