Red Bull Heavy Metal is coming back to Boston.
The 2026 iteration of one of the best snowboard contests in the continental United States will go down at City Hall Plaza yet again on February 21, 2026. After more than 20,000 people turned out for the 2025 contest, a number widely believed to be the most in-person spectators ever at a snowboarding event, Zeb Powell will welcome the best street riders in the world back to New England.
That won’t be the only stop this year, though. Red Bull will hold two qualifiers to give amateurs a chance to qualify for the Boston contest.
The first will be in Minneapolis, on Nicollet Island below the Hennepin Ave Bridge. Doors open at noon, and the event kicks off at 1 p.m., with an award ceremony being held around 4 p.m.
Then on January 31, 2026, Red Bull Heavy Metal makes its debut in the Steel City. Riders will hit a course outside of Acrisure Stadium, home of the Pittsburgh Steelers.
Here’s the contest format:
- One qualifying round (up to 3 heats) followed by a final.
- The top 12 male and top 12 female riders from the qualifying round will make it to their respective finals.
- Qualifying heats will be up to 30 minutes in length. Jam format.
- Final will be up to 30 minutes in length. Jam format.
The winner of each qualifying round will receive $1,000 and an invitation to compete in Boston, as well as a travel stipend. Second place wins $500, and third place wins $250.
All three contests are free to the public and open to all.
Heavy Metal Boston in 2025 was nothing short of insane. Benny Milam took the overall title for the men thanks to a smooth-as-silk 720 in Zone 2 and his 180 to 50-50 onto the kink rail in Zone 3. He won Zones 2 and 3 handily, on his way to the overall win.
Meanwhile, 15-year-old Jess Perlmutter took home the overall contest title on the women’s side, thanks in part to her laid-out backflip in Zone 2.
“Oh, I had no expectations or plans going into this,” she said after being awarded her trophy. “I looked at the jump and was actually like, thinking about it, but the winch was kind of sketchy, and the landing was kind of flat. But I was like, if I make it to finals, I’m sending it for sure.”
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