North American leg of Judas Priest’s 50th anniversary tour to kick off in September

Judas Priest’s plans to launch a 50th anniversary tour last year were waylaid by the COVID-19 pandemic, but the heavy-metal legends finally will get their chance to celebrate the milestone later in 2021.

The North American leg of the band's trek, dubbed "The 50 Heavy Metal Years Tour," kicks off with a September 8 concert in Reading, Pennsylvania, and currently runs through a November 5 show in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada.

Tickets to some shows are already available, while other will go on sale to the general public starting this Friday, June 11, at 10 a.m. local time via Ticketmaster.com.

Veteran Swedish metal band Sabaton will open most of the concerts on the tour.

"Defending the heavy metal faith for fifty years, the Priest is back!" frontman Rob Halford declares in a statement.

Adds guitarist Glenn Tipton, "Time to don the leather and studs and roll out the Priest Machine -- celebrating our 50 Heavy Metal Years!!"

Meanwhile, bassist Ian Hill notes, "After the horrific year of restrictions we've all had to endure, what better place to break free, than the land of the free -- the USA!"

Here's a complete list of Judas Priest's 2021 North American tour dates:

9/8 -- Reading, PA, Santander Arena 9/9 -- Virginia Beach, VA, Veterans United Home Loans Amphitheater 9/11 -- Orlando, FL, Central Florida Fairgrounds 9/13 -- Charlotte, NC, PNC Music Pavilion 9/14 -- Raleigh, NC, Red Hat Amphitheater 9/16 -- Grand Rapids, MI, Van Andel Arena 9/17 -- Youngstown, OH, Covelli Centre 9/19 -- Detroit, MI, Fox Theatre 9/20 -- Rosemont, IL, Rosemont Theatre 9/22 -- Milwaukee, WI, Miller High Life Theatre 9/23 -- Minneapolis, MN, The Armory 9/25 -- Maryland Heights, MO, Saint Louis Music Park 9/26 -- Louisville, KY, Louder Than Life Festival 9/29 -- Denver, CO, The Mission Ballroom 9/30 -- West Valley City, UT, Maverik Center 10/2 -- Everett, WA, Angel of the Winds Arena 10/3 -- Portland, OR, Moda Center 10/5 -- Oakland, CA, Fox Theater 10/6 -- Los Angeles, CA, Microsoft Theater 10/8 -- Las Vegas, NV, Zappos Theater at Planet Hollywood 10/9 -- Phoenix, AZ, Arizona Federal Theatre 10/12 -- San Antonio, TX, Freeman Coliseum 10/13 -- Cedar Park, TX, HEB Center Cedar Park 10/15 -- Irving, TX, The Pavilion at Toyota Music Factory 10/16 -- Oklahoma City, OK, The Zoo Amphitheatre 10/19 -- Independence, MO, Cable Dahmer Arena 10/21 -- Nashville, TN, Nashville Municipal Auditorium 10/22 -- Alpharetta, GA, Ameris Bank Amphitheatre 10/24 -- Charleston, WV, Charleston Civic Center Coliseum 10/25 -- Philadelphia, PA, The Met 10/27 -- Newark, NJ, Prudential Center 10/28 -- Oxon Hill, MD, The Theater at MGM National Harbor 10/30 -- Mashantucket, CT, Foxwoods Resort Casino - Grand Theater 10/31 -- Lowell, MA, Tsongas Center at UMass Lowell 11/2 -- Halifax, NS, Canada, Scotiabank Centre 11/4 -- Laval, QC, Canada, Place Bell 11/5 -- Hamilton, ON, Canada, FirstOntario Centre

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