The US Festival (US pronounced like the pronoun, not as initials) was the name of two early 1980s music and culture festivals in southern California, held sixty miles (100 km) east of Los Angeles, near San Bernardino.[2][3][4][5]
Steve Wozniak, cofounder of Apple and creator of the Apple I and Apple II personal computers, believed that the 1970s were the "Me" generation.[6] He intended the US Festivals, with Bill Graham's participation, to encourage the 1980s to be more community-oriented and combine technology with rock music.[7] The first was held Labor Day weekend in September 1982,[3] and the second was less than nine months later, over Memorial Day weekend in May 1983.[4][8]
The festival ran for three days in early September in 110 °F (43 °C) weather;[2][11] there were 36 arrests,[12] and a reported twelve drug overdoses.[12] One "associated" murder of a hitchhiker occurred the day after the event.[citation needed] The festival lost a reported $12 million,[13] and total attendance for the three days was about 400,000.[4] The price for a three-day ticket was $37.50 [3] (approximately $100 in 2021 money).
The US festival featured the first implementation of the U.S.-Soviet Space Bridge, a two-way satellite hookup between the United States and the Soviet Union.[14] Organizers had planned to have the US Festival and Soviet rock fans interact as a way to promote goodwill between the Cold War rivals, but it was too dark in California for cameras to pick up the festivalgoers when the link went live.
(Bands are listed below in the order they appeared.[citation needed])
The reprise festival ran for three days and the festival still lost $12 million.[15] This time at the helm was Colorado-based promoter Barry Fey, who with Wozniak added a fourth Country Day[16] a week later.[17] In late May, first day weather was slightly cooler at 95 °F (35 °C), but air quality conditions in the region were the worst in four years.[4][18] The total attendance was reported at 670,000.[citation needed]Van Halen was reportedly paid $1.5 million to perform.[19] There were two reported deaths.[20][21][22]
The festival was parodied in the comic strip Bloom County, when Milo and his friends organize their own version of the "US Festival" as a political fundraiser for their Meadow Party.[23] In this case, the name comes from the fact that the proceeds of the concert will "go to us!",[24] as in the promoters when asked in a fourth wall inquiry.[25] Several well-known groups and musicians make cameo appearances like actual US Festival headliners Van Halen [26] and The Police [27] to more fictionalized ones by Boy George with Culture Club,[28][29]Barry Manilow[30] and the fictional heavy metal band Tess Turbo and The Blackheads.[31][32]
In 1984, "Weird Al" Yankovic parodied the US Festival (and its heavy financial losses) on an episode of Al TV, claiming that there would be a third edition of the festival, but without any live bands; the entire show would be released only on a cassette tape.[33]
In 2003, the band Triumph released a DVD of their US Festival performance, Live at the US Festival. In 2011 Shout! Factory announced plans to release a series of live concert DVDs from the US Festival. The first two of these releases, Willie Nelson and Waylon Jennings, were released on November 15, 2011. The third DVD release from Shout! Factory was Quiet Riot, released on March 27, 2012.[citation needed]
On September 18, 2012, Shout! Factory released The English Beat: Live At The US Festival, ’82 & ’83 on CD/DVD.[34]
On November 19, 2013, Icon Television Music released The US Festival 1983 Days 1-3 on iTunes. This is the only US Festival release authorized by Steve Wozniak and the Unuson Corporation.
Judas Priest's 30-year anniversary release of Screaming for Vengeance included a DVD with footage of their set from their 1983 appearance.
^"US Festival may be the last". Lodi News-Sentinel. (California). UPI. May 28, 1983. p. 13.
^ ab"Fans firing up for US Festival". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). Associated Press. September 4, 1982. p. 6A.
^ abc"Rock fans head for home". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). wire service reports. September 6, 1982. p. 3A.
^ abcd"US Festival opens to 140,000 fans". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). Associated Press. May 29, 1983. p. 9A.
^"US festival crowd wild; guards fight each other". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). Associated Press. May 31, 1983. p. 3.
