William Shatner Is Ready To Rock As His Music Career Boldly Goes Where No 95 Year Old Has Gone Before

William Shatner, the original Captain Kirk on "Star Trek," is proving that age is just a number and that his life can be as exciting as the space-faring hero he played for decades. The actor has spent his later years selling a kidney stone to raise money for Habitat for Humanity, actually going into space, and having surgery after being thrown off his horse at 94 years of age. And while most people in their 90s may want to take things slow after that, Shatner, 95, is hitting warp factor nine and joining the 2026 line-up at Riot Fest with his heavy metal band, The *uckers.

Shatner, sharing that his band would be joining the likes of Tool and Alanis Morissette for the three-day event, posted the official press release on Instagram, writing, "This is an event you definitely will be telling your grandchildren about!" In the official statement, the leading man further elaborated, stating, "I've always believed that music, like space, is about exploration. ... We're bringing volume, intensity, and a few surprises." 

And for anyone who can't make it to Riot Fest to see Shatner's band, which will include musicians who have worked with Ozzy Osbourne, Mike Tramp, and Kings of Thrash, the band is releasing an album, "What the F Is Heavy Metal," in the near future. This will break the record set by fellow actor Christopher Lee in 2013 when, at 91, he became the oldest heavy metal performer with the release of his album, "Charlemagne: The Omens of Death."

While his appearance at Riot Fest and "What the F Is Heavy Metal" are William Shatner's first foray into metal, it isn't the first time the "T.J. Hooker" star has dabbled in music. Shatner, who is a grandfather many times over, released his first album, "The Transformed Man," in 1968 while "Star Trek" was still on the air. The album, which sees Shatner cover popular songs from the time in a spoken word format set to music, was apparently made as quickly as possible. Appearing on the "Kevin Pollack Chat Show," musician Ben Folds recounted, "I asked him about the record, and he said, 'Well, you know, it was a day, and we were shooting 'Star Trek,”' and it was one thing on his list, and he did it in real-time. It was like a 45-minute thing."

Perhaps trying to keep up with his famous musical cousin, Leonard Cohen, Shatner followed up "The Transformed Man" almost a decade later with "William Shatner Live." While his first two albums became campy cult favorites, Shatner and Folds' "Has Been" was met with positive reviews, suddenly making Shatner a serious voice in music. Since then, Shatner has released a number of albums and singles. He teamed up with Sheryl Crow, Lyle Lovett, Bootsy Collins, and others for his fourth album, "Seeking Major Tom," and with Steve Vai, Edgar Winter, and Billy Sherwood for "Ponder the Mystery." 

For "What the F Is Heavy Metal," Shatner is taking his musical art to a new level. According to Closer, Shatner has learned to play guitar for the album, with their source saying, "William is so excited to show people what he can do musically."