Bruce Dickinson and his band performed in Philadelphia, PA, on September 23rd, bringing The Mandrake Project Live 2025 Tour to The Fillmore. This 24-date tour follows a sold-out run of solo shows in 2024 on the U.S. West Coast and in South America, marking it as Bruce‘s most extensive solo tour in 30 years. It is in continued support of his The Mandrake Project album, and to celebrate the songs in Bruce‘s expansive solo catalog.
His touring line-up is the same as in 2024, featuring Philip Naslund and Chris Declercq [guitars], Dave Moreno [drums], Mistheria [keyboards], and Tanya O’Callaghan [bass]. Bruce Dickinson revealed to the crowd that the band has written 66 songs and will head into the studio in January to start recording them, aiming for a 2026 release.
The Nottinghamshire native has always been synonymous with power, precision, and perseverance, whether with Iron Maiden or as a solo artist. He could have easily taken a well-deserved break from Iron Maiden‘s Run for Your Lives Tour, but instead scheduled this massive tour.
For fans of Bruce, the wait to hear his solo catalog performed live has felt like an eternity. From a glimpse of this pre-show excitement, you instinctively knew this show would be epic as Bruce unveiled a setlist worthy of the occasion. Fourteen solo songs cultivated to fit together seamlessly from Tattooed Millionaire, Balls to Picasso, Accident of Birth, Tyranny of Souls, and, of course, the bold new vision of The Mandrake Project.
As the opening song, “Accident of Birth,” crashed to its grand finale, its infectious closing guitar riff continued to echo through the venue, and Bruce had Philadelphia in the palm of his hand. A performer born to command stages at stadiums and festivals for tens of thousands of people, turned The Fillmore into something far more personal and intimate.
Bruce wasn’t just fronting his band; he was the master of ceremonies, guiding us through a journey across his 35-year solo career. The show was designed to immediately pull the audience in with a barrage of fast, riff-driven metal songs, such as “Abduction,” “Laughing at in the Hiding Bush,” “Shadow of the Gods,” and “Chemical Wedding,” as if they all belonged to the same album.
His voice soared with almost operatic majesty, leaving the crowd not only entertained but spellbound. His movements carried theatrical weight, resulting in a performance that radiated passion and fire.
The latter part of his set leaned into more musically diverse and ethereal songs, such as “Resurrection Man,” with its epic, sweeping grandeur about conjuring spirits, and the emotionally charged ballad “Tears of the Dragon,” which conveyed a message of letting go and the courage to move forward. “Rain on the Graves” unfolded like a dark parable, with its hypnotic intro vocal delivery combined with video snippets of Bruce wandering through a graveyard, nervously blessing himself.
With a nod to Iron Maiden, Bruce performed “Flash of the Blade” off Powerslave. A song he wrote and recorded with Maiden, but has never been performed live until this solo tour. For anyone wishing to hear more Iron Maiden songs, the message was clear: see them on tour. Tonight was about Bruce‘s solo legacy, and those fans in attendance were exactly where they wanted to be.
Guitarists Philip and Chris gave the songs the heft and lift they needed to capture exactly how they were initially recorded, working in perfect harmony to ensure that the nuances and intricacies that make up these tremendous songs were preserved. As braids of hair swirled around her head to perfectly accentuate the dramatic moments in the songs, Tanya‘s bass sound was strong and confident, giving the songs their low-end rumble. She knew how to handle the songs by playing between the melody and the harmony, which was felt more than heard.
Wielding a keytar, Mistheria enriched the band’s live sound by adding ambient layers behind the guitar and drums, meticulously balancing the sonic landscape to create a fuller and more dynamic sound.
Dave‘s methodical drumming kept perfect time, but in a highly technical fashion, often hitting his drums to get more volume and power, to match the monstrous sound emanating from the speakers. A playful moment occurred at ty end of the show between Dave and Bruce on “Gods of War” when Bruce percussively slammed away on two monstrous drums in time with Dave just to let him know who was the drum boss.
Tonight’s show left an indelible mark on the audience that will never be erased.. Fans’ souls were crushed by this metal juggernaut that had just laid waste to The Fillmore. It was Bruce at his best, a testament to his enduring legacy in heavy metal.
Click here for tickets to Bruce‘s remaining shows.