^Remembering US '82 and '83 as Steve Wozniak's dream bash turns 30 - Soundcheck Blog: Orange County Register
^Devlin, Hugh (June 1983). "Experiencing Us". Electronic Games (letter). pp. 23, 121. Retrieved January 6, 2015.
^"Rock fans flock to US Festival by the thousands". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). Associated Press. May 28, 1983. p. 1.
^Us Festival Took A Year Of Planning (AP) - The Telegraph - Sep 1, 1982 - Nashua, NH
^"300,000 people, drugs and rock 'n' roll". UPI. Retrieved September 22, 2019.
^"Festival fans brave heat to hear bands". Lodi News-Sentinel. California. UPI. September 4, 1982. p. 14.
^ abCrichton, Maddie (June 28, 2017). "The Music Festival That Time Forgot: Inside Steve Wozniak's US Fest Los Angeles Magazine". Los Angeles Magazine. Retrieved September 22, 2019.
^iWoz - Computer Geek to Cult Icon: Getting to the Core of Apple's Inventor; Steve Wozniak with Gina Smith; Headline Review, London, 2006; p. 255
^"The US Festival successfully managed a satellite link with..." UPI. September 5, 1982. Retrieved September 21, 2019.
^iWoz - Computer Geek to Cult Icon: Getting to the Core of Apple's Inventor; Steve Wozniak with Gina Smith; Headline Review, London, 2006; p. 256
^Metzler, Stan W. (May 30, 1983). "145 arrested at festival". The Bulletin. (Bend, Oregon). UPI. p. A3.
^"Waylon and Willie fans peaceful". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). Associated Press. June 5, 1983. p. A3.
^"Smog conditions in S. California worst since '79". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). Associated Press. May 29, 1983. p. 9A.
^"Van Halen's 'US Festival' Concert Revisited". May 29, 2014.
^"Bludgeon death mars US Festival". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). Associated Press. May 30, 1983. p. 1A.
^"Man Beaten to Death at Second US Festival". The New York Times. May 30, 1983.
^"Second Person Found Dead at US Festival". The New York Times. June 1, 1983.
Bashe, Philip (August 31, 1983). "US Festival '83 in Words and Photos". Circus. New York: Circus Enterprises Corporation. pp. 33–45. ISSN 0009-7365. Retrieved December 15, 2021.
External links
Steve Wozniak's US Festivals site
Softalk magazine's 1982 article on the festival
Video coverage of U2s set May 30, 1983
The US Festival 1982: The US Generation Documentary | Amplified (2017)
US Festival 1983 Days 1-3 (2009) Documentary (IMDB)
May 13, 2023
festival, this, article, needs, additional, citations, verification, please, help, improve, this, article, adding, citations, reliable, sources, unsourced, material, challenged, removed, find, sources, news, newspapers, books, scholar, jstor, november, 2021, l. This article needs additional citations for verification Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources Unsourced material may be challenged and removed Find sources US Festival news newspapers books scholar JSTOR November 2021 Learn how and when to remove this template message The US Festival US pronounced like the pronoun not as initials was the name of two early 1980s music and culture festivals in southern California held sixty miles 100 km east of Los Angeles near San Bernardino 2 3 4 5 US FestivalGenreRock music pop music etc DatesSeptember 1982 May 1983Location s Glen Helen Regional Park 1 San Bernardino CaliforniaCoordinates34 12 14 N 117 24 07 W 34 204 N 117 402 W 34 204 117 402 Coordinates 34 12 14 N 117 24 07 W 34 204 N 117 402 W 34 204 117 402Years active2Founded bySteve Wozniak Bill GrahamWebsitewoz wbr org wbr us fest wbr San Bernardinoclass notpageimage Location in the United States San Bernardinoclass notpageimage Location in California Contents 1 Background 2 Labor Day Weekend 1982 2 1 Friday September 3 2 2 Saturday September 4 2 3 Sunday September 5 3 Memorial Day Weekend 1983 3 1 Saturday May 28 New Wave Day 3 2 Sunday May 29 Heavy Metal Day 3 3 Monday May 30 Rock Day 3 4 Saturday June 4th Country Day 4 In popular culture 5 Home video releases 6 See also 7 References 8 Further reading 9 External linksBackground EditSteve Wozniak cofounder