First bands announced for Rock in Rio

James Hetfield, left and Kirk Hammett, right from US band Metallica perform at Glastonbury music festival, England, Saturday, June 28, 2014. Thousands of music fans have arrived for the festival to see headliners Arcade Fire, Metallica and Kasabian. (Photo by Jonathan Short/Invision/AP)

Taylor Swift performs at the iHeartRadio Music Festival at the MGM Grand Garden Arena on September 19, 2014 in Las Vegas. (Photo by Al Powers/Powers Imagery/Invision/AP)

James Hetfield of Metallica performs on the main Pyramid stage at Glastonbury festival, in Pilton, England, Saturday, June 28, 2014. More than 175,000 are expected to have arrived at Worthy Farm in Pilton to watch hundreds of acts amongst headliners, Arcade Fire, Metallica and Kasabian. (Photo by Joel Ryan/Invision/AP)

Kirk Hammett of Metallica performs on the main Pyramid stage at Glastonbury music festival, England, Saturday, June 28, 2014. More than 175,000 are expected to have arrived at Worthy Farm in Pilton to watch hundreds of acts amongst headliners, Arcade Fire, Metallica and Kasabian.(Photo by Joel Ryan/Invision/AP)

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By JASON BRACELIN LAS VEGAS REVIEW-JOURNAL

September 26, 2014 - 3:42 pm

The Sandman will help introduce Rock in Rio to Las Vegas — well, at least four metal dudes singing about the mythical character.

Metallica has been announced as one of the first acts booked for the mammoth new music festival, which makes its American debut here on consecutive weekends, May 8-9 and 15-16.

The veteran metal band, which last played locally in December 2010 and counts “Enter Sandman” among its biggest hits, joins Taylor Swift, John Legend, No Doubt, Linkin Park and Deftones as the initial bands confirmed for Rock in Rio. Many more will be announced later.

The festival will take place on the sprawling Rock in Rio grounds, which span 40 acres at the corner of Sahara Avenue and Las Vegas Boulevard.

Presale tickets are on sale at www.rockinrio.com.

Contact reporter Jason Bracelin at jbracelin@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0476. Follow on Twitter @JasonBracelin.

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