This Popular Festival Helped Create Ozzfest by Rejecting Its Namesake—Ozzy Osbourne

As the old saying goes, when life hands you lemons, make lemonade, and in Sharon Osbourne’s case, when a popular touring festival rejected her husband, Ozzy Osbourne, she decided to make her own type of lemonade: Ozzfest.

Ozzfest epitomized the heavy metal movement in more ways than one. Sure, it boasted tremendous lineups of the most popular (and promising) bands in the biz. But it was also the perfect encapsulation of Sharon and Ozzy’s life approach.

The Osbournes were going to do whatever they wanted, and anyone who had a problem with it could f*** off.

How This Popular Festival Helped Create Ozzfest

Thanks in no small part to Lollapalooza’s successful inaugural tour in the summer of 1991, touring festivals became wildly popular in the last decade of the 20th century. From Lolla to Lilith Fair to Warped Tour, bands coveted spots on a touring festival that would allow their music to reach more audiences than ever before in an era that predated online streaming.

Sharon Osbourne wanted her husband, Ozzy Osbourne, to get in on the action. In an oral history of Ozzfest for Billboard, Sharon recalled, “In 1996, I said to my agents for Ozzy, ‘Ozzy should be on Lollapalooza.’ They went asked, and the response was, ‘Ozzy’s not relevant.’” Ozzy added, “They said, ‘Ozzy is a dinosaur.’ Sharon got p***ed off about that.”

“I said, basically, ‘F*** you. I’ll show you how relevant he is!’” Sharon continued. “I was so furious at the way they disrespected him as an artist.” So, Sharon set out to do exactly what she said she would. In a 2002 interview with The Irish Times, Ozzy remembered feeling hesitant about his wife’s plans.

“I said to her not to do anything rash, like booking me in for a string of dates, so she just advertised a few,” he explained. “But they sold out in a heartbeat. Then, it grew and grew. Before we knew where we were, we’re doing 50 shows worldwide—Moscow, all over Europe, America.”

Ozzfest Filled A Void Left in Lollapalooza’s Wake

Lollapalooza might have started as a farewell tour for rock band Jane’s Addiction, but the festival certainly didn’t pigeonhole itself when it came to genre. While one could argue the positives of a diverse musical lineup, other festival-goers wanted something more specifically curated to their tastes. For heavy metal fans, Ozzfest delivered.

The festival’s dedication to heavy music wasn’t the only thing that set Ozzfest apart. Sharon Osbourne also made a point to help rising bands get the recognition she felt they deserved—recognition she watched her husband fight for in his early years. “I know what it’s like to start a band off,” Ozzy told Billboard. “When [Black] Sabbath started, we couldn’t get a gig in f***ing hell.”

“So, Sharon says, ‘We’re gonna have two stages, and we’re gonna have big bands and also new bands,” he continued. Sharon added, “In a way, that second stage was more important to us, because to give new bands the opportunity of playing in front of a large audience is an amazing thing to do. You want to pass the torch from one to another.”

The last Ozzfest took place in 2018, just over two decades after it started. The festival was such a cultural behemoth that it’s hard to imagine a world where a festival would reject Ozzy so harshly that he’d create his own. But therein lies the true story of Ozzfest.

“I just said, ‘Let’s just give it a shot,’ you know?” Sharon told Billboard. “‘I’ve got nothing to lose. Let’s try and make it happen.’ I went full steam ahead, and I was going to have nothing stop me. I was just concerned about doing it and making a statement. And that’s what we did.”

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