Tonight in Woodbridge: Rata Blanca brings its 35th-anniversary tour to The Palace

Argentina's heavy-metal institution plays one night on Richmond Highway, nine days after the date was announced.

It's a Thursday night on Richmond Highway, and somewhere in Prince William County someone is digging an old Rata Blanca shirt out of a drawer. The band from Buenos Aires that a whole generation of Latin American metalheads grew up on is in town for one night.

Rata Blanca plays The Palace in Woodbridge tonight, Thursday, Oct. 29, at 9 p.m. The Palace Nightclub's site bills it as "Rata Blanca en concierto en Virginia," with tickets at $70. The club is at 13989 Richmond Highway. The show was announced only on Oct. 20, so if you missed it, you have not missed it yet.

The tour is a big one. In 2026 the band is marking the 35th anniversary of *Magos, Espadas y Rosas*, the album most fans still count as its defining record, with a world tour that has already played South America and Europe. According to Cali's Occidente, the band sold out nine dates in Spain before reaching Colombia in August. Back home in Argentina, the tour stopped at Arena Maipú in Mendoza in April, as Diario Uno reported.

Guitarist Walter Giardino founded the band in 1987, and the current lineup pairs him with singer Adrián Barilari, drummer Alan Fritzler, keyboardist Danilo Moschen and bassist Juan Pablo Massanisso. The band has new material out too: in a July interview with Sitio Andino, Giardino talked about the recently released album *Tormenta Eléctrica*. One more thing to know going in: coverage of the tour has noted that a recent injury has had Giardino playing part of some sets seated.

A Buenos Aires metal band on Richmond Highway is not as unlikely as it sounds.

It isn't, because Northern Virginia has a large Latin American community, and The Palace is one of the clubs that books for it. That makes a nightclub in Woodbridge a sensible stop for a band whose audience runs from fans who bought *Magos, Espadas y Rosas* when it came out to kids who learned the songs from their parents. A club also puts you much closer to the stage than the arenas the band plays in South America.

Before you go: buy from The Palace's own site, not a reseller; resale listings have run well above the $70 face price. A 9 p.m. start on a club night means a late finish, so plan your ride home, and check the venue's page for age and entry rules before you leave.

Wear the shirt.

Sources: The Palace Nightclub – Woodbridge, VA (official) (thepalaceva.com); Rata Blanca – Wikipedia (en.wikipedia.org); Rata Blanca en Cali, 35 años – Occidente (occidente.co); Rata Blanca celebra en Mendoza los 35 años de Magos, Espadas y Rosas – Diario Uno (diariouno.com.ar); Walter Giardino interview – Sitio Andino (sitioandino.com.ar); Rata Blanca concerts – Apple Music (music.apple.com); Prince William County, Virginia – Census QuickFacts (census.gov)