IRON MAIDEN Kicks Off 2026 ‘Run For Your Lives’ North American Tour In Toronto
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Iron Maiden concluded the announcement phase of their "Run For Your Lives" tour by opening its 2026 North American leg on Saturday, 29 August, at Scotiabank Arena in Toronto. The British heavy metal veterans are marking their 50th anniversary with the run, taking an expanded, purpose-built stage production to stadiums and large amphitheatres across the US and Canada, drawing on material from their first nine albums.
The main change to the 2026 setlist was the addition of "Infinite Dreams" from 1988's "Seventh Son of a Seventh Son", its first performance in Canada since that album's original tour. Announced last October, the tour will run through a headline slot at the Louder Than Life festival in Kentucky on 17 September 2026, and marks 45 years since Maiden's first North American tour in 1981. The band has reiterated its request for fans to limit phone camera use out of respect for performers and fellow attendees, a policy first introduced for the tour's 2025 launch, and the shows feature drummer Simon Dawson, who replaced Nicko McBrain after his final performance with the band in December 2024.
- Iron Maiden opened 2026 North American "Run For Your Lives" tour dates in Toronto
- "Infinite Dreams" added to setlist, first Canadian airing since 1988
- Tour marks 50th anniversary, ends with Louder Than Life festival, 17 September
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Iron Maiden are one of the best-known British heavy metal bands, formed in 1975 and famous for songs like "The Trooper" and "Run to the Hills", their mascot Eddie, and decades of large-scale touring. Their "Run For Your Lives" tour marks the band's 50th anniversary, and the North American leg has just begun with a show in Toronto, part of a run of stadium and amphitheatre dates across the US and Canada.
The band's line-up has changed recently: longtime drummer Nicko McBrain, who had played with Maiden since 1982, retired from touring after a final show in December 2024 and has been replaced by Simon Dawson. This tour is therefore an early test of how the group performs and is received with a new drummer, alongside singer Bruce Dickinson and the rest of the long-standing members.
The tour is significant for fans partly because of its scale and anniversary status, and partly because of the setlist, which draws on the band's first nine albums and includes songs rarely played live. It is scheduled to run through the autumn, ending with a headline appearance at the Louder Than Life festival in Kentucky in September 2026.
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