Image Courtesy of BB Gun PressMetallica's headlining sets at the U.K.'s Reading and Leeds festivals are coming up this weekend, and Dick Tee, head of production for the main stage at Reading, is divulging a few secrets.
"It’s going to be mind-blowing," he told KERRANG! "Currently, we’re looking at something like 400m2 [400 square meters] of LED onstage -- at least 100% more than any other act -- so it’s a phenomenal visual sight."
The band is upping their concert game, Tee said, by adding plenty of special effects, including lasers and pyrotechnics, and extending the front of the concert stage.
"Within that they’ve got stage risers for the band to run up and down on, play on, and to accommodate some special guests you’ll find out about," he said.
Tee said he is expecting 18 trucks worth of equipment "purely for Metallica." "I spent 20 years as Head Of Production at Glastonbury and worked most of the major festivals, and without a doubt this is probably the largest individual artist production I’ve ever dealt with," he said.
The Reading and Leeds Festivals kick off next weekend with Mumford and Sons, alt-J, Bastille, All Time Low, Panic at the Disco, and New Found Glory playing Reading on Friday and Leeds on Saturday. Metallica, Royal Blood, Catfish and the Bottlemen, and Wolf Alice headline Reading on Saturday and Leeds on Sunday. The Libertines, The Gaslight Anthem, Against Me! and AWOLNATION are at Reading on Sunday and Leeds on Friday.
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