William Shatner has announced an unexpected new career move, revealing plans to debut a heavy metal album at a major US music festival.
The 95-year-old actor will reportedly take to the stage with his band, The *Uckers, at Chicago’s Riot Fest in 2026.
“After years of writing letters… Riot Fest 2026: Now with 100% more William Shatner,” the festival captioned its announcement on Instagram.
Shatner later responded in a video shared by the festival.
“Riot Fest fans, Shatner here. And I’ve been digging around, found all those letters you sent me, and I decided you’re such big fans of mine that I’m going to debut my heavy metal record at Riot Fest,” the actor said.
“And I hope you’re there, and I hope I’m there. And I hope that you have my rider and yes, don’t forget my bowl of sauerkraut, if you please.”
The festival also shared an image of Shatner’s rider, which included a number of unusual requests.
Among them were renaming a boat in his honour, a “Shatner’s Shag Shack” themed dressing room, four feet of Polish sausage and “Fire breathers. Many of them”.
The announcement comes just months after Shatner was forced to deny false rumours about his health.
In April, he revealed a Facebook page had been using artificial intelligence to create fake stories claiming he had stage 4 brain cancer and was dying.
“There is a page on @facebook that is using AI to create horrible fake news stories about me,” he wrote on social media on April 2, 2026.
“They have created stories that say I have stage 4 brain cancer, was in some kind of fight with Erika Kirk and that I’m dying. All their stories are monetized. Most of the stories use an AI image of me. Facebook Support will not remove the page.
“None of these stories are true but they apparently seem genuine enough for fans to repost them across social media and send messages of support to me and my family all while the culprits behind the account make money.
“This is the downside of AI and yellow journalism. While can be a wonderful tool in the right hands; it can be used as a weapon in the wrong hands.”
Image: Instagram
