As Los Angeles begins to re-open and vaccinations continue to roll out globally, California rock legends and global philanthropists STEEL PANTHER are giving the world the perfect way to kick off the summer with the “Fans Come First” livestream. Broadcasting live on May 22 — the Friday of Memorial Day Weekend — the performance marks the band’s first livestream since the cancelation of “Gobblefest” last December. The show will stream globally at 2:00 p.m. PDT (Los Angeles), 5:00 p.m. EDT (NYC) and 10:00 p.m. BST (London).
“Fans Come First” will differ from any other livestream the band has done, since the setlist will be curated directly from the Fanthers. Fans can visit www.steelpantherrocks.com to submit suggestions for the set list and upload videos (encouraged to be as short as possible) of themselves talking about how they discovered STEEL PANTHER or their favorite song, etc. The videos will be shared throughout the “Fans Come First” event.
Tickets for the show are $15 each, with a portion of the proceeds for each ticket sold going to benefit Dogs Without Borders. Fans who purchased tickets under 2-for-$20 promotion last year will automatically have access to the show. The stream will be available until June 6, and ticket buyers will have access to the Rockbuster Video Archive to watch past streams as well from the time they purchase the ticket until that date.
For more information and to purchase tickets, head to this location.
STEEL PANTHER said in a statement: “It has been over six months since we have been able to do a livestream from Los Angeles. With summer just around the corner, we figured now is the perfect time to come together with the fans and help some dogs while at it. The fact the fans will be picking the set list for this one is something that we couldn’t be more excited for. It is going to an adventure for us as much as it will be for them.”
Earlier in the month, STEEL PANTHER confirmed that it has commenced the recording process for its sixth studio album. The follow-up to 2019’s “Heavy Metal Rules” will tentatively arrive before the end of the year.
Last December, STEEL PANTHER released a re-worked version of its song “Fuck Everybody” from “Heavy Metal Rules”, now re-titled “Fuck 2020”. The newly recorded version included updated verses that reflect the insanity of last year.
“Heavy Metal Rules” was released in September 2019. The disc, which is described in a press release as a “heavy metal version of a self-help manual and ultimate party album combined,” was once again produced by Jay Ruston, who collaborated with the band on all of its previous recordings, including 2017’s “Lower The Bar”.
STEEL PANTHER specializes in imitating and exaggerating the less flattering aspects of 1980s hair metal, with unrepentantly crude, non-PC sexual content as a favorite lyrical theme.
The group’s music has been described as “VAN HALEN meets MÖTLEY CRÜE meets RATT meets ‘Wayne’s World’, complete with operatic shrieks, misogyny, shredding guitar solos and libidinal overdrive.”
Thirteen years ago, STEEL PANTHER changed its name from METAL SKOOL to its current moniker and shifted the focus of its act from ’80s metal covers to originals.
Photo by: David Jackson
