Here Today... Gone To Hell!

Ozzy and Sharon Osbourne will make a "surprise groundbreaking, historic announcement about this summer's Ozzfest" at CIC 2007 (Concert Industry Consortium) on Tuesday, February 6 at 11:00 a.m. PT at the Hyatt Regency Century Plaza Hotel (The Westside Room), located at 2025 Avenue Of The Stars in Century City, California. Media arrivals begin at 10:15 a.m. The event is also open to registrants of CIC. Note: This private event is ***NOT*** open to the public.

Although there has been no official announcement on the matter, it is believed that ALICE IN CHAINS will take part in this year's event, which is expected to kick off in late June or early July. Other bands that are strongly rumored to be in talks to perform are BLACK LABEL SOCIETY, KILLSWITCH ENGAGE and HELLYEAH (the new band featuring former PANTERA/DAMAGEPLAN drummer Vinnie Paul Abbott alongside members of MUDVAYNE and NOTHINGFACE).

I'd go to Ozzfest just to see BLS/Alice In Chains, of course BLS will play but I really hope Alice in Chains does too!  8)

I'd rather have the Ozzy/BLS tour in the states than Ozzfest. Too many shit bands to sit through before you get to the good shit.

Rumors are running rampant that the "surprise groundbreaking, historic announcement" that Ozzy and Sharon Osbourne will make about this summer's Ozzfest will involve a change from the tour's traditionally open-air format to an indoor-arena setup, with Osbourne serving as the headliner on most, if not all, the dates, and around 5-6 additional bands on the bill and a few others on select stops. According to unconfirmed reports, the change will be made to reduce the high cost of running the festival as well as to address the sluggish ticket sales that have plagued the festival in recent years. In addition, it will deal with the fact that outside venues tend to cause Ozzy's allergies to flare up ? as they did on his most recent run as the Ozzfest headliner in 2005 ? which invevitably leads to concert cancellations.

"He's been having a lot of voice problems," Sharon stated during Ozzfest's 2005 run. "Ozzy suffers from hay fever. When the pollen count is high, he's just wiped out. And there's only so many things he can take for it."

"This will change everybody's impression of the way touring in the summer in America should be." -- Sharon Osbourne

Imagine a day of wall-to-wall hard rock.

Imagine the world's greatest headliner sharing a bill with cutting edge new artists.

Imagine if this brass-knuckled beast was hellbent on coming to your town.

Imagine this earth-pounding event...FOR FREE.

2007 will forever mark the year Ozzfest spiked the concert industry's punch and gave every head-banging American kid a reason to strap on an air guitar with the historic announcement that tickets to the summer's premiere touring concert festival won't cost fans a dime.

Testing one, two, three...

That's right, Ozzy and Sharon Osbourne and tour producer Live Nation broke the news today at the Concert Industry Consortium in Los Angeles that their 12th annual hard rock spectacular ? a 25-date extravaganza launching July 7 in Los Angeles ? is pulling the plug on ticket prices and giving the power back to the fans calling this summer's Ozzfest "FreeFest." The other Ozzfestcities as of now are San Diego, San Francisco, Seattle, Denver, Albuquerque, Phoenix, Dallas, San Antonio, Kansas City, St Louis, Chicago, Indianapolis, Columbus, Pittsburgh, New York, Boston, Philadelphia, Hartford, Charlotte, Atlanta, West Palm Beach, Nashville. Note: a final confirmed list of cities and dates is forthcoming.

"For the last few years," says Sharon, "ticket prices have steadily climbed as artists demand more and more money for summer tours. We certainly want everybody to make money, however we also want the kids to be able to afford to come out and have an incredible experience. If we continued with the traditional touring festival model, we would have no choice but to raise ticket prices again this year."

Cited as "one of rock's biggest juggernauts" in the cover feature of Sunday's New York Times' "Arts and Leisure" section (6/25/06), Ozzfest and Live Nation will turn to sponsors to provide added support for the festival's new incarnation. This summer's Ozzfest will provide select sponsors with a unique opportunity to engage fans one-on-one utilizing one of music's best known brands.

"We're reaching the same point we did years ago when kids no longer wanted to pay for overpriced CDs," compares Sharon. "As a result, they found alternative ways of getting music. That's what's happening with summer touring in this country, it's out-pricing itself. We started this and we want to keep it and we want to make it bigger and bigger each year by getting bigger sponsors to be involved with the festival and underwriting the festival. That's what it's about."

"For the past 11 years, music fans have made Ozzfest the most successful and enduring rock music festival in the United States," said Jason Garner, Live Nation President of North American Concerts. "What better way to say 'Thank You' to the music fans who have made this possible than inviting them to attend Ozzfest for free."

To gain entry into the event, fans will go to www.ozzfest.com or www.livenation.com to find links that will direct them to special sponsor sites where tickets can be secured. More details regarding the process are forthcoming.

