Judas Priest extend Faithkeepers 2026 tour with key German dates

Judas Priest continue their late-career touring surge with the Faithkeepers 2026 European run. According to a detailed tour update published on March 18, 2026, the band has expanded the schedule with additional German arena and festival dates stretching into September 2026.Metal1.info tour report

Faithkeepers 2026 – all confirmed German shows

The core of Judas Priest’s 2026 activity is a compact but dense European tour branded Faithkeepers 2026, built around several German stops that anchor the route for fans in the country.Rock and Roll Garage announcement

The German leg begins on July 25, 2026, at Bobfest 2026 in Mönchengladbach, followed by a headline show at Halle Messe Arena in Halle on July 26, 2026. On July 31, Judas Priest appear at the Wacken Open Air festival, historically one of Germany’s key heavy metal gatherings.

After crossing into central and eastern Europe in early August, the band return for an outdoor date at Wiley Sportpark Neu-Ulm on August 6, 2026. Later in the month they are billed at the Reload Festival in Bremen on August 14, before closing the German strand of the tour with a headline show on the Loreley open-air stage in Sankt Goarshausen on August 23, 2026.Loreley 2026 event listing

Set list and wider European routing

The German dates are embedded in a wider European route that sees Judas Priest play a mix of arenas and major festivals. From Halle the tour moves to Warsaw’s Torwar I Hala Widowiskowa on July 28, then back to Germany for Wacken Open Air on July 31 before heading to Ostravar Arena in Ostrava, Czech Republic, on August 2.

On August 4, the band perform at Tipos Arena in Bratislava, Slovakia. After Neu-Ulm on August 6, they join the Bloodstock Open Air lineup in Burton upon Trent, United Kingdom, on August 9, then play club-sized O13 in Tilburg, Netherlands, on August 12. The route continues with Motocultor Festival in Carhaix-Plouguer, France, on August 16, Navarra Arena in Pamplona, Spain, on August 18 and Roig Arena in Valencia, Spain, on August 20 before the Loreley show on August 23.

The run does not end there. Additional dates bring Judas Priest to Pula Arena in Croatia on August 25, Belgrade Arena in Serbia on August 28, Vidas Art Arena in Sofia, Bulgaria, on August 29 and Budapest Arena in Hungary on September 1. The final stretch comprises four Italian shows in Pordenone, Brescia, Bari and Rome, followed by Bern in Switzerland, Strasbourg, Lyon, Bordeaux and Paris in France, Brussels at Forest National and a tour-closing night at London’s Eventim Apollo on September 21, 2026.

The sound of Invincible Shield and modern Judas Priest

The 2026 tour follows the release of Judas Priest’s 19th studio album Invincible Shield, issued in March 2024. The record pushes the band’s classic heavy metal template into a sharper, modern production, leaning on twin-guitar riffing, high-register vocals and tight rhythmic arrangements.

Stylistically, the album connects back to landmark Judas Priest recordings such as Painkiller, with fast tempos and aggressive guitar lines, but introduces more melodic choruses and layered harmonies. Songs like Panic Attack, The Serpent and the King and the title track Invincible Shield form the backbone of the current live set, giving the tour a clear link to their recent studio output.

On stage, the new material sits alongside classics like Breaking the Law, Living After Midnight and Painkiller, creating a narrative that spans over five decades of the band’s evolution. This blend underlines Judas Priest’s position as a bridge between traditional British heavy metal and the global stadium metal format of the 21st century.

Where Judas Priest stand in 2026

Judas Priest’s current career status is defined by an unusual combination of longevity and renewed chart success. With Invincible Shield, the band reached number one on the Official German Album Charts in March 2024, their first-ever German chart-topper after more than fifty years of recording and touring.

This article was created with AI assistance and editorially reviewed. Sources are linked in the text. Dates, chart positions and certifications may change at short notice; correction notes can be sent via the editorial contact on our imprint/contact page.