William Shatner is bringing heavy metal to Riot Fest. The 95-year-old actor will debut his new band, The Expletives, at the Chicago festival from Sept.
18 to 20, 2026.
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The former Star Trek star joins a lineup of over 100 acts at Douglass Park, including Alanis Morissette, Twenty One Pilots, Iggy Pop, and Rise Against.
Organizers booked Shatner after a multi-year letter-writing campaign.
Shatner's band includes bassist Phil Soussan (ex-Ozzy Osbourne), guitarist Marcus Nand, Britt Lightning of Vixen, and drummer Fred Aching of Powerflo.
They will premiere new material and updated versions of songs from Shatner's earlier catalog, which began with his 1968 debut album, The Transformed Man.
In a video message on the festival's website, Shatner announced the performance.
"I decided you're such big fans of mine that I'm gonna debut my heavy metal record at Riot Fest," he said.
He elaborated on social media: "I am going to be doing a live performance of my new live heavy metal spectacle."
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A festival press release stated the set will "reimagine songs from across Shatner's musical catalog while previewing material from his upcoming heavy metal album."
Shatner framed the project as exploration. "I've always believed that music, like space, is about exploration," he said.
His rider includes fire breathers, a dressing room styled as "Shatner's Shag Shack," and a Montreal Canadiens sweater signed by John Stamos.
He also requests renaming a local street food after him, co-anchoring a weather broadcast, singing at a baseball game, and renaming a vessel so he can captain a ship again.
The performance follows Shatner's recovery from shoulder surgery after a horseback riding fall. He clarified at a convention: "I understand that tabloids say my shoulder was shattered.
... Completely untrue.
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It was a routine procedure."
