“In the future, we are going to be everywhere”: Slipknot’s Shawn ‘Clown’ Crahan wants to play the Olympics in 2028

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Will Slipknot follow Gojira’s lead and play the 2028 Olympics in L.A.? “We’d love to do it,” says Clown.

Shawn Clown Crahan of Slipknot onstage in 2019
(Image credit: Ollie Millington/Redferns)

Slipknot’s Shawn ‘Clown’ Crahan has voiced his desire for the band to play the US Olympics in 2028.

The percussionist made the admission during an exclusive conversation with Metal Hammer, which started with journalist Paul Brannigan asking for Clown’s opinion on Gojira playing the opening ceremony of the French Olympics this summer.

“I got goosebumps,” Clown says of Gojira’s performance of Ah! Ça Ira. “I know this is going to sound stupid, but I’m just so proud of them. I know the word ‘proud’ probably sounds weird coming from me but that band is so incredible, and they’re friends of ours, and Mario [Duplantier] is one of my favourite drummers in hard rock.”

He continues: “When I saw the performance, I was just proud to have them do that. What a huge, huge honour, what a huge performance. And what an enormous metaphor: you have all these wonderful athletes, the best of the best of the best together, and someone involved thought, ‘We should get Gojira to open this up…’ Like, Gojira are the gold medal.”

Brannigan then asks if Slipknot would play at the next Olympics in Los Angeles given the opportunity. “Of course! We’d love to do it,” Clown answers. He later adds that, going forward, “You’re gonna start to see Slipknot do some weird shit.”

“We’ve reached the point where, you know, we want to play the Grammys, we want to play the Olympics. Why not?” he elaborates. “We’ve done the standard circuit already, for 25 years, and in the future we are going to be everywhere. “

Slipknot are currently headlining a tour of the US, celebrating 25 years of their self-titled debut album by performing it in full each night. The band will trek across Europe and the UK in December. They’ll then return to the continent in 2025 to headline Rock Am Ring and Rock Im Park. See the full list of their upcoming gigs below.

Slipknot are also due to release a new single called Long May You Die at… some point.

Slipknot 2024 and 2025 tour dates:

Sep 01: Pryor Rocklahoma, OK
Sep 07: Auburn White River Amphitheatre, WA
Sep 08: Ridgefield RV Inn Styles Resorts Amphitheater, WA
Sep 09: Louisville Louder Than Life, KY
Sep 11: Nampa Ford Idaho Center Amphitheater, ID
Sep 13: Inglewood Intuit Dome, CA
Sep 15: Phoenix Talking Stick Resort Amphitheatre, AZ
Sep 17: Austin Moody Center, TX
Sep 18: Dallas Dos Equis Pavilion, TX
Sep 21: Des Moines Water Works Park, IA
Oct 11: Sacramento Aftershock Festival, CA
Oct 19: São Paulo Knotfest Brasil, Brazil
Nov 08: Guadalajara Calle 2, Mexico
Nov 09: Mexico City Parque Bicentenario, Mexico

Dec 05: Amsterdam Ziggo Dome, Netherlands
Dec 06: Dortmund Westfalenhalle, Germany
Dec 08: Stuttgart Schleyerhalle, Germany
Dec 09: Leipzig Quarterback Immobilien Arena, Germany
Dec 11: Zurich Hallenstadion, Switzerland
Dec 12: Paris Accorhotel Arena, France
Dec 14: Leeds First Direct Arena, UK
Dec 15: Glasgow OVO Hydro, UK
Dec 17: Manchester Co-op Live Arena, UK
Dec 18: Birmingham Utilita Arena, UK
Dec 20: London O2 Arena, UK
Dec 21: London O2 Arena, UK

Jun 6–8: Nürburg/Nuremberg Rock Am Ring and Rock Im Park, Germany

Matt Mills
Matt Mills
Online Editor, Metal Hammer

Louder’s resident Gojira obsessive was still at uni when he joined the team in 2017. Since then, Matt’s become a regular in Metal Hammer and Prog, at his happiest when interviewing the most forward-thinking artists heavy music can muster. He’s got bylines in The Guardian, The Telegraph, The Independent, NME and many others, too. When he’s not writing, you’ll probably find him skydiving, scuba diving or coasteering.

With contributions from