Star Trek legend William Shatner is showing no signs of slowing down – in fact, the 95-year-old is about to make his live debut as a heavy metal singer.
The actor is best-known for playing Captain James T Kirk in the original series of Star Trek, but has also had a long career as a recording artist during which he has collaborated with musicians such as Ozzy Osbourne and Henry Rollins.
Independent record label Cleopatra revealed earlier this year that Shatner was “turning the volume up to pain-threshold max” with a planned new heavy metal album, promising it would feature “a veritable army of metal stars”.
Now, it has been announced he will take to the stage with his new band The *uckers at Riot Fest in Douglass Park on September 20.
Other performers on the festival bill will include Morrissey, Iggy Pop, Sex Pistols, Patti Smith, Alanis Morissette and Elvis Costello.
“I’ve always believed that music, like space, is about exploration,” Shatner said in a statement.
“Riot Fest is exactly the kind of place where anything can happen. We’re bringing volume, intensity, and a few surprises. I can’t wait to share this experience with the fans.”
Shatner also shared his excitement on his Instagram page, telling fans: “This is an event you definitely will be telling your grandchildren about!”
He posted an extensive tongue-in-cheek list of rider requirements – including asking that Riot Fest rename a dressing room “Shatner’s Shag Shack” and supply “four feet of Polish sausage”. The list also demanded Chicago rename a boat in Shatner’s honour so he can “captain a ship again”.
Riot Fest founder Mike “Riot Mike” Petryshyn quipped that he had been trying for years to get the 95-year-old to his festival.
“After years of persistently – and perhaps annoyingly – writing letters to William Shatner about performing at Riot Fest, it appears that he was finally compelled,” he said.
“I, for one, cannot wait to see Shatner get heavy.”
So now that my appearance in Chicago at @RiotFest is known I want to start acting like the Heavy Metal Rock God that I am. 🙌🏻 So… I have a few demand…err🤨…requests for Chicago.☺️
Should this go to @ChicagosMayor or maybe @GovPritzker ?🤷
Nothing unreasonable here as… pic.twitter.com/U0jV2fEgmf
— William Shatner (@WilliamShatner) July 16, 2026
The *uckers features Marcus Nand on guitar, Fred Aching on drums, Britt Lightning on guitar and Phil Soussan on bass.
According to People, the performance will “reimagine songs” from Shatner’s back catalogue, as well as debuting tracks from The *uckers’ heavy metal album What the F Is Heavy Metal.
“That’s the name of the album because I know nothing or didn’t know anything until I found out how little I do know!” Shatner told People.
When Cleopatra announced the heavy metal album back in February, Shatner said he would be covering Black Sabbath, Judas Priest and Iron Maiden, as well as new songs written by his team.
“Metal has always been a place where imagination gets loud,” he said at the time.
“This album is a gathering of forces—each artist bringing their fire, their precision, their chaos. I chose them because they have something to say, and because metal demands honesty.”
Shatner Riot Fest debut comes after Shatner made history when he became the oldest person to go up into space when he blasted off on Jeff Bezos’ New Shepard NS-18 rocket in October 2021.
He was also in the news towards the end of last year following a medical scare that he later made light of with an Instagram post declaring: “Rumours of my demise have been greatly exaggerated”.
–with AAP
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