Iron Maiden completed the U.S. leg of their Run for Your Lives world tour on Tuesday, rocking San Antonio’s Alamodome to its core with a thundering, age-defying set that wiped any thoughts of retirement from the minds of the 40,000-plus fans in attendance.
You can see the set list and exclusive photos from theconcert below.
The nightstarted early with a brisk five-song set from Anthrax, who received a last-minute assist from Raven and ex-Fear Factory drummer Mike Helleras drummer Charlie Benante wasbusy “puking his guts out,” according to guitarist Scott Ian.
The thrash legends played fast and loose,with Ian and Heller locking eyes during crucial song cues and Joey Belladonna leading the audience in Texas-sized singalongs.
The energy stayed high as Megadeth followed Anthrax with a nine-song set full of hits and fan favorites, with”The Conjuring” and “Tornado of Souls” earning rabid responses from the audience.
Iron Maiden and San Antonio: A Match Made in Metal Heaven
By the time UFO‘s “Doctor Doctor” began blaring from the loudspeakers to signal Iron Maiden’s arrival, the energy in the Alamodome had reached a fever pitch. Anybody who’s seen a metal show in San Antonio knowsit’s nearly impossible to match theferal enthusiasm of an Alamo City audience. That held true on Tuesday, as Maiden feasted on fans’ fervor whileplowingthrough genre-defining hits and beloved deep cuts off their first nine albums, from 1980’sIron Maiden through 1992’sFear of the Dark.
The band opened with a trio ofKillers cuts — “Murders in the Rue Morgue,” “Wrathchild” and the title track — honoring their streetwise roots and monumental contributionsof late frontman Paul Di’Anno. Singer Bruce Dickinson dressed the part,bounding across the stage in skintight jeans and a leather jacketwhile unleashinghis mighty, operatic howl. At 68 years old, Dickinson continues to school singers half his age,flexing hisspectacular vibrato and breath control with soaring screams and dizzyingly long notes.
The rest of the band followed suit, with bassist and bandleader Steve Harris providingthe relentless rhythmic thrust as guitarists Dave Murray, Adrian Smith and Janick Gers traded solos that were equal parts buttery smooth and blisteringly fast. Drummer Simon Dawson, who replaced the stalwart Nicko McBrain following the latter’s retirement from touring in 2024, capably filled his predecessor’s shoes, hitting McBrain’s signature fills and mammoth, swinging grooves.High-speed rippers such as “Run to the Hills” and “The Trooper” sound slower these days than they did in the band’s ’80s heyday, but if the only evidence of Maiden’scollective senior-citizen status is a few lost beats per minute, it’s a small price to pay.
Deep Cuts and New Stage Visuals Enhanced the Show
When the Run for Your Lives tour launched in May 2025, some fans took umbrage atthe digital screensthat replaced Iron Maiden’s longtime physical stage props and backdrops. But at the very least, they assuaged this writer’s doubts on Tuesday, as the visualsreached the traditionally high bar the band has always set.
Thehaunted nauticalimagery during “Rime of the Ancient Mariner” enhanced the spellbinding epic, drawing fans further intoMaiden’smultisensory “theater of the mind,” as Dickinsonhas coinedit. And purists still got their fill of analogaccessories, as monster-sized versions of Maiden’s trusty mascot Eddie showed up twice during the show and tried to hack the band members to bits.
Unsurprisingly, deep cuts and long-form epics ruled the show. Fans cheered just as rapturously (perhaps more so) for seldom-playedopuses such as “Infinite Dreams” and “Seventh Son of a Seventh Son” as they did forwell-worncrowd-pleaserssuch as “The Number of the Beast” and “Aces High.”
Such is the joy of an Iron Maiden show.It’shard to attract a fairweather “just the hits” audience when you never had any hits to begin with. (For all their staggering success, they’ve never had a song reach the Billboard Hot 100.)Every song in the set is bound to be somebody’s favorite on any given night, and the crowd’s infectious enthusiasm bolstered the band as theydominatedthe biggest San Antonio concert of their half-century career.
Iron MaidenPromises San Antonio: ‘We Will Be Back’
It’s a cheap cliche to say Iron Maiden ages like fine wine; a more aptcomparison would be a venerable stage actor who constantlyreinterpretsa classic role. Enriched by age and experience, Iron Maiden brings a newfoundgravity to their performances; each tour becomes an excitingnew chapter in their epic saga.
Frankly, nobody does it like them — nobody ever has — and as soon as Dickinson assured the Alamodome, “We will be back,” fans began counting the minutes untilthe band makes good on that promise.
Up next for Iron Maiden is a trip to Latin America through October and then off to New Zealand and Australia in November, capping off the year with a pair of dates in Japan.
Iron Maiden Live in San Antonio – Sept. 29, 2026
The metal legends concluded the U.S. leg of their Run for Your Lives world tour in spectacular fashion at the Alamodome.
Gallery Credit: Bryan Rolli
Watch Iron Maiden Play ‘Powerslave’ in San Antonio, 9/29/26
Watch Iron Maiden Play ‘Aces High’ in San Antonio, 9/29/26
Watch Iron Maiden Play ‘Wasted Years’ in San Antonio, 9/29/26
Iron Maiden – Sept. 29, 2026, San Antonio Setlist
1. “Murders in the Rue Morgue”
2. “Wrathchild”
3. “Killers”
4. “Phantom of the Opera”
5. “The Number of the Beast”
6. “Infinite Dreams”
7. “Powerslave”
8. “2 Minutes to Midnight”
9. “Rime of the Ancient Mariner”
10. “Run to the Hills”
11. “Seventh Son of a Seventh Son”
12. “The Trooper”
13. “Hallowed Be Thy Name”
14. “Iron Maiden”
Encore
15. “Aces High”
16. “Fear of the Dark”
17. “Wasted Years”
Megadeth– Sept. 29, 2026, San Antonio Set List
1. “Devil’s Island”
2. “The Conjuring”
3. “Take No Prisoners”
4. “Sweating Bullets”
5. “Tipping Point”
6. “Tornado of Souls”
7. “Symphony of Destruction”
8. “Peace Sells”
9. “Holy Wars… The Punishment Due”
Anthrax– Sept. 29, 2026, San Antonio Set List
1. “Caught in a Mosh”
2. “Madhouse”
3. “Antisocial”
4. “Got the Time”
5. “Indians”
Below, see how many songs each member of Iron Maiden has written:
How Many Songs Each Iron Maiden Member Has Written
Here’s a breakdown of Iron Maiden’s song-writing credits.
Gallery Credit: Joe DiVita