As Ozzfest's founder and namesake, Ozzy will make his triumphant return to the headlining position on this year's mainstage after surprising fans last year by performing on the down-and-dirty second stage at a handful of dates. Audiences can expect the Prince of Darkness to unveil new songs from his forthcoming studio album, Ozzy's first disc of new material since 2001. While the rest of the in-progress bill is under wraps, Sharon points out, "we have bands committed, but we're hoping that after today's announcement we'll have a whole influx of artists who want to be a part of something this ground breaking. We know there aren't any major headlining acts that would tour all summer for nothing, but we're confident we can turn some of the genre's biggest bands on to what we're doing and have them come out to play a date or two. If they're in town and want the rush of performing in front of 20,000 frenzied kids, they're more than welcome to join us. They can sell their t-shirts, CDs and whatever else they've got. They're also welcome to book their own shows in local venues on the day of Ozzfest. I'm not stopping them. People have to be creative and think of alternatives."

Since 1996, Ozfest has been a virtual breeding ground for rising bands. The festival has been instrumental in igniting the careers of platinum-selling artists like SYSTEM OF A DOWN, DISTURBED, LINKIN PARK, INCUBUS, SLIPKNOT, QUEENS OF THE STONE AGE and GODSMACK. Along with supporting bands on the rise including AVENGED SEVENFOLD, MUDVAYNE, LAMB OF GOD, KILLSWITCH ENGAGE and LACUNA COIL, among others.

"Ozzfest was created to keep this genre of music alive by showcasing new talent," states Sharon. "You better believe we're going to keep perpetuating that by hand-picking compelling new bands that are hungry for Ozzfest's career-making exposure."

That so Awesome
To bad I live on the other side of the Fuckin globe.


 :peace:

owned at us then.

Never say Ozzy doesn't care about the children.. : ok:

This is great news! It might be difficult to score tickets because people will go ape shit for free stuff. I wonder how they will recoup the expenses. Dont be surprised to spend $20 on a beer.

Long Live To THe Osbournes! :beer:

I'd expect excessive sponsorship.

Im wondering what the crowds will be like? I mean seeing as its free it may not be die-hard fans....Will be interesting...Hopefully they come to either Toronto or Buffalo

Anyone been to Ozzfest? How's the crowds there?

I'm going to the New York one probably and just seeing from past experiencers how it is.

i think this is great - good way for lesser known bands to get their sound out there too.  Sharon is dead on about the rising cost of CD prices...they were hitting close to $20 at one point, and this was back before you could preview albums in store or listen to samples online, you'd hear ONE song on the radio or MTV and then roll the dice with your $20.

With how easy it is to watch shows on youtube or get bootlegs i wouldn't be surprised if less people go to shows there the ticket prices are getting out of control.  Then again, if the band is hot enough, big enough, people will pay.

still, i wonder if anyone big will play ozzfest this year. 

I've went a few years back and had a really good time. The only mistake I made was we got there when gates opened and most of the opening bands and side shows were worth missing. After spending several hours in the very hot Ohio sun by the time the good acts got on stage, I was dead tired, sun burnt and drained. If I go this year I'll go when the good acts start on stage. The crowds was huge and most everyone seemed very polite. It was a very "cool" experience. Lots of boobies if you like those, and some very mean mosh-pits if your into that. If the lineup is solid be sure to go check it out. Hell it would be worth it just to go watch Ozzy put on a show. Because he can still rock it at his age.

Huh?


 :peace:

heres the catch though!

To gain entry into the event, fans will go to www.ozzfest.com or www.livenation.com to find links that will direct them to special sponsor sites where tickets can be secured. More details regarding the process are forthcoming.

how much you want to bet you have to sign up for somethign with the sponser sites? or have to buy something? it wont be free totally.

http://www.roadrunnerrecords.com/blabbermouth.net/news.aspx?mode=Article&newsitemID=66616

this is so cool, i'm gonna try my damnedest to get down there in KC : ok:

2007 is the year of METAL. :beer:  :smoking:

:headbanger: \m/ OZZY \m/ :headbanger:

You are absolutley right plus you will probably have to pay a processing fee. The other down side it will only be a 25 city tour and going only to the major cities around the country. Just remember NOTHING IS FREE!

wow - they must be confident in the line up! :hihi:

shame they aint doing free shows over here....

Launch Radio Networks reports: As the news spreads about Ozzfest 2007 being free, fans, musicians, and industry insiders are trying to figure out just how Ozzy and Sharon Osbourne are going to make the numbers work. Former PANTERA and DAMAGEPLAN drummer Vinnie Paul told Launch he's not exactly sure how they've done it either. "Somebody's come up with some genius way to make some money, because if you went to McDonald's and got a free hamburger every day, how much longer is McDonald's gonna stay in business?" he said. "It doesn't work out economically, you know. So for them to be able to do this, somebody has really thought it through really well and just found a way to make it the most exciting and biggest tour in the world. So I can tell you this: every show on the Ozzfest tour this summer will be sold out!"

