Legendary Artists Who Graced El Paso's Stage for a Single Concert

We've seen bands that have NEVER rocked El Paso & you can see that list HERE. But there are some bands that have ONLY played here once, & some of these bands might come back in the future. Also these are bands that have ONLY performed in El Paso once on this list, so we're not counting Juarez or Las Cruces. This is strictly for El Paso.

Tool (2002):

One of the biggest names in rock & metal, Maynard James Keenan HAS been here twice with A Perfect Circle & he's coming this year with Puscifer. The earliest he was ever here was back in 2002 & the picture of the ticket stub?

Olympia Trevizo

That was the official ticket stub for their 2002 County Coliseum concert; July 17th, 2002. So far that was the one & ONLY time Tool ever came to El Paso.

Alter Bridge (2008):

The 2008 KLAQ Downtown Streetfest: that was actually my very first Streetfest (but not my last) I ever went to. I was excited for the lineup: Endeverafter & Alter Bridge opening up for Shinedown. And at the time of this article, so far that was the only time they've come to El Paso. Members like Mark Tremonti HAVE come back to El Paso (for the 2013 KLAQ Balloonfest). But so far, we have yet to see a return from Alter Bridge in El Paso.

Underoath (2010):

Another concert I remember seeing at the OLD Club 101 location (the one on Airway that's sadly not longer with us): Close Your Eyes, The Word Alive, Underoath & A Day to Remember all performed November 21, 2010. 3 of the 4 bands would play in El Paso after that, but that was the only time Underoath appeared in El Paso. But at least they did once right?

Smashing Pumpkins (1994):

One of THE BIGGEST bands from the 90s, The Smashing Pumpkins, DID rock El Paso... nearly 30 years. They played the County Coliseum June 30th,1994. Sadly there's no footage of the concert HOWEVER....there is a very old TV commercial promoting the event. Guess which radio station promoted that show long ago?

Thrice (2006):

Back in the 2000s, the California post-hardcore band Thrice became very popular with songs like Stare at the Sun, All That's Left & Image of the Invisible. During that time, they DID arrive in El Paso only once; February 18, 2006. Now while the band hasn't arrived back in El Paso, one of our own, Jim Ward actually DID go on tour WITH Thrice in 2021. So who knows? Maybe they'll come back & have Jim Ward open up for them HERE?

Nickelback (2006):

I'll be honest... I'm surprised Nickelback HASN'T come more to El Paso. But they did... once... over 15 years ago, March 4th, 2006 and they had Chevelle open up for the show. This made sense though considering this right around the release of All The Right Reasons & Nickelback was absolutely HUGE. Who knows if they'll ever come back to El Paso but if they do, we should take plenty of pictures so we can say "look at this photograph"...... ok moving on.

Limp Bizkit (2015):

The most recent band to appear on this list but it IS worth noting that the first, and so far only time, Limp Bizkit has ever played in El Paso for the Texas Showdown July 18th, 2015. I'm honestly surprised they didn't come sooner, but... better late than never right? And that would explain why the crowd was absolutely HUGE at the event...

But they weren't the only band that played El Paso for the first during that very festival...

The Offspring (2015):

Who can forget The Offspring? They also played the 2015 Texas Showdown Festival in El Paso (in fact they played on the very next day on the 19th). Again... just like with Limp Bizkit, I'm shocked they didn't come to El Paso sooner and just like them, they haven't come back yet. But hey... at least they rocked El Paso. YEAH YEAH YEAH YEAH YEAH!

Radiohead (1995):

Yes. Radiohead did in fact play El Paso, albeit... a VERY long time ago. Over 25 years ago on July 16th, 1995 at the very small venue called Metropolis (that used to be at 1421 Lee Trevino). Considering this was AFTER Pablo Honey, after the success of Creep, I'm honestly surprised they didn't play at a bigger venue. Then again...if Green Day can play at Tricky Falls for the first time in El Paso & you're much closer to the crowd that way, why not?

King Diamond (1995):

One of the founding fathers of black metal... KING DIAMOND HAS rocked El Paso: May 13,1995. And just like the case with Radiohead, he didn't perform on a huge stage. He performed at the X'Cape venue (now Tricky Falls) for a more intimate setting. Although I'm not sure if "intimate" is the right word I should be using with KING DIAMOND.

System of a Down (1999):

Before System of a Down would become a HUGE deal in the mid 2000s, a young System of a Down came to rock the El Paso County Coliseum on August 5th, 1999. This is amazing to think because this only a year after releasing their debut album, System of a Down, and they HAVEN'T come back since. Unfortunately the though of them giving us a 2nd show seems unlikely but hey... at least they came once. Right?

Pink Floyd (1994):

One of the biggest bands in the world got to perform in El Paso. Way back in the day, the Sun Bowl welcomed Pink Floyd April 26th, 1994. This was during The Division Bell tour & while Roger Waters didn't perform in El Paso, David Gilmore & Nick Mason DID play here for dozens of fans. Now we may never see another Pink Floyd concert in our lives but... at least we got to say, we had Pink Floyd perform here.

Honorable Mention - Army Of Anyone (2007):

I know not everyone is aware of the supergroup that had the DeLeo brothers from Stone Temple Pilots, Richard Patrick from Filter & Ray Luzier who is the current drummer for Korn called Army of Anyone. But they were great. In fact their last ever show was right here in El Paso during the KLAQ Balloonfest in 2007...

If none of these bands come back to El Paso, let's be thankful that El Paso got to rock with these artists at least once our lives.