of Apple and creator of the Apple I and Apple II personal computers believed that the 1970s were the Me generation 6 He intended the US Festivals with Bill Graham s participation to encourage the 1980s to be more community oriented and combine technology with rock music 7 The first was held Labor Day weekend in September 1982 3 and the second was less than nine months later over Memorial Day weekend in May 1983 4 8 Wozniak paid for the bulldozing and construction 9 of a new open air field venue as well as the construction of an enormous state of the art temporary stage at Glen Helen Regional Park near Devore San Bernardino California just south of the junction of Interstates 15 and 215 10 This site was later to become home to Blockbuster Pavilion now Glen Helen Amphitheater the largest amphitheatre in the United States as of 2007 update citation needed The festival stage has resided at Disneyland in Anaheim since 1985 and has operated under various names and functions as the Videopolis dance club the Videopolis Theatre and the Fantasyland Theater citation needed Labor Day Weekend 1982 EditThe festival ran for three days in early September in 110 F 43 C weather 2 11 there were 36 arrests 12 and a reported twelve drug overdoses 12 One associated murder of a hitchhiker occurred the day after the event citation needed The festival lost a reported 12 million 13 and total attendance for the three days was about 400 000 4 The price for a three day ticket was 37 50 3 approximately 100 in 2021 money The US festival featured the first implementation of the U S Soviet Space Bridge a two way satellite hookup between the United States and the Soviet Union 14 Organizers had planned to have the US Festival and Soviet rock fans interact as a way to promote goodwill between the Cold War rivals but it was too dark in California for cameras to pick up the festivalgoers when the link went live Bands are listed below in the order they appeared citation needed Friday September 3 Edit Gang of Four Ramones The Beat Oingo Boingo The B 52 s Talking Heads The Police Saturday September 4 Edit Dave Edmunds Eddie Money Santana The Cars The Kinks Pat Benatar Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers Sunday September 5 Edit Grateful Dead Jerry Jeff Walker Jimmy Buffett and The Coral Reefer Band Jackson Browne Fleetwood MacMemorial Day Weekend 1983 EditThe reprise festival ran for three days and the festival still lost 12 million 15 This time at the helm was Colorado based promoter Barry Fey who with Wozniak added a fourth Country Day 16 a week later 17 In late May first day weather was slightly cooler at 95 F 35 C but air quality conditions in the region were the worst in four years 4 18 The total attendance was reported at 670 000 citation needed Van Halen was reportedly paid 1 5 million to perform 19 There were two reported deaths 20 21 22 Saturday May 28 New Wave Day Edit Divinyls INXS Wall of Voodoo Oingo Boingo The English Beat A Flock of Seagulls Stray Cats Men at Work The ClashSunday May 29 Heavy Metal Day Edit Quiet Riot Motley Crue Ozzy Osbourne Judas Priest Triumph Scorpions Van Halen Monday May 30 Rock Day Edit Los Lobos Little Steven amp The Disciples of Soul Quarterflash Berlin Missing Persons U2 The Pretenders Joe Walsh Stevie Nicks David BowieSaturday June 4th Country Day Edit The Thrasher Brothers Ricky Skaggs Hank Williams Jr Emmylou Harris amp The Hot Band Alabama Waylon Jennings Riders in the Sky Willie NelsonIn popular culture EditThe festival was parodied in the comic strip Bloom County when Milo and his friends organize their own version of the US Festival as a political fundraiser for their Meadow Party 23 In this case the name comes from the fact that the proceeds of the concert will go to us 24 as in the promoters when asked in a fourth wall inquiry 25 Several well known groups and musicians make cameo appearances like actual US Festival headliners Van Halen 26 and The Police 27 to more fictionalized ones by Boy George with Culture Club 28 29 Barry Manilow 30 and the fictional heavy