HELLYEAH, the new band that Paul has started with members of MUDVAYNE and NOTHINGFACE, has been mentioned as a possible Ozzfest act.

if any of you guys wanted video from the Press Conference-

http://windowsmedia.onthescene.com/OzzFest_07.wmv

i haven't watched it yet but i will later

Brad Kava of The Mercury News spoke to Ozzfest promoter Sharon Osbourne by phone on Tuesday (February 6) about the organizers' announcement that admission to the 25-city heavy metal tour will be free this summer.

Sponsors will pick up the tab for the tickets, bands will not be paid to perform and expenses will be covered from sales of food, drinks and merchandise.

It will be the first national tour ever to do so.

"We needed to change something and we didn't want to change the format," Osbourne said.

"We were putting offers to all these bands we wanted to tour with and they were coming back to us with exorbitant prices that would have meant we had to put the ticket prices up, which I won't do. With Ozzy's audience being younger, they can't afford any higher prices."

Gary Bongiovanni, analyst with Pollstar, the concert industry trade magazine, said: "I don't think this will become a new business model, but it is a great marketing tool for them."

"They want $300,000 plus to do an hour's work onstage," Sharon Osbourne said of some young bands. "I'm just not doing it. Last year nearly destroyed us, paying, paying, paying, and we just can't do it again."

Tickets would be paid for and distributed by sponsors, such as J?germeister, which will present acts at the second stage, located in amphitheater parking lots.

Osbourne, 54, said she plans to upgrade the festival's midway atmosphere, losing the tattoo parlors and cheesy carnival games and replacing them with interactive booths sponsored by technology and video game companies.

"There has to be another way to do it,'' she said. "If you get the sponsors that believe in you and you get new great cutting-edge bands that just want an audience, we'll give them the audience and we'll let everyone in free."

Last year, though, she said, the fees earned by bands, including about $325,000 a show for the group SYSTEM OF A DOWN, almost sank the festival.

"They're taking four years off, we paid them so much, and we're still working," she said. "I'm not doing that again."

The Ozzfest 2007 Fans unofficial MySpace page has been updated with the following information regarding the ticketing system for this year's event:

Q: Will OZZY OSBOURNE play at my show?

A: Ozzy will headline ALL Ozzfest dates on the main stage.

Q: How do I get tickets?

A: Those signed up to Ozzfest.com will get the info on how to obtain their free tickets first! You will need to get a ticket just like previous Ozzfests. However, you will do so online and for FREE. You will need to go to Ozzfest.com or one of our sponsors websites to do this. Those who are signed up to Ozzfest.com will get an email with instructions and links once tickets are available. You will print out your tickets and bring them to Ozzfest or get them from one of our sponsors. Yes each venue has its own capacity level and only the amount of people allowed will gain entry. You will know you will be allowed entry because you have your ticket in advance. The show will be general admission. The seats will be first-come, first-to-sit-there-and-watch-the-show-in-that-seat basis. There will be still a second stage and it will be located in the same area of the venue as previous Ozzfest. Yes, it will still be an outdoors show. Now you are inside and you paid nothing. Merch, beer, water, food and soda price will NOT be raised more than any other show at that venue in the summer of 2007 to cover your free entry.

Q: Will there be a limit to the number of tickets I can buy?

A: Again, yes, there will be. The amount has not yet been determined, but there will be.

Q: How will I gain entrance?

A: You will print out or recieve the tickets that you have secured and you will bring those with you to the event, where you will exchange them for entrance.

Q: How will the seating be decided?

A: As in previous years, the second stage will still be general admission for everyone without seats. However, as far as main stage, it will be first-come, first-served basis for both general admission AND the seats. Of course, you do not stake claim to seats, meaning that if you stand up and leave the seats, others are entitled to sit there.

Q: Will merchandise and concession prices be raised to make up for the lack of ticket price?

A: No. The prices will remain up to the individual artists to decide. However, there will be no expected raise in prices.

Q: How will the artists make money off this?

A: They are free to book themselves at local shows on days before, after, and days of the fest. Also, they are, as always, welcome to bring and sell merchandise.

Q: How different will the bill be from date to date?

A: Some second stage acts may change. However, the main stage acts will be committed and appear throughout the tour, unless otherwise stated.

Q: Will bands autograph CDs at the FYE tent in 2007?

A: There will still be a tent where the bands sell and do their CD signings. It may be FYE or could another store who handles it, but either way you will be able to purchase the bands' performing CDs and have them sign those.

Shortly after Sharon Osbourne made the big announcement about this year's Ozzfest ? it's free! ? she followed it up with another big announcement: J?germeister will sponsor the entire second stage!

Known as rock's biggest juggernaut, Ozzfest is now turning to sponsors to provide added support for the festival's new incarnation as a "FREEfest," and J?germeister is taking full advantage of the opportunity.

