William Shatner is ready to make an appearance on the annual rock music festival Riot Fest, however it isn’t just his upcoming performance that’s generating online buzz. Ahead of the music festival, the “Star Trek” icon’s backstage rider has been revealed, offering fans a glimpse on the outlandish list of things he’s expecting when the day comes.
This 12 months’s Riot Fest marks the festival debut of Captain Kirk and his band, The *uckers. Organizers of the annual music event have been inviting William Shatner to perform for a couple of decade, and the actor has finally relented.
Ahead of the festival, which can be held in Chicago, Riot Fest shared Shatner’s rider. While many artists include typical requests, equivalent to the varieties of food and drinks they like or the dressing room setups they need, the nonagenarian had some unusual requirements.
Shatner is requesting a ship to be renamed after him “so he can captain a ship again,” and in addition desires to co-anchor the weather with “Chicago’s most beloved meteorologist.” For his band’s performance, he wants loads of firebreathers and an introduction video from heavy metal band GWAR.
Furthermore, his dressing room should have “an assortment of adoptable puppies,” one bowl of saukerkraut, a four-foot-long Polish sausage, and white socks and underwear, amongst other things.
Is The Actor’s Rider Real?
Within the caption, Riot Fest noted that they received a “personal video message” from Shatner concerning the rider, they usually are asking for help from their followers in fulfilling the demands.
“I can’t tell if that is real or not, but either way, it’s the very best event promotion I’ve seen in years,” one user noted. Riot Fest responded that they couldn’t consider it either, adding, “He’s way cooler than we’re.” Shatner’s rider is possibly a marketing stunt orchestrated by the festival organizers and Shatner himself to create buzz.
In 2025, Riot Fest announced that John Stamos could be making his festival debut if his list of demands was met. The rider featured a mixture of practical, odd, and demanding requests, including a lifetime supply of combs for fans, a foot rub, unlimited hummus in a guitar case, and the festival’s founder getting a tattoo of Stamos.
Shatner’s rider is more than likely a mixture of real and made-up requests, but fans are wanting to fulfill them either way. One business, Fatpour Tap Works, has already offered to call a food item after Shatner if the comment receives 500 likes.
The *uckers features big names in rock music, including Marcus Nand on guitar, Britt Lightning on guitar, Phil Soussan on bass, and Fred Aching on drums. The group can be performing songs from the actor’s catalog of works, in addition to recent songs from his upcoming heavy metal album.
“I’ve all the time believed that music, like space, is about exploration. Riot Fest is strictly the type of place where anything can occur. We’re bringing volume, intensity, and a number of surprises. I can’t wait to share this experience with the fans,” Shatner said.
The Actor Has Released More Than 10 Studio Albums
Shatner’s first studio album, “The Transformed Man,” was released in 1968, and it featured recitations of songs and texts fairly than actual singing. Since then, he has released several more, including holiday- and space-themed records.
He has collaborated with artists from different music genres, a few of whom include Joe Jackson, Aimee Mann, Joe Walsh, Ben Folds, Brad Paisley, Joe Jonas, Sheryl Crow, and Rob Halford.
His latest project is a heavy metal album, which he teased in February as a “gathering of forces,” per The Blast. “We’re about to boldly headbang where nobody has headbanged before. Stay tuned. The metal voyage begins this 12 months,” he noted.
William Shatner Is Living His Best Life At 95
Shatner stays as energetic as ever, even at 95 years old. Aside from music, he can also be busy with other projects in entertainment.
He continues to host and executive produce History Channel’s “The UnXplained,” which is currently in its eighth season. Furthermore, he’s releasing a brand new memoir late this 12 months. Shatner has also been busy happening tours and conventions for “Star Trek.”
Shatner and The *uckers can be acting at Douglass Park in Chicago, Illinois, on September 20, the third day of Riot Fest.