20 Rockers Who Toured in 1986 and Are Touring Again in 2026

Rock and roll was supposed to be a young person's game. But try telling that to these 20 famous musicians, who performed on some of the most popular tours of 1986 - and are still around 40 years later to offer their fans more great live concerts.

Judas Priest

On May 2, 1986 Judas Priest launched the Fuel for Life tour, supporting their futuristic (and somewhat controversial) synth-boosted new album Turbo. The stage set looked like the inside of a futuristic engine, complete with mechanical arms that could life the band members into the air.

You can revisit the Fuel for Life tour today via the Priest... Live! album and home video - assuming your VHS or LaserDisc player still works. If not, the Electric Eye video collection also has the entire show.

40 years later, Judas Priest will kick off their brand-new Faithkeepers tour, a name that makes us hope we're getting a big dose of songs from 1984's Defenders of the Faith. The fun kicks off July 25 in Monchengladbach, Germany.

Iron Maiden

Iron Maiden spent the last four months of 1986 supporting their new Somewhere in Time album on the Somewhere on Tour tour, which would last halfway into 1987. The show featured a bonkers stage design that included their mascot Eddie's giant inflatable cybernetic head and hands taking over the stage - at least, when things didn't go wrong.

2026 finds the newly announced Rock and Roll Hall of Famers continuing their 50th anniversary Run For Your Lives tour with dates in Europe, North and South America, Australia and Japan.

Rush

More than a decade after their touring career seemingly ended in 2015, Rush thrilled fans by announcing the massive Fifty Something world tour. The group has recruited former Jeff Beck drummer Anika Nilles to take the place of Neil Peart, who died in 2020 after a private battle with cancer.

Bassist / singer Geddy Lee and guitarist Alex Lifeson have also enlisted keyboardist Loren Gold, turning the former trio into a four-piece band. "It's going to free us up to work on those dance moves as well," joked Lifeson.

The tour kicks off June 7 in Los Angeles, which will be forty years and a couple of weeks after Rush concluded their Power Windows tour on May 26, 1986 in Costa Mesa, California.

There isn't a full-length live album from the 1985-1986 Rush tour yet, although two songs from a show in East Rutherford appear on 1989's A Show of Hands. Maybe Power Windows will be the next Rush album to get an expanded box set complete with a previously unreleased concert?

Read More: 30 Rockers Who Toured in 1984 and Again in 2024

Metallica

Metallica's 1986-1987 Damage Inc. tour was a blend of triumph and tragedy. It found the band graduating from an opening spot on Ozzy Osbourne's The Ultimate Sin tour to headliner status as the Master of Puppets album became their first to crack the Top 40.

This happiness was shattered by the tragic Sept. 27, 1986 bus accident that killed bassist Cliff Burton. After taking just six weeks off to process their grief, in a move they later admitted was a mistake, Metallica quickly returned to the road (with new bassist Jason Newsted) for another three months of dates.

2026 seems to find Metallica in a much happier and more stable place, still reigning as the most popular band in rock or metal, headlining "no repeat weekend" two-night stands at stadiums all over the world. This October they'll launch a 24-night residency at the Las Vegas Sphere.

AC/DC

AC/DC supported Who Made Who, their first-ever compilation and the soundtrack to Stephen King's Maximum Overdrive movie, with a 43-date tour of the same name which kicked off July 30, 1986 in New Orleans.

In 2026, after the death of rhythm guitarist Malcolm Young and a series of health or personal issues that kept the band off the road for nearly a decade, Angus Young and company are entering the third year of their Power Up world tour, which will visit the United States and Canada from July 11th in Charlotte through Sept. 29 in Philadelphia.

Journey

On Aug. 23, 1986, Journey launched a new tour in support of their Raised on Radio album. The follow-up to 1983's Frontiers found singer Steve Perry exerting more control over the group, producing the record himself and changing their sound in a way that led to the dismissal of drummer Steve Smith and bassist Ross Valory.

After the tour's conclusion in February 1987, Perry told his (remaining) bandmates he was leaving the band, in an effort to regain a more normal life. He briefly returned a decade later for the Trial by Fire album, but left again before touring in support of the record, never to return.

40 years later, the still Perry-less Journey is in the midst of their Final Frontier farewell tour. Longtime keyboardist Jonathan Cain has announced that he will retire after this tour. Guitarist Neal Schon has been filing trademarks and making social media posts using the name Journey Beyond in recent months.

Bon Jovi

Bon Jovi celebrated the multi-platinum breakthrough success of Slippery When Wet with a massive 15-month world tour that kicked off July 14, 1986 in Vancouver, BC and didn't conclude until a three-night October 2027 stand in Honolulu.

