Sharon Osbourne has revealed that she would absolutely be open to resurrecting the legendary touring Ozzfest festival at some point in the future, but has added that there are some caveats to take into account. Speaking on the latest episode of the revived Osbournes Podcast, Sharon is asked by her daughter Kelly whether she would consider organising another Ozzfest event, to which Sharon replies (as transcribed by Blabbermouth): "Yeah, sure. Of course."
Sharon goes on to say that it's "great" that Ozzfest has inspired many other bands and event organisers to put on their own festivals over the years, but suggests that part of the reason Ozzfest is now more difficult to put on is that many artists ask for too much money to play.
"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 fucking trillions they think we've got to put on the festival?" Sharon laments.
Pondering the possibility of having an Ozzfest-style event dedicated to younger, upcoming bands, Sharon adds: "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," she continues. "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."
The first Ozzfest was held over two days in October 1996 in Phoenix, Arizona and Devore, California, and featured sets from the likes of Ozzy Osbourne, Slayer, Danzig, Biohazard, Sepultura, Fear Factory and more. The following year, it expanding into the touring format which it would maintain for years after, eventually expanding to events in Europe and Japan.
The most recent event took place on a single date on New Years Eve in 2018, taking over The Forum in Inglewood, California and featuring appearances from Ozzy, Rob Zombie, Zakk Sabbath, Jonathan Davis and more.
