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Megadeth perform at Ozzfest at the Manuel Amphitheater on September 24, 2016 in Los Angeles, California.
Rock
Ozzfest 2027 Begins Countdown to … Something
The returning metal fest appears to be gearing up for a major announcement this week.
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Fans jacked about the return of Ozzfest may finally have some answers about what the rebooted metal festival will look like on Thursday (Nov. 5). That’s because the hard rock touring event launched by late metal icon Ozzy Osbourne in 1996 started a countdown clock on Tuesday morning that is set to expire at 10 a.m. ET on Thursday morning alongside the caption, “Countdown’s begun.”
At press time no additional information was available on what Thursday’s revelation will be, but Ozzfest has been teasing out the news for the past week, including with a cryptic post featuring the caption “Tell me people…” alongside the iconic O from the Ozzfest logo bisecting a devil’s head. Even more enigmatic was a post over the weekend featuring a sea of white question marks on a black screen.
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Ozzy’s widow and longtime manager, Sharon Osbourne, told Billboard earlier this year that she’d been in talks with Live Nation about bringing the festival back next year. “It was something Ozzy was very passionate about: giving young talent a stage in front of a lot of people,” she said. “We really started metal festivals in this country. It was [replicated but] never done with the spirit of what ours was, because ours was a place for new talent. It was like summer camp for kids.” The news was followed a few weeks later by an Ozzfest post that read “Ozzfest could return — 2027?”
The dream then became a reality, with Ozzfest confirming that its reboot will include a stop a Villa Park in Osbourne’s hometown of Birmingham, U.K. next year, as well as the first U.S. dates in nearly a decade. In an Instagram post on Sept. 21, the event announced, “Ozzfest will come to the U.K. and U.S. @theozzfest,” with the caption promising, “More Info Coming Soon!!! Where are you hoping Ozzfest 2027 will pop up?”
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And while info is scarce at this moment, fans had plenty of ideas in the countdown post comments, including: “Remaining members of Black Sabbath with Zakk Wylde as lead singer. Black label society opens up!,” “Here we go 🤘 can’t wait to see who’s playing,” “Lineup announcement imminent?,” “Slayer Slayer Slayer” and “Youg Blood headlining.”
Ozzfest was launched by Sharon Osbourne in 1996 after she was unable to book Ozzy on the Lollapalooza festival. Ozzfest then quickly became a popular annual touring festival that brought a day of hard rock and heavy metal to the U.S. and Europe through 2008. Since then, it has taken place on a more sporadic schedule, most recently as a one-day event in 2018 at The Forum in Inglewood, California, with a lineup that featured Rob Zombie, Body Count, Marilyn Manson and others.
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