Richie Faulkner returns to the stage as Judas Priest kick off rescheduled 50 Heavy Metal Years tour dates

Richie Faulkner of Judas Priest
(Image credit: Eric Somer / YouTube)

Judas Priest have kicked off a series of rescheduled dates on the North American leg of their 50 Heavy Metal Years Tour, marking the return of guitarist Richie Faulkner, who suffered an aortic aneurysm onstage with the band back in September. The tour was postponed following the incident.

Taking to the stage on Friday night (March 4) at the Peoria Civic Center in Illinois, Faulkner appeared to be back firing on all cylinders, helping the band rattle through a discography-spanning selection of their greatest hits, including You've Got Another Thing Comin', Turbo Lover and Painkiller, before concluding with fan favorite, Living After Midnight. Check out footage below.

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Sam Roche

Sam was Staff Writer at GuitarWorld.com from 2019 to 2023, and also created content for Total Guitar, Guitarist and Guitar Player. He has well over 15 years of guitar playing under his belt, as well as a degree in Music Technology (Mixing and Mastering). He's a metalhead through and through, but has a thorough appreciation for all genres of music. In his spare time, Sam creates point-of-view guitar lesson videos on YouTube under the name Sightline Guitar.