Will Ozzfest Be Revamped Into A Coachella For Metalheads?
The last time we wrote about the venerable Ozzfest, it looked as if the annual metal extravaganza was finally being scaled back after a successful decade-plus run, thanks to less-than-stellar attendance last summer. Ozzfest’s architects were reportedly planning a “limited run” tour in 2008, down from 25 cities in 2007. But the latest blog blab wonders if this year’s Ozzfest won’t actually be a tour at all, in what might turn out to be a very limited run indeed.
Yes, Ozzfest is now rumored to be turning into a two-day festival to be held in Texas during one of the most festival-saturated summers in recent memory. Admittedly the headbanging Ozzfest won’t really be competing for the same limited audience as the 800 festivals currently set to feature a performance from affable surf goof Jack Johnson and/or the dozens of mid-level indie bands that will spend the hot weather months whoring themselves out to any two-day gathering that will have them. But whatever its eventual size, this year’s Ozzfest does feature some direct (and serious) competition in the form of the Mayhem Tour, a new summertime package put together by the braintrust behind the Warped Tour. And with the Mayhem Tour already siphoning off metal acts that might have otherwise been courted by Sharon and Ozzy, the incredible shrinking Ozzfest may be the only way left to attract the big-name bands scared off by last year’s botched free admission policy, a concession to a shrinking number of fans that meant none of Ozzfest’s bands got paid for spending their summer cooped up on tour busses and playing for agitated, half-full arenas. A reasonable admission fee, some positive press spin, and (mostly importantly) two days of the cream of the metal crop might just be enough to get fans below the Mason-Dixon to caravan to Dallas for what would be the biggest metal fest in the U.S. Or a mediocre lineup and lackluster attendance might further shrink Ozzfest to a no-day event in 2009. Or all this speculation might be based on Internet malarkey! We’ll see!
