Local H @ Metro April 15, 2016. (Photo by Laurie Fanelli)
Metallica’s recently-announced “Hit The Stage” contest now has a victor. Local H has been chosen as the lucky winner and will join James Hetfield and company for a handful of dates on the North American leg of their WorldWired Tour in support of their latest album Hardwired… To Self-Destruct.
Three acts — Avenged Sevenfold, Volbeat and Gojira — were slated to join Metallica on the many dates announced for their WorldWired Tour. Five of the cities, however, only had one opener, which sparked the idea for the aforementioned “Hit The Stage” contest. Local H, comprised of guitarist/singer Scott Lucas and drummer Ryan Harding, was one of many bands in the race and ultimately won with the final results announced yesterday (April 26). The grunge rockers hailing from Zion, IL came in with just over 22% of the vote, beating out fellow Chicago group Blood People by a healthy margin and barely edging out Dallas’ Mothership, who came in a close second place with just over 21% of the final vote.
Local H’s first date with Metallica will be at Gillette Stadium (with Volbeat) in Foxborough, MA on May 19. They will also take the stage in St. Louis, San Antonio and Dallas before finally appearing at Soldier Field (along with Avenged Sevenfold) during Metallica’s Chicago stop on June 18.
“To be honest, it doesn’t look like we’ve got a hope in hell of winning this thing but let’s give it a shot,” read a recent message on the Local H website. But don’t misinterpret the statement as a lack of confidence in the band’s ability to perform the duties of the job as Lucas had this to say when asked in a recent interview with NJ (per Blabbermouth) if the prospect of opening for Metallica was intimidating.
“Not at all. It’s fun to stretch out when we’re by ourselves and go in there loose and play what you want and take requests, but when you’re opening for somebody, you’ve got to tighten things up. You have to get everything in with the time that you’ve got, and that’s fun too. It’s great to be able to do both.”
Check out the five tour dates and listen to Lars Ulrich announce Local H as the winner of Metallica’s “Hit The Stage” promotion on 97.9 The Loop below.
“Hit The Stage” Contest Tour Dates:
May 19 – Foxborough, MA – Gillette Stadium (also with Volbeat)
June 04 – St. Louis, MO – Busch Stadium (also with Volbeat)
June 14 – San Antonio, TX – Alamodome (also with Avenged Sevenfold)
June 16 – Dallas, TX – AT&T Stadium (also with Avenged Sevenfold)
June 18 – Chicago, IL – Soldier Field (also with Avenged Sevenfold)