Metallica’s Drummer Reps Yellowstone Dutton Ranch

So here's something you don’t see every day. Backstage at Ozzy Osbourne’s Back to the Beginning farewell show, which included a lineup stacked with legends, there was Lars Ulrich. I almost spit out my beer when I noticed that Lars was just hanging out in a Yellowstone Dutton Ranch hat, as if it were no big deal.

Wait. What?

Yeah. Metallica’s drummer. Rockin’ the most Montana-coded piece of headwear since the Stetson.

The Hat That Went Around the Bunkhouse

We’re not saying Lars is packing up for Paradise Valley or applying for a ranch hand position, but that hat didn’t land on his head by accident. That’s a choice. That’s a man who either loves Yellowstone... or wishes he could shove someone off a cliff and say he was “sending them to the train station.”

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Metallica’s Got a Montana History

This isn’t Metallica’s first dance with Montana. Former bassist Jason Newsted lived in Sula. A quiet little spot in the Bitterroot, just down the road from Darby, where they filmed most of Yellowstone. So yeah, the band’s already dipped a toe in Big Sky country. Maybe Lars is just catching up.

Would Lars Make It Through a Montana Winter?

Picture it: Lars fly fishing on the Bitterroot River. Beth Dutton is in a bar, yelling at him. Driving an F-350 named Whiplash. He’s already got the all-black wardrobe and the glare. Put him on a horse, hand him a flask and a flannel, and boom... Honorary Montanan!

Sure, he’s based in San Francisco. But that hat says his head is in the Big Sky.

So, Lars, if you’re ever in Missoula or floating the Bitterroot, beers are on us. And if you’re not really a Yellowstone fan but just liked the hat? Go ahead and pretend. We won’t tell.