System of a Down, Deftones and Slayer are among more than 40 bands announced for next fall’s Sick New World Texas festival.
The one-day event is scheduled for Oct. 24, 2026, at Texas Motor Speedway in Fort Worth. Tickets starting at $299 for general admission and going up to $1,595 for “ultimate V.I.P” go on sale Friday at sicknewworldfest.com/texas/tickets.
The festival began in Las Vegas with events in 2023 and 2024. But the third Vegas edition of Sick New World, slated for April 2025 with Metallica and Linkin Park headlining, was canceled due to “unseen circumstances,” usually a euphemism for poor ticket sales. The fest is operated by Austin-based C3, the Live Nation subsidiary that stages the Austin City Limits Festival.
The Texas Motor Speedway lineup boasts an array of metal and punk-leaning heavy-hitters, including Marilyn Manson, Evanescence, the Prodigy, Ministry, AFI, Mastodon and a retooled version of the Dallas band Power Trip. Many of the same acts are slated to play April 25, 2026, at the Sick New World Fest in Las Vegas.
In 1997, the year it opened, Texas Motor Speedway attracted two massive music events – CountryFest and RockFest – as well as a Rolling Stones concert featuring Smashing Pumpkins and the Dave Matthews Band. Since then, the racetrack has rarely been used as a music venue.
In 2023, promoters moved Hwy 30 Music Fest – an annual event in Idaho – to the Speedway for a successful country-oriented fest. But Hwy 30 canceled its 2024 event at the racetrack due to poor ticket sales for a lineup headlined by Nelly, Vanilla Ice and Color Me Badd.
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