The ESP Guitar Company

The NFL's Minnesota Vikings have a brand-spanking-new home for the upcoming football season: U.S. Bank Stadium, located in Minneapolis. On Saturday August 20, the venue is hosting its very first rock concert, and they're doing it in a big way with Metallica! The show is completely sold out -- no surprise there -- but Metallica has teamed up with Pandora to stream the entire concert live, which starts about 9PM Central Time. You can check out details of this on the Metallica site here.

As you're well aware, Metallica includes two of the most iconic and influential ESP players on the planet: frontman James Hetfield and guitarist Kirk Hammett. James' latest addition to his ESP/LTD Signature Series is the Vulture, which is offered in both ESP and LTD versions. Kirk's latest masterpiece is the limited-edition LTD KH-Nosferatu, a graphic-finished guitar that pays homage to one of the all-time great horror films.

By the way: opening bands for the Metallica show at U.S.Bank Stadium include Volbeat, of which our friend Rob Caggiano is a member. Rob's ESP and LTD Signature Series guitars are beyond killer.

Finally, for those of you who missed getting tickets to the August 20 Metallica show, you might want to plan for a trip to New York instead. On September 24, the band is playing the Global Citizen Festival on the Great Lawn at Central Park. It's a massive show with a goal of taking action against global hunger and other crucial issues. Get more info here.