Adam 12

Metallica Beats Taylor Swift and Her Attendance Record

Author adam12

August 30th, 2023 1:24 PM

(Photo by Kevin Winter/Getty Images for TAS Rights Management)

Look at the old metalheads, besting the best pop star in the land. Metallica beats Taylor Swift and her recent attendance record.

Metallica kicked off their M72 World Tour earlier this summer. The tour will stretch all the way into into the summer of 2024, when it comes to Gillette Stadium. On August 2nd, Metallica will be joined by special guests Pantera & MammothWVH and on August 4th they will be joined by special guests Five Finger Death Punch & Ice Nine Kills. Enter here to win your tickets.

The two-shows-per-stop thing isn’t just for the fun of it, by the way. It’s two nights with two completely different sets, in the round at the 50 yard line, no repeats. And that’s exactly what the band did at SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles for their recent tour stop there. And in doing so, they set a new attendance record. An attendance record that had recently been set by Taylor Swift.

Metallica Beats Taylor Swift and Her Attendance Record

Loudwire reports that Metallica drew about 78,000 fans to each of their two shows. Which seems almost impossible, seeing as SoFi Stadium’s official capacity is only 70, 240. But the band had a trick up their sleeve: the “Snake Pit.” In doing their shows in the round, the center area of the stage is removed. That means more standing area for fans. 156,000 more fans, to be precise.

Taylor Swift’s run at SoFi? 420,000 ticket holders over the six-night stand. But only just north of 70,000 in attendance at each show. Which means that Metallica is now the single-show attendance record holder for SoFi Stadium. Just be careful if you’re a Metallica fan with plans to brag about this to a Taylor Swift fan: some of those Taylor Swift fans can get a little out of hand, just take it from me.

Adam 12 is the Program Director of Boston's ROCK 92.9, heard weekdays from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. He's been flexing his encyclopedic rock knowledge in New England for over 2 decades, both on-air and online, at WBCN, WFNX, Boston.com, and indie617. At ROCK 92.9, he keeps you in the know on the big stories from the Boston music scene and writes about great places to eat, drink (beer), and to spend time outdoors in and around Boston.

I Learned The Hard Way: Don't Mess With Taylor Swift Fans

I made a few snarky tweets during Taylor Swift‘s performance on Saturday Night Live in 2021. Taylor Swift fans let me have it.

By the time I woke up Sunday morning, my tweets had been shared a thousand times over, and Swifties had absolutely destroyed my mentions. There were death threats, slurs, and an attempt to hack my Twitter account. No the most pleasant way to spend a quiet Sunday at home! But I have to admit, aside from the really bad stuff, there were also some damn good burns and earnest, astute arguments put forth. I wasn’t a fan of the vitriol, but I have to respect the passion and knowledge of Taylor Swift fans.

In the end, I deleted the tweets and locked my account for awhile to avoid another hacking attempt, But first, I took screenshots for posterity. I’ve shared them below, along with a handful of the more entertaining replies. Because if you can’t laugh at yourself, who can you laugh at, right? That being said, I don’t recommend drawing the ire of Swifties on Twitter. They’re a passionate bunch and, aside from maybe K-pop stans, are pretty much the one fan base you don’t want to rile up.

I Learned The Hard Way: Don’t Mess With Taylor Swift Fans

Was my critique out of line? Does a middle-aged rock DJ have any business criticizing a pop star? Is a pop star untouchable once they reach a certain level of fame? I don’t know. All I know is that I have a newfound appreciation for Taylor Swift and her fans. And if they can take their passion, organize, and apply it to, say, climate justice or racial inequality or the insane price of concert tickets (as I know many of them already have), then they could really make some noise.