Bruce Dickinson | September 16th, 2025 | History, Toronto, Ontario
Iron Maiden singer Bruce Dickinson performed in Toronto with his solo band in support of his latest solo release, 2024’s ‘The Mandrake Project’. We Canadian fans of Bruce Dickinson had real excitement to have two Canadian dates (Toronto and Montreal) for the North American tour. As the tour was announced I had the date circled on the calendar and tickets in hand soon after the sale started. Opening the show this evening was Crown Lands, a local Rock duo from Oshawa, Ontario. Their performance powered up the audience as they hit the stage at 8 PM sharp. This dynamic duo is best known for their high-energy, progressive rock, and are often compared to a similar Canadian band, RUSH. One can certainly hear that influence in their writing and song construction. It was an incredible live performance, their ability to command a stage with vocals and drums from Cody Bowles as Kevin Comeau swings in with intricate guitar riffs, bass and keyboards. This musicianship, and their half-hour performance was mesmerizing and truly a delight to watch! This incredible duo of two outstanding musicians is not to be missed. Crown Lands, has three studio albums, and received a Juno award in 2021. They toured in the U.S as an opener for Greta Van Fleet, Jack White, and KISS on the final tour.
By 8:30 PM, History was jam packed with Bruce Dickinson and Iron Maiden fans crowded in for a memorable night of music. I could see many new and vintage Iron Maiden shirts, hats, and battle vests all adorned by the fans. This is not just an album, it is a story of power and struggle created into a comic book collection series. Bruce is also known as the lead vocalist of Iron Maiden, and he himself commands a legendary and distinctive voice, a sound that you know the minute you hear it! Last night the heavy metal icon Bruce Dickinson’s performance and band blew the roof off the History theater! I would classify this as the best live performance of 2025 in Toronto. The band hit the stage and walked into position immediately on the first beat. The explosive high energy, and movement Bruce shared when he hit the stage had you locked in. The opening song was the incredible “Accident of Birth”.
He greeted Toronto fans, and the crowd roared. “Hey, hey hey” with fists all around pumping in the air. “Toronto are you ready!? Are you fucking ready!!??” With a gigantic back lit LED screen of music videos, images, and a highlight of smiles from the band as they performed, both to the crowd and each other, it was like what you get from a Maiden show. Even up close from the photo pit, at times it was hard to keep track of where Bruce was amongst the stage, with his mid-strides while leaning into the mic at the age 66 years old. Just like a pinball affect, moving from one side of the stage to the other and a voice that was reaching to the rafters. WOW!
This is a thrill for anyone in the photo pit, totally transfixed while capturing those moments in time. This maddening urgency to grab as many photos as possible, trying to keep up with the kind of energy Bruce possesses. He stands for it, lives, and breathes it. We were only granted three songs in the photo pit, then cameras had to be stowed away for the rest of the evening. Once settled into my seat to was when I could finally catch my breath and sit back and enjoy the sights and sounds. I found it super cool to see Bruce wearing a crafted denim battle vest adorned with the Mandrake images, art, and patchwork. He had a casual, clean rock ‘n’ roll outfit with his vest, black shirt, gray leggings, and certainly comfy black shoe/booties. It made the fans feel connected. We are Metal lifers, diehards, like we have been waiting decades to see his standalone band in a true spotlight.
The night was packed with a power set list. That moment you’re halfway through the set on its razor point, and you feel like it’s the last one…then the lights dim, and the audience erupted with more chanting louder and louder. Bruce then tore into “Road To Hell” and more fists went high in the air with everyone singing as one voice. Toronto being a Metropolitan city, has shared many legendary musicians and concerts over the years. This show is one for the books. Bruce Dickinson is unstoppable when he is on stage, microphone in hand, a true professional musician and front man. The opportunities to see his solo Tour as well as Iron Maiden, is a special and unique one.
For this tour, Bruce is joined by this talented group of musicians:
Guitarists Phillip Naslund and Cris Declercq
Bassist Tanya O’Callaghan
Drummer Dave Moreno
Keyboardist Mistheria
Of course, Bruce‘s vocals hit outstanding levels which most vocalists envy. The set list featured songs from his solo albums, and a few Iron Maiden covers. This solo band really has a life of its own. The night was packed with audience pleasing curve balls of psychedelic waves and sounds in the air while Dickinson stepped behind a Theremin. While fans sang every word to most of the songs, Bruce also appeared on to play some bongos.
I found it interesting as they played a killer cover of the Edgar Winter group ‘Frankenstein’ this was highlighted in the middle of the evening. It was like a full band jam. You could feel the energy and electricity of each instrument and musician rocking out. I could not wait to hear the song “Resurrection man” live, it is a crowd pleaser. The first time I heard this song was from watching the video on YouTube. I was drawn to the sound of the romantic guitar, mixed with the rock.
We were treated to a three song encore and to close out the show and it seemed this was the moment everyone was waiting for. Sweat soaked and breathless equally, Bruce’s smile gleamed onto the crowd. It started with “Tears of the Dragon” complete with a full sing-along and ended with ‘The Tower’ to complete the set. Before leaving the stage with the final thank you, Bruce left us with the teaser that there will be a NEW record coming! For tickets information on Bruce’s remaining tour dates that run through October 5th, see the link here.
Set list for Bruce Dickinson September 16, 2026 at History:
Accident of Birth
Abduction
Laughing in the Hiding Bush
Shadow of the Gods
Chemical Wedding
Revelations (Iron Maiden song) (Opening verse)
Flash of the Blade (Iron Maiden song)
Resurrection Men
Rain on the Graves
Drum Solo
Frankenstein (The Edgar Winter Group cover)
The Alchemist
Book of Thel
Road to Hell
Encore:
Tears of the Dragon
Gods of War
The Tower
Review and photos by:
Allyson Wachsberg
IG: @ally_rock1
See the full gallery of photos from the show here.