Sick New World is heading to Texas Motor Speedway in Fort Worth on Saturday, October 24, 2026, marking the inaugural Texas edition of a festival that has already proven itself as one of the most essential events in heavy music history. Texas Motor Speedway will play host to more than 50 performers across two stages, with gates opening at 11am. One day, one speedway, no excuses to miss this.
Honestly, this is no small lineup. This event is not just a casual Saturday at the speedway. As someone who's never caught Sick New World before, I am personally counting down the days and hoping with everything in me that this festival sticks around for a second year. Texas deserves this, and this lineup loaded and ready to hit the proving grounds.
The Venue: Where Racing Meets Mosh Pits
Texas Motor Speedway is no damn joke when it comes to hosting events—it's been a cornerstone of the Dallas-Fort Worth area since opening in 1996, spanning about 1.5 miles and playing home to NASCAR Cups, Craftsman truck series competitions, concerts, and more! For Sick New World, that massive infield will become the festival grounds, giving the attendees the kind of open space you simply can't get at a traditional venue. With a capacity well into the tens of thousands and roughly 60,000+ parking spaces out on the property, logistics here will be a different beast than your average show—come prepared, come early, and come ready to cover hella ground between stages.
The official map for the festival hasn't been released just yet, but when it does, you'll be able to check it out here.
The Lineup: Your Newest Scheduling Problem
The full Forth Worth lineup includes some insane heavy hitters: System of a Down, Deftones, Slayer, Ministry, AFI, Evanescence, Underoath, Marilyn Manson, Clutch, Down, She Wants Revenge, Boy Harsher, Wage War, Coal Chamber, Poison the Well, The Prodigy, Terror, Sunami, Knocked Loose, Melvins, Glassjaw, P.O.D., Mastodon, Deafheaven, Superheaven, Kittie, Alien Ant Farm, Filter, Power Trip, Norma Jean, Failure, Lords of Acid, Pain of Truth, Haywire, Violent Vira, Sleep Theory, Speed of Light, Dying Wish, Peeling Flesh, The Dark, Showing Teeth, Dead City, and The Tony Danza Tapdance Extravaganza, among others.
Draw a deep breath and take some mental notes. Not sure how we're going to fit it all in, but I'm damn sure I'm going to try.
System of a Down, That's It, That's the Header
There’s not much that can be said about System of a Down that hasn’t been said already. Every time they come through Texas, it feels like one of the most chaotic events of a lifetime! Serj Tankian, guitarist Daron Malakian, bassist Shavo Odadjian, and drummer John Dolmayan are headlining both Sick New World dates in Las Vegas and Dallas this year, and this will be a performance you really don't want to miss out on! Excuse me while I dig out my old CDs and spend some real time re-energizing before the festival, because walking into that set underprepared feels genuinely disrespectful to the music.
I'm personally thrilled to finally, finally get to experience this iconic band live for the first time in my life. Hearing "Toxicity," "Aerials," and "BYOB" live will be a fever dream (a good one, not a cough syrup-induced one). Growing up with this band blasting in your headphones does something to your soul that you don't truly appreciate until you're an adult trying to explain to someone why "Chop Suey!" still hits exactly the way it did the first time you heard it, when you got in school suspension for printing out lyrics that mentioned "harmful messages" and gave you a brand new appreciation for the written word. (Shout out, Mrs. Martinez, look at me now!)
Slayer Returns in a Reign of Blood
So, last I recall, the California thrash metal masters, Slayer, retired from touring back in 2019. They said their farewell, they meant it, we in the metal world accepted it, and life continued rocking on. Then 2026 rolled around, and the 40th anniversary of "Reign in Blood" became too significant to ignore, and well, here we are.
Slayer kicked off their anniversary run over in Minnesota's Mystic Lake Amphitheater earlier in September of this year—the first time they've performed the whole album since 2014. Fort Worth is one of only a handful of US-based stops where Tom Araya, Kerry King, Gary Holt, and Paul Bostaph will be blessing us with "Reign in Blood" in its entirety (plus a handful of other masterpieces). You'll be caught in the throes of chaos with your fellow fans as we witness the glory of this monumental record played front to back. This album managed to rewrite every rule about how fast, how heavy, and how uncompromising a metal record could actually be.
I Refuse to Miss a Single Second of Getting Knocked Loose
Listen, I need to talk to someone about what happened at Louder than Life this year. It haunts me a little still.
When the storm evacuation decided to jumpscare us all, I had already accepted my fate—I'd halve the set at Knocked Loose to see Pierce the Veil, and I'd make my peace. I knew that I'd need to find a way to run across the venue to hit up My Chemical Romance's stage; however, that would cut into my time. It was a done deal. Standing there mid-set during Pierce the Veil, I was crushed that the rescheduled set times didn't make it so I could witness both sets. I was genuinely pained because Knocked Loose is one of the bands where every single moment of the set matters, especially when performing in their home turf.
Sick New World is my redemption arc. Vocalist Bryan Garris, guitarists Isaac Hale and Nicko Calderon, bassist Kevin Otten, and drummer Kevin Kain are getting my full undivided attention for whatever time slot they get at the Texas Motor Speedway, and I am already mentally negotiating my schedule around them. They dropped their recent "Hive Mind" single featuring Denzel Curry earlier this year, and both Garris and Hale have been hinting at new music—meaning Fort Worth could come with some surprises on top of everything else. If you've never seen them live, you need to understand that Knocked Loose is a full physical commitment. Stretch beforehand. You've been warned.
Atlanta's Finest Nightmare, Norma Jean
When I was at Warped Tour earlier this year, I wound up bumping into Norma Jean's photographer, and they'd been hyping up the Norma Jean shows ever since. Persistently. Enthusiastically. In the way that people talk about bands they genuinely believe in and love. So here I am, marking my calendar for this show to find out what all the fuss is about.
Norma Jean has been one of the most important and influential bands in the metalcore space since forming back in 1997. They've survived roughly three decades and more lineup changes than most bands survive in years, with frontman Cory Putman and guitarist Grayson Stewart anchoring the current lineup. 2026 has been a busy year for them—they were added to Vans Warped Tour and have been on the road consistently all year. Their catalogue runs deep, and their live show runs harder. I'm going in with zero expectations and full trust in my friend who has not steered me wrong yet.
Get Your Tickets, Like Now
Sick New World Texas is a one-day, all-ages event popping up at the Texas Motor Speedway over in Fort Worth on October 24, 2026. Gates are open at 11am, and you can find so many helpful guides on their FAQ section. Only general admission tickets remain, and with a lineup hitting this hard, I'm surprised it isn't sold out yet.
Get them over on their website before they're gone for good!
Texas has been waiting for a festival like this. October 24th is going to prove it was well worth the wait.
