San Antonio's Memorial Day Metalfest Going Ahead Sunday, Coronavirus Be Damned

Every so often, it's worth asking ourselves how much more metal San Antonio could possibly be. After all, this city earned a rep as Heavy Metal Capital of the World back in the '80s.

Now, a show scheduled for Sunday may have given us an unimpeachable answer to that question. And — with apologies to Nigel Tufnel of Spinal Tap — that answer is: "None more metal."

Despite a pandemic death toll that may soon top 100,000, a statewide lockdown of many performance venues and a 25% capacity limit on recently reopened bars, the Fifth Annual Memorial Day Metalfest will move ahead at Fitzgerald's Bar & Live Music Venue.

Unlike years past, when the Metalfest was a smorgasbord of regional extreme sounds, this year's 10-band bill is exclusively focused on South Texas acts, including All Stories End, Decimate and Pigweed. Apparently, it's also the first show for Fitzgerald's since the state cleared bars to reopen on Friday.

"We feel at this time when music scenes and communities are reeling from financial decimation, that the first show locally should be stocked with local/regional talent in order to heal and infuse much needed hope into the local music community," promoter FocusStar Media posted on the event's Facebook page.

Sure, we're curious whether the personnel alone for 10 bands is likely to eat up of 25% of Fitzgerald's capacity. We also wonder whether fans can strap on their masks tight enough to avoid losing them while headbanging. And we certainly hope folks get their rock on in a safe, socially distanced way.

In all cases, we're guessing metalheads are a resilient enough breed to figure it out. Carry on, San Antonio. Don't you ever change.

$10, Sunday, May 24, Fitzgerald's Bar & Live Music Venue, 437 McCarty Road, (210) 607-7007, fitzrockssa.com.

Get our top picks for the best (online!) events in San Antonio every Thursday morning. Sign up for our Events Newsletter.