Star Trek legend William Shatner performed live with his newly formed heavy metal band, The *uckers, for the first time Saturday night (September 19) at the Riot Fest aftershow at Park West in Chicago, Illinois, according to a fan video of the performance. The set included renditions of Ozzy Osbourne’s “Crazy Train,” Motörhead’s “Ace of Spades” and Metallica’s “Enter Sandman.”
The video’s caption explains the context of the show, noting it served as a warm-up before the band’s official Riot Fest appearance the following day.
“Metallica cover by William Shatner and the *uckers live in Chicago,” the caption reads. “This was a warm up show the night before their set at Riot Fest in Chicago.”
Fans reacting to the footage focused on Shatner’s distinctive vocal style during the performance.
“Totally Shatner. That’s the vocal delivery I was expecting,” one fan wrote. “Hope he lives a thousand years.”
Other viewers highlighted the unexpected nature of seeing the actor take on a Metallica classic.
“Never thought I’d hear Enter Sandman performed as spoken word & I never thought I’d see Captain Kirk doing Metallica but here we are,” another fan commented.
A separate reaction compared Shatner’s performance favorably to another rock veteran.
“He’s a lot better than David Lee Roth in 2026 bless him,” the fan wrote.
The Park West warm-up was the first live outing for the project. The *uckers lineup includes guitarist and musical director Marcus Nand, Vixen guitarist Britt Lightning, bassist Phil Soussan and drummer Fred Aching.
The six-song Park West set mixed the covers with original material from Shatner’s upcoming album, What the F Is Heavy Metal. Shatner and The *uckers then made their official Riot Fest debut on Sunday, September 20, at Douglass Park.
