See JASON NEWSTED Perform Acoustically For Animals At Florida's Busch Wildlife Sanctuary

Former METALLICA bassist Jason Newsted recently visited the Busch Wildlife Sanctuary in his hometown of Jupiter, Florida for a very special live music enrichment session. According to the Sanctuary, "Jason performed calming live music for several of our resident [animal] ambassadors, creating a unique sensory experience designed to stimulate curiosity, reduce stress, and encourage natural behaviors.

"Every animal responds differently, and it was incredible to watch their individual reactions to the sounds and rhythms throughout the session!" the Sanctuary added.

"A heartfelt thank you to Jason and his wife, Nicole, for not only being such passionate supporters of Busch Wildlife Sanctuary, but also for bringing this thoughtful and creative idea to life to help enhance the quality of care we provide to the animals who call Busch home."

Busch Wildlife Sanctuary is South Florida's largest wildlife rehabilitation and environmental education center. The nonprofit's wildlife rehabilitation center admits over 5,000 injured, sick, or orphaned animals annually, providing lifesaving medical care to release these species back to their habitats. Busch Wildlife Sanctuary relies solely on donations to continue its two-fold mission.

The now-63-year-old Newsted was the third of four children growing up on a Battle Creek, Michigan farm in the 1960s. "The farm was] where I learned about life — seeing a baby cow born right in front of your eyes when you're eight years old is pretty intense," he later said in an interview. Newsted also raised dozens of rabbits and chickens, selling them for meat and as pets. Every spring, he bought Cornish hen chicks to raise for meat and eggs, which he sold at church on Sundays.

Newsted and his THE CHOPHOUSE BAND will embark on their first-ever North American headlining tour this summer. JASON NEWSTED & THE CHOPHOUSE BAND will play eight headlining dates in cities including Northampton, Albany, Alexandria, Grand Rapids, Knoxville and more (full dates below). The group will also support iconic Atlanta country rock outfit BLACKBERRY SMOKE for 10 shows in July.

This 18-date run will kick off on July 1 at Northampton's Iron Horse Music Hall, and visit major markets across the South, Midwest, and East Coast, and conclude with a two-night stand at the legendary Ryman Auditorium in Nashville, Tennessee on July 24-25.

Since 1992, JASON NEWSTED & THE CHOPHOUSE BAND have performed periodically at select benefit shows and charity gigs, supporting causes like veterans' relief and animal rehabilitation, as well as youth music and arts education programs.

Newsted leads the 2026 JASON NEWSTED & THE CHOPHOUSE BAND lineup, in which he is joined by Jesse Farnsworth (guitar, vocals),Jimbo Hart (bass, vocals),Humberto Perez (guitar) and Robert John-Tucker (drums, vocals).

Jason left METALLICA back in 2001, but was inducted into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame, along with Lars Ulrich, James Hetfield, Kirk Hammett and the man who replaced him, bassist Robert Trujillo, in 2009.

Twelve years ago, Jason shelved NEWSTED, the heavy metal project he operated between 2012 and 2014, saying that it cost him "an awful lot of money — hundreds of thousands of dollars." He added: "I couldn't continue because the business is such a harsh thing now and so different than what I had known."