A longtime sponsor of Ozzfest, J?germeister will roll out its own state of the art mobile stage for the summer's biggest heavy metal festival. All second stage acts will play on the J?germeister stage, a fully self-contained stage hauled cross country by a custom Showhauler toter home, complete with a full audio sound system provided by JVC Mobile and amped by one whopping generator. The stage measures 34' long, 16' deep, and 20' high. The entire PA system, provided by Peavey Electronics and Schecter Guitars, will be hung for optimum sound. The stage will include state-of-the-art lighting by Chauvet. "J?germeister has been kicking around this idea for a long time. The fact that we've spent a year designing and building this stage proves our dedication to music," says Rick Zeiler, Director of Marketing and Brand Development for J?germeister. "We can't wait to showcase it at Ozzfest."

"J?germeister has been part of the Ozzfest family for the last eight years," says Sharon Osbourne. "This year they are kind enough to be supplying Ozzfest '07 with their revolutionary mobile stage. J?germeister's stage and their continued support are helping to make our FREE Ozzfest tour concept a reality."

"We are incredibly jazzed that J?germeister is bringing their innovative and state-of-the-art mobile stage on this history-making tour," says Jane Holman, Vice President of Touring for Live Nation, Ozzfest's organizer. "J?ger has been a great supporter of Ozzfest and the metal genre for years, and we couldn't be happier to be able to help them showcase their new baby."

Bands will play the J?germeister stage every day from 1-7 p.m. In addition to Ozzfest being free, this year will also see the return of Ozzy to the main stage as headliner. He'll be unleashing new songs from his forthcoming album. It's going to be a groundbreaking show, and J?germeister will be there every thundering step of the way. Lineups and ticket information to be announced as details become available. The first show is slated for July 7 in Los Angeles. More dates and cities to be announced.

The complete itinerary has been announced for this year's Ozzfest, which is scheduled to kick off July 12 in Seattle, WA. It is as follows:

Jul. 12 - White River Amphitheatre, Seattle, WA
Jul. 14 - Gorge, George, WA
Jul. 17 - Sleep Train Amphitheatre, Sacramento, CA
Jul. 19 - Shoreline Amphitheatre, Mountain View, CA
Jul. 21 - Hyundai Pavilion, Devore, CA
Jul. 24 - Cricket Pavilion, Phoenix, AZ
Jul. 26 - Journal Pavilion, Albuquerque, NM
Jul. 28 - Coors Amphitheatre, Denver, CO
Jul. 30 - Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre, Kansas City, MO
Aug. 02 - Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre, San Antonio, TX
Aug. 04 - Smirnoff Music Center, Dallas, TX
Aug. 06 - UMB Bank Pavilion, St. Louis, MO
Aug. 08 - Germain Amphitheatre, Columbus, OH
Aug. 10 - First Midwest Bank Amphitheatre, Tinley Park, IL
Aug. 12 - Alpine Valley Music Theatre, East Troy, WI
Aug. 14 - Verizon Wireless Music Theatre, Indianapolis, IN
Aug. 16 - PNC Bank Arts Center, Holmdel, NJ
Aug. 18 - New England Dodge Music Theatre, Hartford, CT
Aug. 20 - Tweeter Center, Boston, MA
Aug. 22 - Tweeter Center, Philadelphia, PA
Aug. 24 - Post Gazette Pavilion, Pittsburgh, PA
Aug. 26 - DTE Energy Music Theatre, Detroit, MI
Aug. 28 - Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre, Charlotte, NC
Aug. 30 - Sound Advice Amphitheatre, West Palm Beach, FL

The traveling extravaganza will once again be headlined by OZZY OSBOURNE, with the rest of the lineup yet to be announced. Ozzfest co-founder Sharon Osbourne said during a press conference last month that doing the tour like this was unprecedented: "We're doing 25 shows across America, and it's the first time that actually a summer festival tour has gone out free. There's been millions of free one-off shows, but this is gonna be a 25-city tour. And we're having our second stage, as usual, and everything goes as normal, except it's free."

Billboard.com reports that LAMB OF GOD, HATEBREED and LORDI are among the first acts to be revealed for the 2007 Ozzfest tour. LAMB OF GOD and LORDI will perform on the main stage with headliner OZZY OSBOURNE, while HATEBREED will headline the second stage, supported by MONDO GENERATOR, ANKLA, CIRCUS DIABLO, NILE and THE SHOWDOWN.

everyone should go JUST to see lordi!

3 INCHES OF BLOOD and DAATH have been confirmed for the second stage at this year's Ozzfest. The festival billing is now shaping up as follows:

Main Stage:

OZZY OSBOURNE
LAMB OF GOD
[to be announced]
LORDI

Second Stage ? Non Rotating:

HATEBREED
[to be announced]
MONDO GENERATOR

Second Stage ? Rotating:

NILE
ANKLA
CIRCUS DIABLO
THE SHOWDOWN
3 INCHES OF BLOOD
DAATH
[to be announced]
[to be announced]

Wow...no big name nu-metal acts?  Thank God!  And they wondered why ticket sales were suffering...  :no:

Has Lordi really gotten big enough to qualify as a headliner?  Lamb of God does, but I'm not so sure about Lordi.  Still, for free...what the hell, right?

