News Segment

JUDAS PRIEST AND SLAYER SET FOR OZZFEST:

February 11, 2004

NASHVILLE (Billboard) – Slayer, Judas Priest (reunited with vocalist Rob Halford) and Slipknot will join Ozzy Osbourne as the mainstage acts on this year’s Ozzfest, set to begin in early July, Billboard.com has learned. Details of the tour will be announced next Thursday in Los Angeles.

For Osbourne, the shows will mark his return to the live stage after suffering severe injuries in an ATV crash late last year. Since its inaugural run in 1996, Ozzfest has grossed $146.5 million from 236 shows that have drawn 3.8 million headbangers, primarily to outdoor amphitheaters.

A testament to Ozzfest’s stature among the metal faithful is the tour’s performance in 2003, perhaps the most competitive road environment ever for the genre, with Metallica’s Summer Sanitarium stadium tour, the return of Lollapalooza, a much-hyped Kiss/Aerosmith double-bill and dozens of smaller tours on the road vying for the money and time of rock fans.

Ozzfest more than held its own, grossing $23.5 million and drawing 481,857 people. This summer is expected to be equally saturated with rock tours, including another Lollapalooza run and an Aerosmith/Cheap Trick double-bill.

Darren Davis courtesy of Billboard