11-Year-Old Guitar Heroine Maya Neelakantan Shredded with Testament in Las Vegas
Late last month, we highlighted a killer guitar performance of preteen shredder Maya Neelakantan on America’s Got Talent. At the time we were floored by how good she was at such a young age and I guess the feeling was mutual within Testament‘s ranks. I mean, they must have been if they let her join the band on stage during their show in Las Vegas this past Friday.
At the show, Neelakantan threw down with the Bay Area thrash titans on the track “Curse of the Legions of Death (C.O.T.L.O.D.)” from the band’s iconic album The Legacy. During her introduction to the crowd by vocalist Chuck Billy and guitarist Alex Skolnick, it was revealed that this would be the first metal show she’d ever performed at, which is one hell of a way to get your start.
As you can see in the clip below, she immediately fell into the pocket and kicked some ass, especially when Skolnick pointed at her to tear the roof off the place with the song’s first solo. In an Instagram post following that night’s events, Neelakantan expressed how amazing the show was from her perspective.
“Just played with Testament on stage now!!! It was incredible playing with all of them, playing to a metalhead crowd for the first time and meeting Eric Peterson, Alex Skolnick, Chuck Billy, Chris Dovas, Steve DiGiorgio and the amazing Testament crew too. It was all such an incredible experience and I loved hanging with the band as well as jamming with them on stage!!!! So unforgettable! Thank you so much Testament for giving the amazing opportunity and for always being so kind and supportive to me right from the beginning!!!!”
If you’d like to catch Testament with Kreator live, you can find the full list of dates below.
‘Klash Of The Titans North American 2024’ tour
09/12/2024 Reno, NV – Grand Sierra Resort [Tickets]
09/13/2024 Las Vegas, NV – House of Blues [Tickets]
09/14/2024 Salt Lake City, UT – The Union Event Centre [Tickets]
09/16/2024 Seattle, WA – Showbox SoDo [Tickets]
09/17/2024 Portland, OR – Roseland Theatre [Tickets]
09/18/2024 Vancouver, BC Canada – Vogue [Tickets]
09/20/2024 Calgary, AB Canada – MacEwan Hall [Tickets]
09/21/2024 Enoch, AB Canada – River Cree Casino [Tickets]
09/22/2024 Saskatoon, SK Canada – Coors Event Centre [Tickets]
09/24/2024 Winnipeg, MB Canada – Burton Cummings Theatre [Tickets]
09/26/2024 Maplewood, MN – Myth Live [Tickets]
09/28/2024 Huber Heights, Oh – Rose Music Center [Tickets]
09/29/2024 Detroit, MI – Royal Oak Music Theatre [Tickets]
10/01/2024 Cleveland, OH – The Agora [Tickets]
10/03/2024 Toronto, ON Canada – History [Tickets]
10/04/2024 Montreal, QC Canada – MTelus [Tickets]
10/05/2024 New Haven, CT – College Street [Tickets]
10/06/2024 Boston, MA – House of Blues [Tickets]
10/08/2024 Silver Spring, MD – The Fillmore [Tickets]
10/10/2024 Montclair, NJ – The Wellmont Theatre [Tickets]
10/11/2024 Bethlehem, PA – Wind Creek Casino [Tickets]
10/12/2024 Raleigh, NC – The Ritz [Tickets]
10/13/2024 Atlanta, GA – Tabernacle [Tickets]
10/15/2024 Orlando, FL. – Hard Rock Live [Tickets]
10/16/2024 St. Petersburg, FL – Jannus Live [Tickets]
10/18/2024 Houston, TX – White Oak Music Hall (Lawn) [Tickets]
10/19/2024 San Antonio, TX – The Aztec [Tickets]
10/20/2024 Dallas, TX – The Factory [Tickets]
10/22/2024 Denver, CO – Fillmore Auditorium [Tickets]
10/23/2024 Albuquerque, NM – Albuquerque Convention Center [Tickets]
10/24/2024 Phoenix, AZ – The Van Buren [Tickets]
10/26/2024 Los Angeles, CA – Palladium [Tickets]
10/27/2024 San Francisco, CA – The Warfield [Tickets]