I'm interested to see the other headliner, though. 

Looks like Behemoth has been added to the second stage.

Still waiting for the final main stage act.

You've heard about how Ozzfest is boldly redefining the concert industry this year by making all the tickets to the summer's premiere touring concert festival entirely free for fans.

Well, Ozzfest fans have a number of ways to score a pair of tickets to "FreeFest" ? which will rock mightily with festival's namesake OZZY OSBOURNE and LAMB OF GOD, HATEBREED, LORDI, BEHEMOTH, MONDO GENERATOR, NILE, ANKLA, CIRCUS DIABLO, THE SHOWDOWN, 3 INCHES OF BLOOD, DAATH, CHTHONIC and IN THIS MOMENT.

Ticket codes will be distributed through sponsor websites beginning May 12. Details on these programs are available on Ozzfest.com, LiveNation.com, MonsterEnergy.com, JagerMusic.com and FYE.com. In the meantime, various sponsors will have offline initiatives, details of which will also be available via their respective websites.

These codes can be redeemed for tickets beginning June 12 ? exactly one month before the first Ozzfest 2007 show in Seattle. Fans will return to the site where they registered or www.livenation.com/ozzfest, enter their code and download two tickets to the show of their choice. Note: To ensure that everyone gets the chance for free tickets, there is a limit of two tickets per customer.

Ozzfest alumni STATIC-X is the last band to join the Ozzfest revolution by signing on for this year's historic "Freefest." They, along with OZZY OSBOURNE, LAMB OF GOD, HATEBREED and others, will give fans the rock experience of their lives at a price that's hard to beat. As previously announced, the ticket price for this summer's premiere touring concert festival is entirely free for fans.

The Ozzfest billing is now shaping up as follows:

Main Stage:

OZZY OSBOURNE
LAMB OF GOD
STATIC-X
LORDI

Second Stage ? Non-Rotating:

HATEBREED
BEHEMOTH
MONDO GENERATOR

Second Stage ? Rotating:

NILE
ANKLA
CIRCUS DIABLO
THE SHOWDOWN
3 INCHES OF BLOOD
DAATH
IN THIS MOMENT
CHTHONIC

The addition of STATIC-X comes just in time for fans looking to log in for their free ticket codes to this year's "Freefest." Beginning this Saturday, May 12 at 12 noon (local time), ticket codes will be distributed on ozzfest.com, livenation.com, monsterenergy.com, jagermusic.com and fye.com. These codes can be redeemed for tickets beginning June 12 ? exactly one month before the first Ozzfest 2007 show in Seattle. Fans will return to the site where they registered or www.livenation.com/ozzfest, enter their code and download two tickets to the show of their choice. Note: To ensure that everyone gets the chance for free tickets, there is a limit of two tickets per customer.

LAMB OF GOD
STATIC-X
LORDI

HATEBREED
BEHEMOTH
MONDO GENERATOR

NILE
ANKLA
CIRCUS DIABLO
THE SHOWDOWN
3 INCHES OF BLOOD
DAATH
IN THIS MOMENT
CHTHONIC



this is by far the worst ozzfest line-up i've ever seen, at least for my tastes.  i suppose if i was crazy into metal this would be a wet-dream,   i would go see ozzy for free tho,  hes gonna die soon and might as well be able to tell your grandkids you seen the devil himself.

oh- static-x have one or two songs i like  (YEA YOU PUSH IT!!!!!GRRRRRRRRWWWWLLLLL   lol-  thats so oldschool)

You can sign up online for the ticket sellers newsletter. They often have special offers there!
eg. Venuetix

This summer Ozzfest will rock mightily with festival's namesake OZZY OSBOURNE and LAMB OF GOD, HATEBREED, STATIC-X, LORDI, BEHEMOTH, MONDO GENERATOR, NILE, ANKLA, CIRCUS DIABLO, THE SHOWDOWN, 3 INCHES OF BLOOD, DAATH, CHTHONIC and IN THIS MOMENT. In addition to the popular "Party Like A Rockstar" VIP Ticket Package, Ozzfest is inviting fans to get up on stage with Ozzy with the new "I'm Part Of The Show" VIP Ticket Package. Plus a very few lucky fans will again have an opportunity to meet Ozzy and his band with the "Platinum" VIP Ticket Package.

