William Shatner is 95 years old, and on Sunday night he is scheduled to close Riot Fest in Chicago’s Douglass Park with a heavy metal band. The Star Trek icon’s group, called *uckers, will make its festival debut during the final evening of the three-day event, whose lineup also includes Iggy Pop, Pixies, Tool, Morrissey, Nas, Pierce the Veil, Alanis Morissette and Elvis Costello & the Imposters.
The bassist beside Shatner, Phil Soussan, has his own metal credentials and a Las Vegas connection. Soussan, who lives in Las Vegas, co-wrote Ozzy Osbourne’s hit “Shot in the Dark” and backed Osbourne on the album Original Sin, according to the Las Vegas Review-Journal. The 65-year-old bassist has also toured and recorded with Billy Idol, the Vince Neil Band, John Waite, Last in Line and Johnny Hallyday.
The booking followed years of outreach. Riot Fest co-founder Mike “Riot Mike” Petryshyn told the Standard that organizers had sent Shatner letters for more than a decade before he agreed to perform in 2026.
A Rider Built for Captain Kirk
Shatner’s performance contract included an artist rider with requests including a DeLorean golf cart, local adoptable puppies, a dressing room called the Shatner’s Shag Shack and four feet of Polish sausage, according to CBS News. Chicago restaurant The Wiener's Circle also created a hot dog in his honor, the Shatner Dog, the report said.
From Congress Theater to Douglass Park
According to Riot Fest’s official history, the Chicago festival was founded in 2005 and specializes in punk, rock, alternative, metal and hip-hop. Its first event took place Nov. 4, 2005, at the Congress Theater, making Shatner’s scheduled closing set at the current Douglass Park festival part of the event’s shift from its original indoor Chicago setting to a large outdoor format. The fire performance also brings event-planning requirements into focus. The Chicago Park District says outdoor activities and events with specified features require a special-event permit and that site plans are required for all events. The available guidance establishes those general requirements but does not detail any fire-specific approval for Shatner’s set.
The stage show itself is being built for spectacle. Former professional wrestler and burlesque performer Shaul Guerrero, who performs as Miss Nyxon, is booked to do live fire-eating and fire-dancing during Shatner's set, CBS News reports. Rounding out the band, guitarist Marcus Nand serves as *uckers' music director and has worked with Mike Tramp and Candice Night, while Britt Lightning of Vixen also plays guitar and Fred Aching handles drums.
Metal Résumés Behind the Theatrics
Aching's credentials run deep in the genre: he's also a member of Kings of Thrash and Dead Groove, and per a research citation drawn from Google-indexed reporting, he plays in the heavy metal and rap-metal supergroup Powerflo alongside members of Cypress Hill and Biohazard. Last in Line, the band Soussan has also played with, was formed by the original members of Dio, according to the Review-Journal's reporting.
Shatner himself has framed the project as a genuine artistic pursuit rather than a stunt, saying he is exploring distortion and describing metal as a place where imagination gets loud. He plans to release a full album, What the F Is Heavy Metal, through Cleopatra Records, which he has said will feature roughly 35 metal virtuosos, plus covers of Black Sabbath, Iron Maiden and Judas Priest alongside original songs.
The Album's Origin Story and Star-Studded Lineup
The title itself came from an offhand remark. Shatner told the podcast The Moynihan Report that What the F Is Heavy Metal was his literal, exasperated response when Cleopatra Records president Brian Perera first pitched him on the project, according to WDHA FM. He also said that listening to Guns N' Roses' “Patience” inspired him to write an original track called “Impatience,” about his frustration with aging.
Cleopatra Records has confirmed that Judas Priest frontman Rob Halford recorded a duet with Shatner covering “You've Got Another Thing Comin',” with additional guest turns from former Slayer drummer Dave Lombardo and Disturbed bassist John Moyer, per the label's own announcement. Brian May and Sebastian Bach have also reportedly been involved in the project, according to the Review-Journal. The studio team steering the record is led by Adam Hamilton of former L.A. Guns fame, Perera, Derek Hughes, Nand, and Jürgen Engler, per Cleopatra Records.
Cleopatra Records notes Shatner's scheduled 2026 Riot Fest appearance.
Six Decades of Genre-Defying Music
This is far from Shatner's first musical left turn. His unconventional recording career stretches back to his 1968 spoken-word debut The Transformed Man, continued through the critically praised 2004 indie rock album Has Been produced by Ben Folds, and included the 2011 space-themed concept album Seeking Major Tom, according to background compiled by Consequence.
Riot Fest runs Friday through Sunday in Douglass Park, with *uckers slated to close out the final night, per Metal Kaoz. Shatner's Chicago debut arrives this September.
