Bruce Dickinson returned to Brazil, just over a year after his last show , for an exclusive performance at The Town 2025 festival, which took place this Sunday, September 7th, at Cidade da Música, in the Interlagos racetrack, in São Paulo.
The show is part of The Mandrake Project Live 2025 , which is touring the United States. However, the Iron Maiden made time to come to Brazil and perform an exclusive show at The Town, celebrating the 40th anniversary of his first performance in Brazil with Iron Maiden at the first Rock in Rio.
Bruce Dickinson delivers everything in The Town
Bruce Dickinson continues to promote his latest album, The Mandrake Project (2024), marking his triumphant return after 19 years without releases, as well as his return to the stage, solo, after more than two decades.
Before playing “Road To Hell,” Bruce introduced the band. Accompanied by Tanya O'Callaghan (bass), Dave Moreno (drums), Chris Declercq (guitar) Philip Naslund (guitar), and Mistheria (keyboards), the performance was received with enthusiasm by the fans – the most fervent ones, who follow Bruce to every show.
Besides the loyal heavy metal fans, the audience mostly went to The Town to see punk rock icons, from veterans to contemporaries. But they also appreciated the vocalist's ability to create a project independent of Iron Maiden – a project that was a bit heavier than Maiden, it must be said.
Bruce Dickinson presented essentially the same setlist he's been doing in his shows, balancing the new album with classic solo songs – in fact, without any major surprises compared to the show in Brazil in 2024. The vocal performance and energy of the singer were other highlights, who, despite being 67 years old, maintains sharp vocals, still being considered one of the greatest in the genre.
The show featured the song "Resurrection Man," from the latest album , The Mandrake Project , in which Bruce played percussion with his hands. Also included was the famous "Tears of the Dragon," 1994 album Balls To Picasso , which was the highlight of the show, with the audience singing along.
Special setlist for Brazil
The highlight of the night was Iron Maiden's song "Revelations," sung a cappella with previously unreleased verses. As Bruce had already mentioned in an interview , the tour's setlist features a different Iron Maiden song at each show, and the song chosen for Brazil was due to the band's performance at Rock In Rio in 1985.
Before the song, Bruce told the audience: “'Revelations' is a truly seminal track because it was the track where I cracked my head open with the blood from the guitar running down my face, which was on the front page of every newspaper in Brazil the day after Rock In Rio [festival in 1985].
Closing the show was another Iron Maiden track, "Flash of the Blade"—a song from 'Powerslave' that had never been performed live and which Bruce incorporated into his setlist, something exciting for all Maiden fans, especially the older ones.
Bruce is accompanied by a very theatrical band, which makes the show grandiose, aiming to take fans out of their comfort zone, in a performance that delivered technique, emotion, and much more power than Iron Maiden.
Check out the setlist:
1. Accident of Birth
2. Abduction
3. Laughing in the Hiding Bush
4. Road To Hell
5. Chemical Wedding
6. Resurrection Man (Bruce playing percussion with his hands)
7. Rain on the Graves
8. Tears of the Dragon
9. Book of Thel
10. Revelations (A Capella singing unreleased verses)
11.Flash of the Blade
Our contributor Marcela Lorenzetti was also at the show and captured the evening. Check out our exclusive photo gallery below.
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