Megadeth have announced their first-ever performance at the Budokan will be live-streamed later this month and will feature the very special guest Marty Friedman, who will join Dave Mustaine, Kiko Loureiro, James LoMenzo and Dirk Verbeuren on stage in Japan.
“It has been a long time,” Marty Friedman says. “23 years, to be exact, since I’ve been on the same stage with Dave Mustaine making music. We’ve both taken drastically different paths since then. That doesn’t change the fact that I’m extremely proud of the part that I played in Megadeth’s history and legacy. I’m also very, very proud of the band’s many great achievements and continued success in my absence.
“For right now, I just feel immense joy and some serious adrenaline. I am looking forward to playing with Megadeth at this very cool place, The Budokan.”
Marty was the guitarist with Megadeth from 1990 to 2000, touring and playing on five studio albums, including the GRAMMY® nominated, multi-platinum-selling album Countdown To Extinction, and platinum-selling releases, Rust In Peace and Youthanasia.
“Marty and I have remained friends over 23 years since we last played together,” Dave Mustaine says. “However, I hear his music every night, and he still is among the top guitar players I’ve ever heard. This is an amazing treat for the fans, as well as myself. I am going to enjoy this as much as the fans are, and I’m sure many of you will catch me sneaking a peek during Marty’s appearance. Domo arigato, Marty-San!”
The global live stream of the fully-live performance will be streamed worldwide on 27 February 2023, at 6:00 pm Tokyo time (JST) / 9:00 am London (GMT) / 4:00 am (ET) / 1:00 am (PT) produced by Wowow and Driift.
The show will then be re-broadcast so fans around the world can watch at a more convenient time. Following that, the show will be available to watch on-demand for two days.
The airings will include an exclusive preshow that allows virtual VIP access to the band as they arrive in Japan, meet their fans, and promote their new album, all leading into the band’s live performance at the world-famous venue.
Tickets for the 27 February show, are available from https://dreamstage.live/show/megadeth.
