Ozzfest

Ozzfest is an annual tour of the United States featuring performances by many heavy metal groups. It is organized by Ozzy Osbourne and his wife, Sharon Osbourne.

History

In 1998, Ozzfest ventured outside the US to the United Kingdom first at the Milton Keynes Bowl with a lineup that was different from that of its American counterpart, one of the performing bands, KoЯn were forced to cancel their performance due to the wife of one of the band members giving birth, They were replaced by Therapy?. In 1999, a decision was made to host a follow-up event at Earl's Court, London this was a generally unpopular decision as Earl's Court is an indoor venue and domestic festivals are traditionally held outdoors, as such the planned event was eventually cancelled. In 2001 the event would return to its previous venue and for the following year would move to Donington Park with the second stage being an indoor venue. This festival became infamous for restricting access to the area near the front of stage by fences. Ozzfest was replaced by the Download Festival for the following year. Most of the time, Ozzfest is held in large, outdoor stadiums, due to the large number of attendants.

Ozzfest 2004 began in Hartford, Connecticut on July 10, 2004, and Ozzfest 2005 began on July 15th and ran until the 4th of September.

On-stage footage of the Ozzfest 2004 tour was shown on MTV. They hosted a show titled Battle for Ozzfest where Ozzy and Sharon chose eight out of hundreds of bands to compete for a spot on the following years Ozzfest. Ozzy selected one member of each band to "tag along" on the tour doing various tasks (some just to anger the contestants) and there were occasional meetings to decide which contestant was to leave that week for whatever reason. Marc Serrano from A Dozen Furies was the winner.

Ozzy said the 2006 shows will be the last Ozzfest in which he will make a "regular appearance" meaning that although Ozzfest will continue, it will no longer be a guarantee that Ozzy himself will perform.

Ozzfest has been criticized for being a corporative event. Overpriced items such as beer and food are sold during the event. Concert organizer Sharon Osbourne makes new or unknown bands pay $75,000 to play on the second stage. During an interview for E Entertainment TV, about the money bands pay to be at the second stage Sharon said "If you believe in your band you`re gonna pay, then I take the money and buy myself something nice" which led people to believe that the money that bands invest doesn´t go to pay for the actual tour expenses but to Sharon´s own pocket. Even in an episode of MTV`s "The Osbournes", Ozzy got mad with Sharon because she set two concerts one after the other and he believed that his voice was going to be affected by the hard schedule. He ended up saying to Sharon "You only care about money". Also she has been criticized for some acts that have performed on the main stage in later years like Incubus and Crazy Town, because they weren’t metal which led people to assume that there was a financial interest behind their selection to play at the festival.

Ozzfest alumni by year

2002:

Drowning Pool were forced to drop from Ozzfest in mid-August after their singer Dave Williams was found dead of an undiagnosed heart condition on their bus. Tommy Lee replaced them for the rest of the tour.

Main Stage:

Ozzy Osbourne, System of a Down, Rob Zombie, P.O.D., Drowning Pool (from July 12th-August 13th), Adema, Black Label Society, Tommy Lee (from August 15th-September 8th)

Second Stage:

Down, Hatebreed, Meshuggah, SOiL, Flaw, 3rd Strike, Pulse Ultra, Ill Niño, Andrew W.K., Glassjaw, The Used, Sw1tched, Otep, Lostprophets, The Apex Theory, Neurotica, Chevelle, Mushroomhead, Seether

In 2002, the Ozzfest broke new ground by expanding its borders into central Europe. Included were 16 venues across Germany, the UK, the Netherlands, Italy, Austria, Denmark, Finland and Russia among other nations. The most memorable line-ups included:

Decapitated also performed on the Ozzfest EU.

2003:

Main Stage:

Ozzy Osbourne, KoЯn, Marilyn Manson, Disturbed, Chevelle, The Datsuns

Second Stage:

Cradle of Filth, Voivod, Hotwire, Shadows Fall, Grade 8, Twisted Method, Nothingface, Killswitch Engage, Unloco, Depswa, Motograter, Sworn Enemy, The Revolution Smile/Chimaira, Endo, Memento, E.Town Concrete

2004:

On the August 24 show in Camden, New Jersey, Judas Priest frontman Rob Halford memorably filled in for Ozzy on Black Sabbath vocals after he came down with bronchitis. Ozzys illness was not revealed to the audience until immediately before Black Sabbath was scheduled to to take the stage, at which time Black Sabbath drummer Bill Ward and local Philadelphia DJ Tommy Conwell took the stage. Conwell announced that he had a message from Ozzy to the audience and proceeded to read the following:

""Philadelphia, you are about to witness a once in a lifetime performance. Unfortunately, I've come down with bronchitis and will not be able to perform tonight. However, my good mate from Birmingham, the "Metal God" himself - Mr. Rob Halford, has graciously agreed to step in and sing for me this evening." Conwell went on to explain - "This is from Ozzy. Let me here you go fucking crazy for Mr. Rob Halford.” After being met with a series of boos from the crowd drummer Bill Ward then addressed the crowd, assuring them that although they may feel "cheated" and "ripped off" he and the band intended to "play their balls off". The lights then immediately dimmed and the concert began.

