19 heavy metal bands to perform at 119-year-old Arcadia opera house

Writer: Matias Abril
Published: Updated:
Heard Opera House

A 119-year-old opera house will host nearly 20 local heavy metal bands as part of a two-day festival.

Path of Destruction, on Friday, Feb. 7 and Saturday, Feb. 8, will bring 19 local and regional heavy metal bands to Heard Opera House in downtown Arcadia, a venue older than the genre itself.

Both days will start at 4 p.m. and continue until midnight, emitting the brash heavy metal sound within the opera house’s walls.

Bands such as MRSA, Kindly Shut Up, Burned at the Stake, Tendencia and Precipice will perform, along with many more.

Danny Mastrodonato, owner and operator of the opera house, is excited to give DeSoto County a taste of heavy metal because he said there is nowhere else in the county that hosts this genre of music.

Heard Opera House.

“We feel at the Heard Opera House it is extremely important to be able to host all different genres of music,” Mastrodonato said. “We love heavy metal, so why not? This festival is special.”

Heard hosts events across a variety of genres that are echoed within the opera house. This time, the music will be heavier, so bring your earplugs.

Mastrodonato said there will be a lot of loading in and loading out of the bands’ equipment. Heard’s old-timey lift will transport equipment—guitars, drums, bass and all—from the steep flight of stairs to the center of the historic stage.

The opera house has previously hosted heavy bands, and Mastrodonato commemorated them and their consistent respect for the venue.

“The people are always extremely great. As far as the way these heavy metal bands treat our stage, they’re the most respectable people ever. They’re more than welcome to come back whenever,” he said.

He hopes to spread the word about this fest and gather as many listeners as possible to the opera house.

“We spread flyers all over. We’ve got flyers all the way from Cape Coral up to Tampa. We’re just hoping to get the scene to really see what we’re doing here at the opera house and come out and give us a try and see. It’s a really cool place to have a heavy metal show in a haunted opera house,” Mastrodonato said.

Heard Opera House is deep-rooted in Southwest Florida’s history. It was hit hard by Hurricane Ian but is now at full strength and can consistently host events such as Path of Destruction.

CREDIT: Heard Opera House

The opera house holds heavy metal concerts at least once a month, so stay tuned for more.

Heard is located at 106 W. Oak St., Arcadia, FL, 34266.

To learn more about the opera house, click here, and visit here for information on the event.

Copyright ©2025 Fort Myers Broadcasting. All rights reserved.

This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed without prior written consent.