The Ozzfest "Party Like a Rockstar" package is $300 (plus service charges) and includes:

* Preferred Pavilion Seating - A ticket in the GA pit (if available) or a seat in the first few rows
* Access to the Second Stage VIP Viewing Platform (located at the sound mix)
* Access to a VIP Area - Your oasis away from the crowd
* Behind the Scenes Tour - See some cool stuff no one else will see
* Ozzfest VIP Host - On hand to help you rock harder than you have ever rocked before

The Ozzfest "I'm Part Of The Show" package is $666 (plus service charges) per person and includes:

* Be ON THE STAGE for the Ozzy performance - Your friends in the audience will see you right there on stage with Ozzy!
* Preferred Pavilion Seating - A ticket in the GA pit (if available) or a seat in the first few rows
* Access to the Second Stage VIP Viewing Platform (located at the sound mix)
* Access to a VIP Area - Your oasis away from the crowd
* Behind-the-Scenes Tour - See some cool stuff no one else will see
* Ozzfest VIP Host - On hand to help you rock harder than you have ever rocked before

The Ozzfest "Platinum" package will be available by auction as announced on Ozzfest.com. The starting bid will be $1000. The "Platinum Package" is limited to only 10 guests per show and includes:

* Meet & Greet with Ozzy and his band!
* A Certificate signed by Sharon for contribution to the Sharon Osbourne Colon Cancer Program at Cedars Sinai Hospital
* Be ON THE STAGE for the Ozzy performance - Your friends in the audience will see you right there on stage with Ozzy!
* Preferred Pavilion Seating - A ticket in the GA pit (if available) or a seat in the first few rows
* Access to the Second Stage VIP Viewing Platform (located at the sound mix)
* Access to a VIP Area - Your oasis away from the crowd
* Behind-the-Scenes Tour - See some cool stuff no one else will see
* Ozzfest VIP Host - On hand to help you rock harder than you have ever rocked before

Not bad prices IMO

When Sharon and Ozzy Osbourne and the world's largest live music company, Live Nation, announced in February their plans to stage the 2007 Ozzfest as a free show, some industry people said it would never work.

Today Ozzfest yet again has made history, as the fans clearly have spoken.

Over the past four days, tickets for all 24 shows were distributed to a frenzy of music fans. More than 428,000 tickets in all were given away through LiveNation.com, marking the largest number of free tickets distributed in the United States in the history of the concert business. In a staged release and via various sponsor sites, including Monster Energy, Jagermeister, FYE, Pilgrim Films, Hustler Lingerie and WWE, LiveNation.com enabled fans to enter exclusive codes to obtain tickets beginning Friday, June 8. More than 228,000 tickets were distributed yesterday alone, with the last ticket given away just after midnight. The tickets were completely free without surcharges of any kind.

For this year's historic "Freefest" ? which will give fans the rock experience of their lives at a price that's hard to beat ? headliner OZZY OSBOURNE will be joined by LAMB OF GOD, STATIC-X, LORDI, HATEBREED, BEHEMOTH, MONDO GENERATOR, NILE, ANKLA, CIRCUS DIABLO, THE SHOWDOWN, 3 INCHES OF BLOOD, DAATH, CHTHONIC and IN THIS MOMENT.

Sharon Osbourne said, "Ozzy is the first to take an entire tour and make it free to his fans and the fans of Ozzfest. More than 428,000 tickets were distributed free to fans. How amazing is that?"

"Together we have pulled off the ultimate gift for music fans this summer, a free Ozzfest," said Bryan Perez, President of Global Digital for Live Nation. "Through LiveNation.com we connected Ozzfest with nearly half a million music fans to create an exciting moment for the live music business and we couldn't be happier with the results."

The Ozzfest 2007 tour officially kicked off Thursday (July 12) in Auburn, Washington. According to the Seattle Weekly, before headliner OZZY OSBOURNE took the stage, "a series of TV and movie spoofs played, all of which put Ozzy in humorous situations. From 'The Sopranos' to 'Wedding Crashers', Ozzy let himself be laughed at. On stage, he's like a foul-mouthed little kid, grinning and jumping around, spraying the crowd with foam and dumping buckets of water on them.

"He poured the first water bucket right on top of the blond Rolling Stone writer. RS was the only press allowed to shoot his set, so seeing that put a smile on my face, as I'm sure it did the rest of the Ozzfest press corps.

"Guitarist Zakk Wylde and bassist Blasko kept up with the old man, with Wylde getting a chance to solo for a few minutes mid-set. He's becoming the Randy Rhoads scholar everyone hoped he could be. And with a large floor fan blowing in his face the whole time, he looks as cool as he sounds. Probably helped keep the heat off, too."

OZZY OSBOURNE setlist for Ozzfest 2007 kick-off in Auburn, Washington:

01. Bark at the Moon
02. Mr. Crowley
03. Not Going Away
04. War Pigs
05. Road to Nowhere
06. Suicide Solution
07. I Don't Know
08. I'm Here For You
09. Don't Want to Change the World
10. Mama, I'm Coming Home
11. Crazy Train
12. Paranoid (encore)

Mark Brown of the Scripps Howard News Service recently spoke to Sharon Osbourne about her decision to stage this year's Ozzfest as a free event.

"I'm not trying to be the Mother Teresa of the music industry, because I like money more than anybody else," Sharon Osbourne said, then let out a wicked laugh.

"You have to be creative. You have to keep evolving. You can't do the standard, standard thing. Concert tickets are outrageous.