There were no refunds offered to the audience, many of them who had purchased expensive seats simply to see the original Black Sabbath up close. For weeks after the show controversy raged among the jilded audience. The "Camden Refund Petition" was launched on petitononline.com and sent to Sharon Osbourne. The petition, among other criticism prompted Sharon Osbourne to release the following statment to the press on September 1, 2004: To those who attended the Ozzfest show in Camden on August 26:

“I would like to address the few complaints that have arisen from Black Sabbath’s performance with Rob Halford in Camden last Thursday, August 26th. The situation quite clearly was that Ozzy was suffering from bronchitis. He was hoping from the morning of the show until the afternoon that he would have some sort of voice so that he could perform that evening. Unfortunately by late afternoon he was advised by doctors that that just wouldn’t be possible. So, our options were:

1. Have Black Sabbath not to perform at all and inform the crowd at 4:00 p.m. in the afternoon, which might have lead to a riot;

2. Ask one of the legends of the genre, Rob Halford, if he would step in for Ozzy that evening so that people wouldn’t leave feeling disappointed not seeing Black Sabbath perform at all.

“Of course Ozzy’s more disappointed than the fans and he feels incredibly guilty that he let everyone down.”

Sincerely,

Sharon Osbourne

P.S. Ozzy and I would like to personally thank Gil Edwards and WYSP-FM for their enormous and continued support of OZZfest and hard rock music in Philadelphia. "

Following the apology much of the controversey died down, but some still pointed out glaring holes in Sharons argument. Many people took issue with the claim that making the announcement to a largley intoxicated audience at 9:00 at night without offering recourse was somehow less likely to cause a riot then making the announcment earlier in the day with the option of a refund.

Main Stage:

Black Sabbath, Judas Priest, Slayer, Dimmu Borgir, Superjoint Ritual, Black Label Society

Second Stage:

Slipknot, Hatebreed, Lamb of God, Atreyu, Bleeding Through, Lacuna Coil, Every Time I Die, Unearth, God Forbid, Otep, Devildriver, Magna-Fi, Throwdown, Darkest Hour

2005:

Due to Ozzy's deteriorating physical conditions, Black Sabbath had to cancel several shows which were filled in by extra-long sets from British band Iron Maiden. Maiden were well received, although Sharon Osbourne was apparently angered by several onstage comments made by Iron Maiden singer Bruce Dickinson about her family.

Sharon took vengeance and during the San Bernardino, California show (the final one with Iron Maiden, who would hand down their supporting slot to Velvet Revolver for the last 4 shows) arranged for road crews and daughter Kelly to throw eggs and various objects at the performing Iron Maiden. Bury Your Dead band members, likely among others, were asked to join in but refused. Sharon managed to cut off Iron Maidens's PA at critical moments during their set. Sharon Osbourne then went onstage herself to call Bruce Dickinson a prick. At this point many Maiden fans walked out before Black Sabbath's set. These actions have started a war of words between Bruce Dickinson and the Osbournes.

Drowning Pool's one-off appearance on August 25 is notable as it is the first time they ever performed live with new singer Ryan McCombs, formerly of SOiL.

Main Stage:

Black Sabbath, Iron Maiden (from July 15th - August 20th), Mudvayne, Shadows Fall, Black Label Society, In Flames, Velvet Revolver (from August 23rd - September 4th), Slipknot (August 20th only), Drowning Pool (August 25th only)

Second Stage:

Rob Zombie, Killswitch Engage, As I Lay Dying, Mastodon, A Dozen Furies, The Haunted, Arch Enemy, The Black Dahlia Murder, Bury Your Dead, It Dies Today, Soilwork, Trivium, Gizmachi, Wicked Wisdom.

Ozzfest also made another appearance in the UK on June 11, 2005 when it merged with the popular Download festival. Included on the Ozzfest stage were:

Ozzfest at Download

Black Sabbath, Velvet Revolver, HIM, Anthrax, Alter Bridge,A, The Mad Capsule Markets, The Dwarves, Trivium

2006:

Main Stage:

Ozzy Osbourne (On Select Dates read below for more info),System of a Down, Disturbed, Avenged Sevenfold, Hatebreed,Lacuna Coil, DragonForce.

Second Stage:

Black Label Society, Atreyu, Unearth, Bleeding Through, and Norma Jean

Second Stage(rotating slots):

A Life Once Lost, The Red Chord, Walls of Jericho, Strapping Young Lad, All That Remains, Full Blown Chaos, Between the Buried and Me, and Bad Acid Trip.

The locations Ozzy will be playing at are as follows:

Ozzy will also be playing one other Ozzfest show in San Francisco.

Ozzy's performances in Albuqeurque,San Bernardino, Pittsburgh, and Buffalo, will all be on the second stage, not the first.

Ozzy will be headlining the second stage in San Antonio, and East Troy, WI Alpine Valley Music Theatre .

During Ozzfest's 2006 run, Ozzy played one final headlining solo concert on July 14 at the Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre in Kansas City, KS. The concert featured support from Zakk Wylde's Black Label Society, Unearth, and Atreyu.

This will be System of a Down's last tour together before going on hiatus.

External Links

Official Ozzfest Website

United States music festivals | Rock festivals | Concert tours | Heavy metal

Gourt Home::Gourt :: Ozzfest

History

Ozzfest alumni by year

1996:

Main Stage:

Second Stage:

1997:

Main Stage:

Second Stage:

1998:

Main Stage:

Second Stage:

Main Stage:

Second Stage:

1999:

Main Stage:

Second Stage:

2000:

Main Stage:

Second Stage:

2001:

Main Stage:

Second Stage:

Main Stage:

Second Stage:

2002:

Main Stage:

Second Stage:

Rock Im Park

Braunschweig

Donington

Dublin

Prague

Nijmegen

Copenhagen

2003:

Main Stage:

Second Stage:

2004:

Main Stage:

Second Stage:

2005:

Main Stage:

Second Stage:

Ozzfest at Download

2006:

Main Stage:

Second Stage:

Second Stage(rotating slots):

External Links