ANAHEIM, Calif. — For its inaugural Power Trip event, Southern California concert promoters Goldenvoice have assembled the top acts in the rock and heavy metal genres to perform on a single stage at the Empire Polo Club in Indio.

The three-day event will feature just two bands playing full sets each evening with Guns N’ Roses and Iron Maiden kicking things off on Friday; AC/DC and Judas Priest keep things going on Saturday and Metallica and Tool will close out the show on Sunday.

Ahead of the show, we rounded up some of the bass players performing at Power Trip to talk about the unique set-up of the trio of back-to-back concerts, which is certainly more than just a traditional show, but not quite a festival.

So, why bass players?

“The bass players are the glue of the band, we keep it together and hold it down,” Metallica bassist Robert Trujillo said with a laugh during a recent phone interview from his Los Angeles-area home.

Once in a lifetime

“It’s unusual, isn’t it?” Judas Priest bassist Ian Hill said of Power Trip in comparison of the multi-artist, multi-stage festivals the band has been a part of in Europe recently. It’s reminiscent of Goldenvoice’s 2016 Desert Trip, which brought together the Rolling Stones, Paul McCartney, Bob Dylan, Neil Young, the Who and Roger Waters of Pink Floyd for two consecutive weekends, and the Big 4 Festival, which saw sets from Megadeth, Slayer, Anthrax and Metallica in 2011 at the same venue in Indio. It’s also the spot where Goldenvoice hosts its flagship fest, the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival, followed by its country music sister fest, Stagecoach, each year.

“I think it’s a good concept because everyone’s excited to see six bands on three different days,” Hill continued. “It would be difficult with bands of this stature, you couldn’t get them all on one bill or in one day anyway. There wouldn’t be enough time and there wouldn’t be enough room for egos, probably, on who would top the bill.”

Judas Priest, which just celebrated its 50th anniversary and was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, wasn’t initially on the Power Trip roster. The English heavy metal band known for songs like “Breaking the Law,” “You’ve Got Another Thing Comin’” and “Living After Midnight” stepped in after original Power Trip player Ozzy Osbourne had to bow out due to ongoing health issues.

“It is a great thing to get asked to be a part of,” Hill said, noting that the band had planned to take a year off after touring nearly nonstop since 2021 and the break would give them time to finish up the next record, which should be dropping in March. “We’re sorry Ozzy couldn’t do it; he’s not in the best place at the moment. But I know Ozzy, he’s built like a tank. He’ll be back at it one time or another.”

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