Ozzfest announces its return to the United States

Following earlier confirmation that Ozzfest will return in 2027 at Villa Park in Birmingham, UK—the hometown grounds of Black Sabbath and the late Ozzy Osbourne—the iconic event has now been officially confirmed for a U.S. return as well, as per theprp. The UK location holds special significance, having hosted the final live performances of both Ozzy and Sabbath as part of last year’s all-star “Back To The Beginning” tribute concert, which hits movie theaters this October.

An update posted to Ozzfest’s official social media channels on September 21 confirmed the festival will also return to American soil, though specific dates and venues remain under wraps. Recent updates from the Osbourne family indicate the resurrected event will adopt a single-day format rather than a full tour, with a major headliner already locked in and scheduled for announcement soon. Once a premier touring festival that launched numerous metal careers, Ozzfest last took place as a destination event in Inglewood, California, back in 2018.

Sharon and her late husband, heavy metal legend Ozzy Osbourne, started “Ozzfest” in 1996. After Ozzy was rejected by “Lollapalooza,” the festival was conceived. Numerous heavy acts, such as System of A Down, Slipknot, and others, were introduced by the traveling metal and rock festival in the years that followed.

The Ozzfest tour included bands from various styles within heavy metal and hard rock, such as alternative metal, thrash metal, industrial metal, metalcore, hardcore punk, deathcore, nu metal, death metal, post-hardcore, gothic metal, and black metal. Ozzy Osbourne and Black Sabbath were featured in the tour multiple times throughout the years.

The inaugural Ozzfest was not framed as a nationwide tour; instead, it took the form of a two-day festival occurring in Phoenix, Arizona, and Devore, California, on October 25 and 26, 1996, respectively. A collection titled Ozzfest Live, consisting of ten live recordings made during this festival, was made available on April 29, 1997. In the year 1997, significant demonstrations took place outside the festival advocating for the cancellation of Marilyn Manson’s set. Despite this, all scheduled performances went ahead as planned. Similar protests happened in 2001 after the Columbine High School shooting, with some groups attributing blame to Marilyn Manson.