Metallica surprises fans with $20 concert

Metallica hosted a surprise show in Chicago for less than $20 — and it sold out in less than an hour.

The heavy metal band played at the Metro, the historic venue hailed as “Chicago’s home to love music since ’82.” The surprise show market the first time Metallica played at the venue in nearly four decades.

Metallica announced the Chicago show after playing at The Independent in San Francisco on Thursday (September 16). The band posted on Monday (September 20): “THAT was way too much fun last week as we finally played in front of real live fans for the first time in over two years in our hometown of San Francisco. So why not do it again?? This time we’re in Chicago and we’ll be hitting the stage at the storied Metro on Clark Street tonight… our first time back there since 1983!!”

That's what inspired the $19.83 ticket price, WGN 9 noted, reporting that tickets sold out in under an hour.

The Metro required $20 cash only to get a wristband to the show, and required fans to prove they’d been vaccinated. The venue urged concertgoers to “stop everything you’re doing and head immediately to our box office,” and Block Club Chicago described the crowds of people apparently did just that: the line to the box office started on Clark Street, where the venue is located, and snaked around the whole block as fans waited for a chance to get inside. The Metro's capacity is about 1,000 people.