Four decades later, Jon Bon Jovi is planning a triumphant return to the stage, after a battle with vocal cord issues that has kept him and his band from touring for over four years. His big return will kick off with a nine-date residency at New York City's Madison Square Garden, beginning on July 7.

"There is a lot of joy in this announcement," Bon Jovi said while announcing the 2026 tour. "Joy that we can share these nights together with our amazing fans and joy that the band can be together. I am lucky enough to be able to hold a light out to the audience each night and stand in their reflection for a tremendous collective experience – I get to stand in the WE of our concerts."

Read More: The Oldest Rockers on Tour in 2026

Pantera

It's easy to forget that Pantera were together for five years and three albums before the recruitment of lead singer Phil Anselmo led them to pursue a much heavier brand of heavy metal.

Anselmo was actually the fifth lead singer Pantera had in the year 1986, as he first performed with the band on Nov. 25 of that year. The group played 54 shows in 1986, in support of their 1985 album Terence Lee-fronted I Am the Night.

The classic lineup of Pantera played their last show together on Aug. 28, 2001. Two years later they officially disbanded. The shocking 2004 onstage murder of guitarist Dimebag Darrell and the 2018 death of his brother, drummer Vinnie Paul seemed to spell the end of the group.

But in 2022 Anselmo and bassist Rex Brown recruited Zakk Wylde and Charlie Benante and began touring again. They have just a handful of dates lined up for 2026, including a Sept. 17 appearance at Louder Than Life in Louisville.

Sammy Hagar and Michael Anthony

Sammy Hagar and Michael Anthony began touring together in 1986, after Hagar joined Van Halen for the 5150 album and tour. The set lists at those shows found the band playing nearly all of their new album, along with a handful of David Lee Roth-era Van Halen classics and a couple of Hagar solo hits.

You can revisit the 5150 tour via the Live Without a Net concert movie, which was recently added to an expanded edition of 5150.

Hagar left Van Halen in the mid '90s, but in the early '00s he and Anthony began performing and recording together under a variety of names, including the Other Half, Chickenfoot, Planet Us and the Circle.

For the last three years, they've been celebrating their time in Van Halen with the Best of All Worlds band and tour, recreating the band's classic set lists with help from guitar wizard Joe Satriani. They've got nearly a dozen U.S. dates lined up for the summer of 2026, in addition to a visit to England and another round of their popular Las Vegas residency.

Ted Nugent

Ted Nugent played a whopping 109 shows in 1986, supporting his new Little Miss Dangerous album. That included an early-year stint with a newly reunited Aerosmith.

Although he swore off large-scale touring a couple of years ago, Nugent keeps adding dates to his 2026 tour plans. After playing 15 shows in 2025, he's already got 11 completed this year, with plans for another 23 in the coming months.

Motley Crue

Motley Crue spent the first two months of 1986 wrapping up their Theatre of Pain tour in Europe. All told the band played 128 dates in support of the 1985 album of the same name, which made them superstars on the strength of the hit ballad "Home Sweet Home."

In 2025 the group released an expanded edition of the album, complete with a previously unreleased live album taken from a November 1985 show in Long Beach, California.

In 2026 Motley Crue will revisit the Carnival of Sins tour of 2005-2006 with the aptly named Return to the Carnival of Sins tour, which kicks off July 4 in Winnipeg and is scheduled to conclude Sept. 26 in Ridgefield, Washington. You can prepare yourself by watching 2006's Carnival of Sins: Live home concert video.

Guns N' Roses

One year into their existence, the classic lineup of Guns N' Roses spent 1986 playing dozens of shows all around Los Angeles, performing songs like "Mr. Brownstone" and "It's So Easy" for the first time.

In December 1986 they released the Live ?!*@ Like a Suicide EP. Early the following year they'd start recording their genre-shaking debut album, Appetite for Destruction.

40 years later - and now a full decade after Slash and Duff McKagan returned to the fold in 2016 - Guns N' Roses will embark on their first full-scale tour of the United States since 2023. The action kicks off July 23 in Raleigh and is set to conclude Sept. 19 in Atlanta.

Twisted Sister

Twisted Sister didn't get the victory lap they were hoping for in 1986. Come Out and Play, the late 1985 follow up to their commercial breakthrough album Stay Hungry, didn't connect with either the group's long-time fans or the newcomers who had made "We're Not Gonna Take It" such a massive hit.

Album and ticket sales went so poorly that the group was forced to fake an illness and cancel the Come Out and Play tour early. The resulting chaos and a mountain of debt caused Twisted Sister to split up two years later.

