Iron Maiden has been confirmed as a headliner for the 2026 edition of the Louder Than Life festival in Louisville, Kentucky. The performance, which manager Rod Smallwood called a highlight of their new tour, is part of a newly announced 12-date North American leg of the band’s “Run For Your Lives” 50th-anniversary tour.
In addition to the tour dates, the band’s management issued a lengthy and pointed statement praising European fans for not filming shows and urging North American audiences to do the same, asking them to keep their phones in their pockets to improve the concert atmosphere for everyone.
The new 12-date run will see the band play a mix of stadiums and large amphitheaters in the fall of 2026. Smallwood specifically pointed out the significance of the festival booking.
“We particularly look forward to playing the huge shows in Montréal and the Alamodome in San Antonio… plus, of course, Louder Than Life – America’s biggest Rock Festival!” he said in a statement.
In that same announcement, Smallwood made a direct plea to fans regarding smartphone use. He celebrated the success of their phone-free request during their recent European 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, ideally just keeping it in their pockets the whole time, especially in those standing areas in front of the stage,” Smallwood stated. “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.”
He then firmly, and with a touch of humor, extended that request to the upcoming North American audiences.
“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,” he wrote. “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!”
The tour, a celebration of the band’s 50th anniversary, will feature a powerhouse thrash metal support package. Megadeth will join on all headline dates, with Anthrax also appearing on select, larger stadium shows.
“It’s an added bonus to have a few of our good friends on the tour with us,” said bassist Steve Harris. “Megadeth are playing all the shows and it’s an honour 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.”
Frontman Bruce Dickinson promised a setlist packed with early-era classics. “I really enjoy belting out all these great old songs… We’ve got all the big ones from that early period including “Hallowed“, “Run To The Hills“, “Trooper“, “Number Of The Beast“… Plus there’s some real epics including my particular favourite “Rime of the Ancient Mariner…” We are doing them all and more. I mean, who wouldn’t for a 50th birthday party!” he said.
