Six trips down memory lane for Hong Kong music fans, as 2017 gig calendar kicks off in a wave of nostalgia

From thrash metal to folk to jazz, this year’s gig calendar starts with blasts from the past in the shape of concerts by Metallica, Journey, James Taylor, Tom Jones, Tangerine Dream and Chick Corea

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Thrash legends Metallica are coming to Hong Kong this week.

Published: 7:30am, 16 Jan 2017Updated: 12:35pm, 16 Jan 2017

Hong Kong’s musical landscape has changed dramatically in the past decade. While the city used to be nothing more than a stop on the nostalgia circuit, Hong Kong now plays host to a steady stream of big-name international acts, hot indie bands and the cream of the electronic music world.

Not in the first few months of this year, though. For the time being, it looks like we’re back where we used to be and the city again looks like a holiday stop-off for ageing white pop and rock stars looking to cash in on their past glories.

We fully expect shows by more current artists to be confirmed in the coming weeks, but if you want to relive your youth – or experience your parents’ record collection live in concert – here are the gigs you should be attending.

OK, so Metallica aren’t quite as old and as out of date as many other names on this list, but they are long past their prime and the reaction to their latest album, last year’s Hardwired … to Self-Destruct, wasn’t exactly rapturous. Still, this doesn’t seem to have mattered to their legions of local fans, who have been scrambling over tickets to this sold-out gig that will hopefully focus on material from the thrash metal legends’ heyday in the late 1980s and early 1990s.