A decade after they called it a career with 2016's 40 and F--- it farewell tour, Twisted Sister announced plans to reunite in 2026 for a 50th anniversary tour. However in February singer Dee Snider revealed that he would be unable to participate due to some non-life threatening health issues.

"The truth of the matter is: I don't want you to see me up there being less than you expect me to be," Snider explained. "You got memories of a great show that I did? That's what I want to leave you with."

The following month the band surprised fans by revealing that the tour will go on without Snider, thanks to his good friend and former Skid Row singer Sebastian Bach, who will take over as lead singer for a reworked Twisted Sister tour schedule.

Eric Clapton

After performing 80 shows in support of the platinum-selling Behind the Sun in 1985, Eric Clapton slowed down in 1986, playing seven large-scale shows in Europe during the summer, and then six intimate club dates in Boston and New York City in the fall. The concert movie Live 1986 captures a show in Birmingham, England that featured Phil Collins on drums.

Clapton's played 12 dates so far in 2026, and will visit the United States for an eight-date tour that kicks off Sept. 6 in Detroit and will conclude with his annual Crossroads Guitar Festival, set for Sept. 26 and 27 in Austin, Texas.

ZZ Top

With their popularity at an all-time high, ZZ Top spent nearly all of 1986 on the road in support of their new album Afterburner. They performed 176 shows, often playing multiple-night stands at arenas all over the country.

The tour featured an impressive stage set that changed mid-show from the dashboard of the Eliminator car to one from the spaceship featured on the cover of Afterburner. (Weirdly enough, it was originally designed for Loverboy.)

Despite the 2021 death of bassist Dusty Hill, ZZ Top maintains an impressively busy tour schedule. They'll be out on the road most of 2026, with dates lined up for North and South America and Europe.

Def Leppard

Def Leppard drummer Rick Allen staged one of the most impressive comebacks in rock history in August of 1986, returning to the stage just 20 months after a New Year's Eve 1984 car crash that caused him to lose his left arm.

With hard work and the aid of a specially designed kit, Allen learned to play in an entirely new way, bringing the band back to full strength and clearing the way for them to complete work on their much-delayed Hysteria album.

After kicking off 2026 with a brand-new stage show during their Las Vegas residency, Def Leppard will spend the summer touring across Europe, including an appearance at Germany's Wacken Open Air festival.

Bob Dylan

In 1986 Bob Dylan teamed up with future Traveling Wilburys bandmate Tom Petty (and the Heartbreakers) for the True Confessions tour, which played 41 North American dates in the summer. A two-night February stand in Sydney, Australia was captured on the concert movie Hard to Handle.

Four decades later Dylan is still touring his ass off on the sixth year of the Rough and Rowdy Ways tour, which features a set list dominated by songs from his 2020 album of the same name. He's played 27 shows already in 2026 and has a full summer's worth of dates lined up.

Sting

At the height of the Police's fame, frontman Sting left the group to launch a solo career, spending 1985 and 1986 touring in support of his debut album The Dream of the Blue Turtles.

The shows found him trading the rock trio approach of his former band for a band twice as big and filled with jazz stars such as Branford Marsalis, Darryl Jones and Omar Hakim. The tour was captured on the documentary and live album Bring On the Night.

In 2024, Sting returned to the trio format with a new band featuring longtime guitarist Dominic Miller and drummer Chris Maas. He'll tour with that group all over North America in May, October and November of 2026. You can hear the new trio on the 2025 live album 3.0 Live.

Alice Cooper

After spending the previous half-decade out of the public eye while dealing with addiction and other personal issues, Alice Cooper made a triumphant return in 1986 with the Constrictor album and The Nightmare Returns tour, which was released on home video the following year.

40 years later, the 78-year old legend is still going strong, maintaining a touring and recording schedule that would exhaust musicians half his age. He recently completed a month-long U.S. Alice's Attic tour, and will spend much of the rest of 2026 performing overseas.

Rod Stewart

Rod Stewart bypassed the United States on his 1986 tour, instead playing 64 shows across Europe in support of his Every Beat of My Heart album (which was titled Rod Stewart in America). The lead single from the record was the flat-out embarrassing "Love Touch," so you could say the U.S. got lucky.

2026 finds Stewart entering the third year of his One Last Time world tour, with American dates scheduled through at Aug. 15 show in Kansas City.

In a May 2026 talkSPORT interview, Stewart hinted that his full-scale touring days would soon be behind him. “I’ve got 40-odd shows this year and that’s not really a lot,” he explained. “And I’m touring the U.K. next year and doing the O2 and that will probably be it, I think. I’ll have to do something new.”