Metallica’s first show in 2020 will be a drive-in concert. You can see it in Fresno area

While entertainment venues around Fresno and — and across the U.S. — continue to push for help from the federal government in order to survive the coronavirus pandemic, national touring acts are finding other avenues to connect with fans.

Many have taken to live-streaming concerts (Rolling Stone has a running list).

Others are taking a more retro route and staging concerts for drive-in theater screens.

That list now includes Metallica, which totally explains the band’s recent return to rehearsal space.

The band announced its first show of 2020 (and its first show in almost a year) will screen Aug. 29 as part of Encore Drive-In Nights. The one-night-only concert, which features an opening performance from Three Days Grace, will screen at hundreds of theaters across the U.S., including Madera 2 Drive-In Theatre and the Nightlight, a mobile drive-in theater that’s been set up in Los Banos.

Tickets for the concert are $115 and for sale online noon Friday. Tickets are good for one carload of up to six people and include four digital downloads of Metallica’s latest album, “S&M2.” The album was recorded last year at the grand opening of the Chase Center and features the San Francisco Symphony Orchestra.

This will likely be your single chance to see the metal band anywhere close this year, though Metallica is slated to headline the Aftershock Festival (along with My Chemical Romance) in Sacramento in 2021.

This is not the first concert to screen at the Madera drive-in. It hosted Encore’s first two drive-in concerts; Garth Brooks in June and Blake Shelton in July.

The concerts adhere to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommended guidelines and state and local health mandates. A full list of safety procedures can be found online at encorenights.com.

This story was originally published August 10, 2020 at 11:25 AM.