Metallica announced the creation of Orion Music + More, a new annual music, arts, and lifestyle festival founded and headlined by the band.

Metallica, in conjunction with C3 Presents, today announced the creation of Orion Music + More, a new annual music, arts, and lifestyle festival founded and headlined by the band, a natural progression for a band that has headlined legendary festivals around the world for years.  Orion Music + More will take place June 23-24 at Bader Field in Atlantic City, New Jersey.

“We’ve had the idea of doing our own lifestyle festival with lots of diverse music and fun and games for years,” said Lars Ulrich.  “Finally this year all the practical ducks lined up in a row, and we are beyond psyched to bring Orion to our fans, friends and the curious.   After the most incredible of weeks ever in December 2011 celebrating our 30th anniversary at the Fillmore in San Francisco, CA, bringing the spirit of that week, the looseness of that week, the possibilities of that week, the fan interactive elements of that week, and the (fill in your own blank here) of that week to a festival setting is so exciting we can hardly contain ourselves.”

Orion Music + More will feature multiple live music stages plus a lifestyle element that reflects each of Metallica’s band members many personal interests.  Metallica will headline both nights of Orion Music + More and play “The Black Album” in its entirety one night Ride The Lightning in its entirety the other.  This will be the only time the band will perform these albums in North America in 2012. The lineup for Orion Music + More will span multiple musical genres.   From punk to country, over 20 bands will perform, including:  Arctic Monkeys, Avenged Sevenfold, Modest Mouse, The Gaslight Anthem, Cage The Elephant, Fucked Up, Best Coast, Hot Snakes, Titus Andronicus, Gary Clark Jr., Lucero, Roky Erickson, The Black Angels, The Sword, Liturgy, and more to be announced in the coming weeks.

The Metallica Met Club fan club presale starts tomorrow – February 8th at 10am (Eastern) and runs through Friday, February 10th at 10pm (Eastern).  Met Club members get first dibs on buying festival tickets and with a couple of options to choose from.

– A Super Special Price at $125 including all fees for a 2-Day pass OR

– The MET CLUB ULTRA 2-DAY PASS, which includes Front of Stage Viewing Area Access, Exclusive Ultra Lounge Access & More for $225 including all fees!

Tickets will go on-sale to the public on Saturday, February 11th at 10 am (Eastern) for $150 for a 2-Day Pass including all fees.  Visit www.orionmusicandmore.com to buy tickets.

Stay tuned for additional Orion Music + More announcements.