Judas Priest founding member, songwriter and guitarist, K.K. Downing, has announced that KKs Priest will make their first European festival appearance headlining Kortrijk, Belgium's Alcatraz Festival on Saturday, August 12, 2023. Featuring Tim “Ripper” Owens on vocals, the band will unleash classics from Downing's vast song catalogue including deep cuts as well as fan favourites. A few other special surprises are in the works for this festival performance, so this will be a show not to be missed. See a video message from K.K. below.

Alcatraz Festival organizers state: "Over the years we have gone to great lengths to stay true to our roots. Alcatraz offers a platform for genre-leading bands, up-and-coming acts and everything in between. We are also single-minded when it comes to billing: sometimes we like to venture off the trodden path, opting for depth instead of easy commercial appeal and favouring authenticity over simple convenience. We aim to make a valuable contribution to the music landscape and that is why Alcatraz is the first festival to bring certain bands to Europe (Vio-Lence); it is also why we continue to give every opportunity to homegrown bands or why our headliners are not always the usual suspects (Avatar, Heilung). While this philosophy may be a bit unusual, it has nevertheless proven effective. We will continue down the same path and that is why it gives us great pride to announce metal icon K.K. Downing and his bandmates in KK’s Priest for what will undoubtedly be a memorable performance crammed with true metal classics. Pyrotechnics, a fabulous light show, a video wall... no effort is being spared to turn Saturday night 12 August into an evening you’ll never forget. You will be screaming for vengeance!"

Day tickets are available from 3 PM on Friday, December 16, here.


Playing alongside Downing and Owens in KK's Priest is guitarist A.J. Mills (Hostile), bassist Tony Newton (Voodoo Six), and drummer Sean Elg (Deathriders, Cage).

Back in early November, Downing was at his club, KK's Steel Mill in Wolverhampton, UK to catch Ugly Kid Joe's headlining set. Just prior to UKJ taking the stage, K.K. Downing spoke to Danny Stoakes about the current status of the second KK's Priest album (the audio can be heard below).

Downing commented: "It's imminent, for sure. Everything's gonna be sticky-taped and glued together, and we'll fire it out very soon. It's more than well on the way; we're in the mixing process. It's great. I can't wait. It's so frustrating. You just want it out now. But it will happen. So I'm looking forward to that."

(Photo - George Chin)