Nugent Washes Metal Away

A rain dance by Ted Nugent was followed by a storm that washed away the July 12 Metalway Festival in Zaragoza, according to the U.S. rocker’s PR company.

While playing his set at the Monsters Of Rock Festival held on the same site a day earlier, Nugent reportedly performed the dance – in full-feathered headgear – while playing "Great White Buffalo."

The skies opened up and the ensuing deluge did so much damage to the sound and lights that the rest of the event and the following day’s Metalway Festival – which was using the same production – had to be canceled.

The acts left to rue the muddy mess included Iron Maiden, Slayer, Avantasia, Iced Earth, Rose Tattoo and Avenged Sevenfold.

Two weeks later, Lorca Rock Festival promoter Vincent Mena was reasonably happy that his scaled-down event attracted 3,600 per day to see a July 25-26 bill that included Apocalyptica, Nightwish, Lordi and Opeth.

An increasingly crowded festival schedule and huge Spanish shows from the likes of Iron Maiden and Metallica convinced Mena that this was a year when he needed to draw in his horns or risk getting swamped by the heavy rock opposition.