Babymetal brings their “World Tour 2026“ to Albuquerque on the winds of a hurricane. Luckily, the winds had left the storm, but up to eight inches of rain was in the forecast. Heading out from my house, I encountered flooded roads and a torrential downpour. I arrived just as the opening act, Violent Vira, started; I missed the opportunity to take pictures but was able to listen to them. Halestorm performed before the almighty Babymetal hit the stage and rocked the night with pouring rain falling on the crowd, but it didn’t stop the fans from finding their place and enjoying every moment.
Violent Vira, a Mexican-American songstress from Midwestern America, brings a heavy grunge, post-hardcore, darkwave vibe to the stage. Before tonight, I had never heard of them, but from their very first songs, I am now a fan. This songstress brings powerful, emotionally charged vocals. She is a big bang in a small package, as she controls the audience with her voice and moves. It is hard to take your eyes off her as she takes your soul with every song.
As the band enters the stage, the only sound is a loud gong. The two guitarists, the bass player, and the drummer wait until the end of the gong’s ringing, and Violent Vira bounces on stage. The crowd filled half the seats, with long lines pouring in through the rain to fill the amphitheater, and cheered as soon as she started singing “Burn Me With a Bible” from her Lover of a Ghost album, followed by “False Reaction” from the same album. These were followed by “Eat” from her 2025 Lover of a Ghost album. The record marks her first full-length album, and it is truly gaining ground as she highlights it on this tour.
If you want to know more about Violent Vira and her journey to stardom, follow these links or join the Babymetal “World Tour 2026” army to see her in person:
https://www.instagram.com/violentvira
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCV8Nx1LCuf6TrvbZYBAJ75g
Halestorm, what can be said? This powerhouse brother and sister duo once again brought rock to the desert as well as rain; they had the crowd jumping for more with each song. Halestorm has been producing song after song since 1997. This was the first time seeing them live since I saw them when they were teenagers in Pennsylvania.
29 years later, the band is going strong, and they are still producing killer hits with each album. They have released six albums, with their latest release in 2025, Everest. They have been nominated for eight different awards, but they did win a Grammy in 2013. “Love Bites (So Do I)” took home the trophy for Best Hardrock/Medal Performance. Each song, no matter whether it was an award winner or not, they performed as if they were all award winners.
If Halestorm has your attention, follow the following links and see where they are performing next:
https://www.halestormrocks.com
https://www.facebook.com/halestormrocks
https://www.instagram.com/halestormrocks
Babymetal, which consists of three dynamic powerhouse front women — Su-metal, Moametal, and Momometa — who are supported by a backup band, Kamiband. Su-metal and Moametal have been in a band since the beginning in Tokyo in 2010. They were created to fuse heavy metal with Japanese idol music, with Su-metal, Moametal, and Yuimetal. But in 2018, Yuimetal exited due to health issues, so they brought in backup singer Momometal and have picked up the torch, keeping the front line three strong female musicians.
When the lights came up, Kamiband hit their first note; the crowd went crazy cheering, jumping, and yelling. But as the three voices marched on stage, everyone was standing. They opened the show with the song “BABYMETAL DEATH” from their debut album, Babymetal, followed by “from me to u” and “Megitsune.” From there, they performed nine more songs, many fan favorites like “KxAxWxAxlxl,” “RATATATA,” and “Gimme Chocolate!!” As they walked off stage, the stage went dark; people started to fill out, then the lights came up, and they performed two encores, “Headbangeeeerrrrr!!!!!” and “Road of Resistance.”
If you want to capture the Babymetal “World Tour 2026,” check out the links and follow these women as they take over the heavy metal world:
https://babymetal.com/mob/index.php?site=TO&ima=4014&lang=en
https://www.facebook.com/BABYMETAL.jp
https://www.instagram.com/babymetal_official
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