“It’s not signed, sealed and delivered... but speaking to me and asking my opinion I would love to do it”: After being "blown away" by U2 at the Sphere, Lars Ulrich suggests that Metallica would be keen to play there in 2026

It’s looking increasingly likely that Metallica will be the next big name to play a residency at Las Vegas’s Sphere venue.

Nothing has been confirmed as yet. But Vital Vegas has suggested that the band could be eyeing up a run of shows in autumn 2026.

Cut to Lars Ulrich being interviewed by Howard Stern on his SiriusXM show last night (6 August) and when Stern brought up the possibility of playing the Sphere, the drummer didn’t exactly distance himself from the rumours.

“I’m not going to confirm anything, because there’s nothing to confirm,” Ulrich told Stern. “ But I’m not going to deny it, because we’re all such fans of this venue. It’s something that we’re considering, [but] nothing is etched in stone or green-lit. It’s something that we’re looking at at some point when the 2026 tour is done.”

Ulrich said that he had seen the opening night of U2’s run at the venue in 2023 and had been “blown away” by what he saw. “It’s not signed, sealed and delivered, but speaking to me and asking my opinion I would fucking love to do it.”

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This comes a few months after guitarist Kirk Hammett was interviewed by The Hollywood Reporter and suggested that he was open to playing the Sphere. “Oh, heck, yeah!” he exclaimed. “That’s a great example of how venues are changing. That’s using modern technology to the fullest, to really up the levels of production and entertainment, connected to AI and making it a crazy experience.”

Stern also asked Ulrich about the possibility of Metallica doing the half time show at next year’s Super Bowl, which will be in the band’s hometown of San Francisco. And he seemed positive about that too, saying, emphatically: “Fuck yeah of course we would. First of all we would do it. Second of all to do it in San Francisco would be a dream come true and would be the right fit.

“Certainly as somebody who’s represented San Francisco all over the world and shouted for decades about San Francisco and our love for the Bay Area, that part of it is the right fit. Ultimately it’s not our decision.”