Seminal New York City rock band Helmet are celebrating their 30th anniversary with a headline tour, which will take them around the globe, including three shows in New Zealand next year.
Presented by Eccles Entertainment and Under The Radar, Helmet will perform at Studio: The Venue in Auckland on Friday, May 8; Meow in Wellington on Saturday, May 9 and Cassels Blue Smoke in Christchurch on Monday, May 11.
Tickets on sale on Tuesday, December 3 at 12.00pm from www.undertheradar.co.nz
To mark 30 years in the game, Helmet will perform a 30-song set each night of the tour. The band will be playing songs from across their catalogue of eight critically-acclaimed studio albums, as well as rarities from older EPs and singles – with the possibility of a few covers mixed in for good measure. There will be no opening acts on any of the shows.
Founder and frontman Page Hamilton reflects on the occasion: “The day John, Peter and I auditioned Henry is the day I consider to be the beginning of Helmet. The year was 1989 and I think the month was May. I love playing this music more than ever with my current bandmates, Kyle, Dan and Dave. To celebrate 30 years of recording and touring we decided to play 30 songs a night… We hope to see you all there.”
Helmet were formed in New York City in 1989 by founding members Page Hamilton, Henry Bogdan, Peter Mengede, and John Stanier. The group soon after signed to Ampthetamine Reptile Records and released their first full length STRAP IT ON in 1991. Interscope Records soon came calling and signed the band in 1992. Their label debut MEANTIME went on to sell over a million copies and earned a Grammy nomination.
The band have released eight albums over the last 30 years and have gone through different personnel before settling on the current lineup of Page Hamilton, Dan Beeman, Dave Case, and Kyle Stevenson – which has proven to be the most consistent and longest running iteration of the band.
The band have also contributed music to a number of films including Johnny Mnemonic, The Crow, Feeling Minnesota, The Jerky Boys, Gun Crazy and Judgement Night (a collaboration with hip hop group House of Pain). Their most recent album DEAD TO THE WORLD was released in 2016 by German-based label earMusic.
Eccles Entertainment and Under the Radar presents:
30 Years of Helmet, New Zealand tour 2020
Friday May 8, 2020 – Studio The Venue, AUCKLAND
Saturday May 9, 2020 – Meow, WELLINGTON
Monday May 11, 2020 – Cassels Blue Smoke, CHRISTCHURCH
Tickets on sale at 12.00pm, Tuesday December 3, from www.undertheradar.co.nz