"This isn't a Barbra Streisand audience. These kids cannot afford to keep shelling out all this money, every year charging more and more. The brakes have to come on somewhere because it'll end up like the recording industry . . . who've bankrupted themselves. It's a joke."

The concept started with frustration from Sharon Osbourne, who has promoted the show for a dozen years and seen band fees go up, while Ozzy's take went down.

"I was talking to MARILYN MANSON (management) and I was told, 'Well, he's been offered Family Values, he's been offered to go out with EVANESCENCE, so if you want him you're going to have to bid,' " Osbourne said.

"Then I said to (Live Nation president Mike) Rapino, 'What if we give the tickets away free?' He said, 'We might as well ? nobody's making any money here.' So that's what we did. We found sponsors to come in and underwrite the running part. And we found bands who just want the stage, they just want to perform."

"I'm seeing (others do free shows), especially in Europe. And I'm happy. If you can do it and you can use sponsors, why not? We all make an awful lot of money," Osbourne said.

What made this experiment float?

"It was absolutely the bands," Osbourne said. "Bands we have great relationships with, bands that believe in what we're doing. They had the same sensibility as us and said, 'Consider us in.' I cannot give them enough credit for holding firm."

What does success look like to Sharon Osbourne?

"At the end of the tour, if we've done it successfully, the right people will have gotten in, there'll be no trouble, everybody does well, the buildings are happy with their parking and their beer and pizza sales, and everybody goes home happy and the kids like the music. Then we can do it again."

All eyes and ears will be on Dallas, Texas Saturday, August 9. Ozzfest ? the original and iconic hard rock festival ? returns in 2008 as a one-day stadium spectacular that teams Ozzfest founder and namesake OZZY OSBOURNE (in his only U.S. concert appearance this summer) with METALLICA (marking their Ozzfest debut).

Produced by Sharon Osbourne and AEG Live, the all-day festival at Pizza Hut Park in hard music-loving Dallas will feature three stages of non-stop talent (with many Ozzfest alumni) and reliably twisted Ozzfest side attractions.

Ozzfest 2008 - Saturday, August 9 at Pizza Hut Park in Dallas, Texas:

Main Stage:

OZZY OSBOURNE
METALLICA
SERJ TANKIAN
HELLYEAH
JONATHAN DAVIS
CAVALERA CONSPIRACY
SHADOWS FALL
APOCALYPTICA
IN THIS MOMENT
All-Star Tribute To "Dimebag" Darrell Abbott

Second Stage:

SEVENDUST
DEVILDRIVER
KINGDOM OF SORROW
SOILENT GREEN
WITCHCRAFT
GOATWHORE

Texas (Third) Stage: *

THE SWORD
DROWNING POOL
RIGOR MORTIS

* Homage to the "many great metal bands that come from Texas," according to Sharon Osbourne

"Ozzy just finished an 11-month world tour so I think he deserves a summer off," Sharon says about this year's one-day Ozzfest. "We're going to be a stadium destination festival for now ? we have gone past doing the sheds every summer. We've given everyone else the blueprint and we have to keep evolving Ozzfest. This is just the beginning; AEG Live and I have a lot of new ideas for Ozzfest."

This year?s dynamic line-up encompasses artists who've played Ozzfest before in different incarnations such as Serj Tankian (SYSTEM OF A DOWN); Jonathan Davis (KORN); HELLYEAH's Vinnie Paul (PANTERA) and Chad Gray (MUDVAYNE); KINGDOM OF SORROW's Jamey Jasta (HATEBREED) and Kirk Windstein (DOWN); and Max Cavalera (SOULFLY, SEPULTURA) of CAVALERA CONSPIRACY. Other Ozzfest graduates include SHADOWS FALL, SEVENDUST, DEVILDRIVER, DROWNING POOL and IN THIS MOMENT.

"Ozzy has great relationships with all of the bands that have played Ozzfest," says Sharon. "We're the only real festival for harder edge bands and these artists have been very loyal to us ? there is lots of love on this lineup."

Tickets for this year's Ozzfest will go on sale Saturday, May 31.

The Ozzfest announcement comes in the wake of this year's arrival of the metal-oriented Rockstar Energy Mayhem Tour, which will play 30 North American amphitheaters during July and August, the time when Ozzfest is traditionally making its rounds.

Last year's Ozzfest offered free admission, with fans acquiring tickets mostly through sponsoring web sites. But the acts were not paid either, which resulted in a decidedly less than impressive main stage lineup. The Mayhem trek robbed Ozzfest of two potential main-stage heavyweights in DISTURBED and SLIPKNOT, with fan favorites DRAGONFORCE and MASTODON also taking part in the Mayhem tour.

Hard-rocking music fans headed to this year's Ozzfest will experience a special one-time only all-star tribute to fallen PANTERA/DAMAGEPLAN guitarist and Texas native "Dimebag" Darrell Abbott as part of the Saturday, August 9 one-day stadium spectacular at Dallas' Pizza Hut Park.

