Ozzfest Could Return Says Sharon Osbourne (2024 In Review)

12-01-2024

Metal fans rejoiced when Sharon Osbourne made headlines at the beginning of year by saying the famed Ozzfest touring metal festival could return in the future, but one sticking point is the cost that is demanded of mainstage acts.

The report was a top 24 story of January 2024 and here are the details in our look back in the Year In Rock: She made the comments on an episode of The Osbournes podcast with her husband Ozzy, son Jack and daughter Kelly. Ozzy asked Sharon if she would consider doing another Ozzfest tour and she responded, "Yeah, sure. Of course."

One problem was noted by Kelly that the bands and managers have to be realistic about their compensation and Sharon agreed. : "It's great. That's what we wanted - everybody to do spin-offs and do their own festivals, and it's great. It's great for fans; it's brilliant. But why is it when it comes to us that everybody thinks that we are trillionaires, and so that every manager who wants their band on our festival wants one of the f***ing trillions they think we've got to put on the festival?"

Ozzy then suggested that they would focus on more up and coming bands and Sharon responded, "You can do it for a baby stage, but you still need the headliners. It's always great to have the baby stage, I mean, that's what it's all about - breaking new bands. That's why we did it.

"It's very hard for acts who are not known to suddenly go and be in front of 50,000 people on a main stage at a festival and understand what they're meant to do. It's very intimidating.

"You could have maybe five thousand people at that baby stage, and then to go from five to fifty to sixty thousand people, and it's really, really hard for baby bands. They've pay their dues anyway. That's what it's all about." Watch the episode below: