KK'S PRIEST kicked off their North American tour on Thursday, September 10 at The Magnolia in El Cajon, California, and used the opening night to add two JUDAS PRIEST songs they had never performed: "Heading Out To The Highway" and "You've Got Another Thing Comin'".
The band — former JUDAS PRIEST guitarist K.K. Downing and former JUDAS PRIEST singer Tim "Ripper" Owens, with guitarist A.J. Mills of HOSTILE, bassist Tony Newton of VOODOO SIX and drummer Sean Elg of DEATHRIDERS and CAGE — played a twelve-song set built mostly from the PRIEST catalogue, with two songs from each of their own albums, 2021's "Sermons Of The Sinner" and 2023's "The Sinner Rides Again".
The setlist, per Setlist.fm, ran: "You've Got Another Thing Comin'", "Breaking The Law", "Living After Midnight", "Strike Of The Viper", "One More Shot At Glory", "Hellfire Thunderbolt", "Heading Out To The Highway", "Beyond The Realms Of Death", "The Sentinel", "Victim Of Changes", "Turbo Lover" and "Raise Your Fists".
Owens has talked before about how tightly the band is boxed in on setlist changes. "I would like to [play more songs PRIEST has never performed live]," he said in a 2024 interview with Australia's Metal Mal, pointing to "Before The Dawn" as one they had already dug out — a song Downing is certain PRIEST never played live. "The problem is we kind of split it half and half. The biggest complaint we actually get is that we don't do more [songs] of my era [of PRIEST]. We do one song, 'Burn In Hell'." The obstacle is practical: "We're not an old, established band. We get together and we learn these songs. We have the screens that go to it in the background. You just can't change your setlist and learn new songs while you're on the road."
KK'S PRIEST are the special guest on W.A.S.P.'s "1984 To Headless" tour of the United States and Canada, which runs through October 31.
Downing formed the band after JUDAS PRIEST turned down his offer to rejoin for their 50th-anniversary tour, following two celebrated one-off stage returns — with former MANOWAR guitarist Ross The Boss in the summer of 2019, then with a lineup that included former MEGADETH bassist David Ellefson and former PRIEST drummer Les Binks. He had left JUDAS PRIEST in 2011 and was replaced by Richie Faulkner, nearly three decades his junior; he was reunited with the band for one performance at the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame induction ceremony in November 2022. KK'S PRIEST made their live debut on July 6, 2023 at Downing's own venue, KK's Steel Mill in Wolverhampton.