The tribute to "Dimebag" Darrell will feature Abbott's brother, Vinnie Paul (acting as musical director and playing drums), along with an array of prominent hard rockers. This not-to-be-missed performance will salute the acclaimed guitarist whose December 2004 murder while performing onstage at a Columbus, Ohio club still has the hard rock/metal community reeling.

Artists already confirmed to honor "Dimebag" Darrell Abbott include:

Kerry King (SLAYER)
Jerry Cantrell (ALICE IN CHAINS)
Mike Inez (ALICE IN CHAINS)
King Diamond
Scott Ian (ANTHRAX)
Charlie Benante (ANTHRAX)
Kirk Hammett (METALLICA)
Jamey Jasta (HATEBREED, KINGDOM OF SORROW)
Chad Gray (MUDVAYNE, HELLYEAH)
Bob Zilla (DAMAGEPLAN, HELLYEAH)

These musicians will stand together onstage, following HELLYEAH's mainstage performance, to pay their respects to their fallen friend with a set including many PANTERA classics.

Dimebag's longtime partner Rita Haney ? who has worked tirelessly to keep his spirit alive ? organized the tribute along with the Ozzfest team. While this began as an Ozzfest idea, Rita aggressively pursued it and brought together the talent making this homage a reality.

"To have this event on the main stage at Ozzfest in Dallas is such a treat and an honor!" says Rita Haney. "When this tragedy originally happened, I saw the music community come together like I've never seen before. To have the name 'Dimebag' still, to this day, unite musicians to pay homage in such a respectful way, is very overwhelming! In Dime's vision, it's always been about a damn good time!"

"When we decided on Dallas as the site for this year's Ozzfest, it seemed like the perfect opportunity to pay tribute to 'Dimebag' Darrell since it was his hometown," said Ozzfest founder Sharon Osbourne. "Dimebag was a part of our Ozzfest family and everyone in the metal community misses him dearly."

no zakk?

The upcoming all-star tribute to fallen PANTERA/DAMAGEPLAN guitarist and Texas native "Dimebag" Darrell Abbott as part of the Saturday, August 9 one-day stadium spectacular at Dallas' Pizza Hut Park will include an acoustic performance of the PINK FLOYD classic "Wish You Were Here" featuring Jerry Cantrell (ALICE IN CHAINS), Mike Inez (ALICE IN CHAINS), Scott Ian (ANTHRAX) and Pearl Aday (Ian's fianc?e and daughter of legendary crooner Meat Loaf). This will be the only acoustic song to be performed as part of the tribute, which will feature Abbott's brother, Vinnie Paul (acting as musical director and playing drums), along with an array of prominent hard rockers. This not-to-be-missed performance will salute the acclaimed guitarist whose December 2004 murder while performing onstage at a Columbus, Ohio club still has the hard rock/metal community reeling.

Cantrell, Ian and Aday previously performed PINK FLOYD's "Wish You Were Here" on May 17, 2007 at the House of Blues in West Hollywood, California as part of the Black Tooth Bash charity benefit show in honor of "Dimebag" Darrell Abbott. Video footage of that performance can be viewed below.

Artists confirmed to honor "Dimebag" Darrell Abbott at this year's Ozzfest include:

Kerry King (SLAYER)
Jerry Cantrell (ALICE IN CHAINS)
Mike Inez (ALICE IN CHAINS)
King Diamond
Scott Ian (ANTHRAX)
Kirk Hammett (METALLICA)
Jamey Jasta (HATEBREED, KINGDOM OF SORROW)
Chad Gray (MUDVAYNE, HELLYEAH)
Bob Zilla (DAMAGEPLAN, HELLYEAH)

These musicians will stand together onstage, following HELLYEAH's mainstage performance, to pay their respects to their fallen friend with a set including many PANTERA classics.

Sharon Osbourne told Metro of the Philadelphia rock radio station 94 WYSP in a recent interview that she would love to get AC/DC to play next year's Ozzfest. "AC/DC are my favorite band," she said. "I love them. I would love to see Ozzy and AC/DC play together."

Fat chance!  AC/DC can sell out stadiums in the USA. They don't need a crap thing like Ozzfest. : ok:

Ray Waddell of Billboard.biz reports that Ozzfest 2008, with METALLICA and OZZY OSBOURNE as headliners, grossed nearly $3.5 million and drew close to 30,000 people to Dallas' Pizza Hut Park, according to producers Sharon Osbourne and AEG Live. Sponsored by Affliction Clothing, this year's Ozzfest marked the return of the 13-year-old music brand after a free run at amphitheaters last year.

Last weekend's one-off event did "fantastically well," Sharon Osbourne tells Billboard.biz. "The one thing is you want for the kids to go away and keep talking about what a great show it was, and that's what they're doing."

Osbourne says plans are for Ozzfest to return to Dallas again next summer, likely as a two-day festival, and other cities are also being considered.

"Ozzfest ain't going anywhere," she says. "We do try and shake things up and experiment, we're not the old donkey that plods on doing the same shit."