Metallica to run blood donation drives at gigs

Metallica are partnering with the American Red Cross and All Within My Hands to organise blood donation drives for select concerts.

Drives will be held at more than 10 shows on the band’s spring US tour, with several slated to take place inside the venues while the band’s crew builds the stage.

Fans in New York, Tennessee, Ohio, Virginia, Pennsylvania, Virginia, North Carolina, Georgia, Texas, California and Colorado can register to donate. Those who do will be entitled to a limited-edition T-shirt.

“As seasons change, the need for blood is constant and even tends to ramp up around summer holidays,” reads a statement from the band. “Donors will have the chance to keep hospital shelves stocked across the country.”

It follows a similar initiative from FKP Scorpio, which recently teamed up with DRK blood donation services NSTOB and Nord-Ost to encourage young people to donate blood for the first time.

“The need for blood is constant and even tends to ramp up around summer holidays”

Those who participated in the Music Gets in Your Blood campaign were entered into a raffle for tickets to Hurricane, Southside, M’era Luna and Highfield. More than 84 tickets to the four festivals were made available for the initiative.

Germany’s Wacken Open Air, meanwhile, has encouraged blood donation for over a decade, offering a free t-shirt in exchange for six recorded donations on the official W:O:A blood donor passport.

Last year, the metal institution encouraged fans to “pay with their blood” for its pre-festival showcase, giving free admission to those who donated.

Metallica’s M72 World Tour kicked off in April 2023 and is set to recommence this month in Syracuse, New York. The final scheduled date is in Auckland, New Zealand on 19 November.

The American band are also featured on the mammoth bill for Ozzy Osbourne and Black Sabbath’s farewell show in Villa Park in Birmingham in July.

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