PANTERA To Co-Headline Wisconsin's ROCK FEST 2023 Festival

PANTERA will be one of headliners of the 2023 edition of Rock Fest, set to take place July 13-15 in Cadott, Wisconsin.

"Securing this act was a really big deal for us," festival promoter Wade Asher said. "We really wanted this for our fans. I mean, their first U.S. tour in over two decades. Christmas is in July!"

Three-day tickets are on sale now to the largest rock music and camping event in the U.S. 3-Day General Admission is $129 and General Camping for the entire weekend on one of the festival's 7,000 campsites is $130.

The following ticket options are already sold out: VIP, 3-Day Pit Passes, Reserved Lawn, Lure Lock Top Tier Lounge and Electric Camping.

For tickets and camping info, visit Rock-Fest.com.

Longtime attendees and first-timers alike say Rock Fest is unlike any other live event or rock show, attributing the flow, organization and overall experience to the festival's #FansFirst mantra. The Minneapolis-Saint Paul International Airport draws fans from across the country and non-campers can opt to stay in participating hotels with daily shuttle service. Fans can expect three days packed with the very best of active and classic rock, including a Wednesday night Bonus Bash prior to the festival (exclusive to three-day ticket holders).

As previously reported, PANTERA performed yesterday (Sunday, December 11) at Knotfest Chile in Santiago without bassist Rex Brown. Filling in for him was CATTLE DECAPITATION bassist Derek Engemann, who also plays with PANTERA singer Philip Anselmo in both PHILIP H. ANSELMO & THE ILLEGALS and SCOUR.

In an official statement, the Knotfest Chile organizers blamed Brown's absence on his "health problems." However, local radio station Futuro reported that Brown missed the Santiago gig after contracting COVID-19. Rex reportedly flew from Bogotá, Colombia, where PANTERA performed at Knotfest Colombia on Friday (December 9),back home to the United States to quarantine, thereby missing the remainder of the PANTERA shows in South America.

Joining surviving members Brown and Anselmo in PANTERA's reformed lineup are guitarist Zakk Wylde (OZZY OSBOURNE, BLACK LABEL SOCIETY) and drummer Charlie Benante (ANTHRAX).

PANTERA is next scheduled to play a headlining concert in Santiago on Monday (December 12),followed by two shows in São Paulo, Brazil — on Thursday, December with JUDAS PRIEST and on Sunday, December 18 at Knotfest Brasil.

The new PANTERA lineup made its live debut on December 2 at Mexico's Hell & Heaven Metal Fest and also performed on December 6 at Monterrey Metal Fest in Monterrey, Mexico.

It was first reported in July that Anselmo and Brown would unite with Wylde and Benante for a world tour under the PANTERA banner.

The band will headline a number of major festivals across North America and Europe and stage some of their own headline concerts. They will also support METALLICA on a massive North American stadium tour in 2023 and 2024.

According to Billboard, the lineup has been given a green light by the estates of the band's founders, drummer Vincent "Vinnie Paul" Abbott and guitarist "Dimebag" Darrell Abbott, as well as Brown, who last year said Wylde wouldn't tour with PANTERA if a reunion were to happen. It's unclear what changed his mind.

Up until his passing, Vinnie remained on non-speaking terms with Anselmo, whom the drummer indirectly blamed for Dimebag's death.

Vinnie Paul and Dimebag co-founded PANTERA. When PANTERA broke up in 2003, they formed DAMAGEPLAN. On December 8, 2004, while performing with DAMAGEPLAN at the Alrosa Villa in Columbus, Ohio, Dimebag was shot and killed onstage by a troubled schizophrenic who believed that the members of PANTERA were stealing his thoughts.

Vinnie passed away on June 22, 2018 at his other home in Las Vegas at the age of 54. He died of dilated cardiomyopathy, an enlarged heart, as well as severe coronary artery disease. His death was the result of chronic weakening of the heart muscle — basically meaning his heart couldn't pump blood as well as a healthy heart.