British heavy metal icons IRON MAIDEN have officially announced the highly anticipated North American leg of their “Run For Your Lives” world tour. Set for 2026, the run celebrates the band’s monumental 50th anniversary, bringing their legendary stage production to some of the biggest stadiums and amphitheaters across the United States and Canada.
Fans will experience a once-in-a-lifetime setlist featuring songs from IRON MAIDEN’s first nine groundbreaking albums — all performed with the band’s signature, high-octane energy and state-of-the-art visual production.
The trek will also see IRON MAIDEN headlining Louder Than Life — America’s biggest rock festival — at the Highland Festival Grounds in Kentucky on September 17, 2026.
Steve Harris on Touring with MEGADETH and ANTHRAX
IRON MAIDEN bassist Steve Harris expressed excitement about the upcoming tour and the powerhouse lineup joining them on the road.
“We are greatly looking forward to bringing this ‘Run For Your Lives’ tour to North America and hope the fans enjoy seeing the show and hearing the set list as much as we do playing it,” said Harris. “It’s an added bonus to have a few of our good friends on the tour with us. MEGADETH are playing all the shows and it’s an honor to have them join us on their last-ever tour. We also have ANTHRAX with us on the bigger shows. We had a great time with them when they came out with us on Ed Force One around the world in 2016. We’re delighted to have both bands with us for this tour and know our fans will enjoy seeing them.”
Bruce Dickinson Promises a Setlist Packed with Classics
Frontman Bruce Dickinson couldn’t hide his enthusiasm for revisiting the band’s early catalog on this special anniversary run.
“This whole tour has been such great fun. I really enjoy belting out all these great old songs, and the whole band are loving playing them too!” said Dickinson. “We’ve got all the big ones from that early period including ‘Hallowed,’ ‘Run To The Hills,’ ‘Trooper,’ ‘Number Of The Beast,’ ‘Killers,’ ‘Powerslave,’ ‘2 Minutes’… and some of them we haven’t played in the U.S. for over 20 years!! Plus there’s some real epics including my particular favorite ‘Rime Of The Ancient Mariner’ and ‘Seventh Son.’ We are doing them all and more. I mean, who wouldn’t for a 50th-birthday party!”
Rod Smallwood on the Tour’s Scale and Production
Manager Rod Smallwood emphasized that this will be one of IRON MAIDEN’s largest and most visually ambitious tours ever staged in North America.
“For a tour celebrating the 50th anniversary of IRON MAIDEN, the scale and incredible visual aspects of this show deserve larger venues than the arenas we have generally played in the past,” Smallwood explained. “We particularly chose this time of year to go bigger outdoors but to give us darkness when we go on stage so you will see the best of the production. Fans certainly won’t be disappointed in the show or the 50th-anniversary set list that is for sure!”
He continued:
“We particularly look forward to playing the huge shows in Montréal and the Alamodome in San Antonio, two of the biggest shows we have ever played in North America plus, of course, Louder Than Life — America’s biggest Rock Festival! Along with the stadium shows in Los Angeles, New Jersey, and Hershey, we have also chosen to play a few of the biggest amphitheaters as they always have a fantastic atmosphere and great visual sight lines.”
Smallwood also confirmed plans to bring the fan-favorite Eddie’s Pop-up Dive Bar experience to North America for the first time, alongside the Trooper VIP Experience, both of which were massive hits during their European run.
A Phone-Free Concert Experience
In a move to preserve the raw energy of live performance, IRON MAIDEN once again urged fans to keep their phones away during shows.
“Finally, it was really special on our European dates this year to see that the vast majority of our fans appreciated and respected our request to severely limit their use of phones at our concerts,” Smallwood noted. “Our fans’ understanding and cooperation made a colossal difference to the atmosphere of every show and increased the enjoyment enormously for the band and fans alike.”
“So for all our North American shows we are once again requesting that fans keep their phones in their pockets and enjoy the show ‘in the moment’, rather than raise their phone in the air trying to film sections and thus inconveniencing those around them and annoying the band. So if a so-called fan near you thinks they are special and filming what they selfishly want please just ask them, very politely of course, to put their phone somewhere the sun doesn’t shine!”
A Historic Return to North America
These upcoming shows will mark 45 years since IRON MAIDEN first toured North America during their 1981 “Killer” world tour. The 2026 edition promises to be one of the most ambitious yet, featuring monumental venues, a massive setlist, and appearances from metal heavyweights MEGADETH and ANTHRAX.
The band’s return to BMO Stadium in Los Angeles on September 25 will also mark their 25th show in the City of Angels, solidifying their legacy as one of the most enduring forces in heavy metal.
2026 “Run For Your Lives” North American Tour Dates
Aug. 29 – Toronto, ON – Scotiabank Arena*
Sep. 03 – Montréal, QC – Parc Jean-Drapeau*^
Sep. 05 – Harrison, NJ – Sports Illustrated Stadium*^
Sep. 09 – Boston, MA – TD Garden*
Sep. 11 – Bristow, VA – Jiffy Lube Live*
Sep. 12 – Charlotte, NC – PNC Music Pavilion*
Sep. 15 – Hershey, PA – Hersheypark Stadium*
Sep. 17 – Louisville, KY – Louder Than Life Festival
Sep. 19 – Shakopee, MN – Mystic Lake Amphitheater*
Sep. 22 – Chicago, IL – Credit Union 1 Amphitheatre*
Sep. 25 – Los Angeles, CA – BMO Stadium*^
Sep. 29 – San Antonio, TX – Alamodome*^
*MEGADETH performing at all shows
^ANTHRAX joining select major shows