metal band Tess Turbo and The Blackheads 31 32 In 1984 Weird Al Yankovic parodied the US Festival and its heavy financial losses on an episode of Al TV claiming that there would be a third edition of the festival but without any live bands the entire show would be released only on a cassette tape 33 On The Simpsons episode Homerpalooza Homer Simpson refers to the US Festival as the greatest of all time Home video releases EditIn 2003 the band Triumph released a DVD of their US Festival performance Live at the US Festival In 2011 Shout Factory announced plans to release a series of live concert DVDs from the US Festival The first two of these releases Willie Nelson and Waylon Jennings were released on November 15 2011 The third DVD release from Shout Factory was Quiet Riot released on March 27 2012 citation needed On September 18 2012 Shout Factory released The English Beat Live At The US Festival 82 amp 83 on CD DVD 34 On November 19 2013 Icon Television Music released The US Festival 1983 Days 1 3 on iTunes This is the only US Festival release authorized by Steve Wozniak and the Unuson Corporation Judas Priest s 30 year anniversary release of Screaming for Vengeance included a DVD with footage of their set from their 1983 appearance See also Edit Rock music portal 1980s portalList of historic rock festivalsReferences Edit US Festival may be the last Lodi News Sentinel California UPI May 28 1983 p 13 a b Fans firing up for US Festival Eugene Register Guard Oregon Associated Press September 4 1982 p 6A a b c Rock fans head for home Eugene Register Guard Oregon wire service reports September 6 1982 p 3A a b c d US Festival opens to 140 000 fans Eugene Register Guard Oregon Associated Press May 29 1983 p 9A US festival crowd wild guards fight each other Spokesman Review Spokane Washington Associated Press May 31 1983 p 3 Remembering US 82 and 83 as Steve Wozniak s dream bash turns 30 Soundcheck Blog Orange County Register Devlin Hugh June 1983 Experiencing Us Electronic Games letter pp 23 121 Retrieved January 6 2015 Rock fans flock to US Festival by the thousands Spokesman Review Spokane Washington Associated Press May 28 1983 p 1 Us Festival Took A Year Of Planning AP The Telegraph Sep 1 1982 Nashua NH 300 000 people drugs and rock n roll UPI Retrieved September 22 2019 Festival fans brave heat to hear bands Lodi News Sentinel California UPI September 4 1982 p 14 a b Crichton Maddie June 28 2017 The Music Festival That Time Forgot Inside Steve Wozniak s US Fest Los Angeles Magazine Los Angeles Magazine Retrieved September 22 2019 iWoz Computer Geek to Cult Icon Getting to the Core of Apple s Inventor Steve Wozniak with Gina Smith Headline Review London 2006 p 255 The US Festival successfully managed a satellite link with UPI September 5 1982 Retrieved September 21 2019 iWoz Computer Geek to Cult Icon Getting to the Core of Apple s Inventor Steve Wozniak with Gina Smith Headline Review London 2006 p 256 Metzler Stan W May 30 1983 145 arrested at festival The Bulletin Bend Oregon UPI p A3 Waylon and Willie fans peaceful Spokesman Review Spokane Washington Associated Press June 5 1983 p A3 Smog conditions in S California worst since 79 Eugene Register Guard Oregon Associated Press May 29 1983 p 9A Van Halen s US Festival Concert Revisited May 29 2014 Bludgeon death mars US Festival Eugene Register Guard Oregon Associated Press May 30 1983 p 1A Man Beaten to Death at Second US Festival The New York Times May 30 1983 Second Person Found Dead at US Festival The New York Times June 1 1983 October 19 1983 Bloom County gocomics com October 20 1983 Bloom County gocomics com Bloom County Funny October 29 1983 Bloom County gocomics com October 31 1983 Bloom County gocomics com October 24 1983 Bloom County gocomics com October 25 1983 Bloom County gocomics com November 3 1983 Bloom County gocomics com November 2 1983 Bloom County gocomics com November 3 1983 Bloom County gocomics com Archived at Ghostarchive and the Wayback Machine Weird Al Yankovic AL TV 1 4 1 1984 1 3 YouTube The English Beat The English Beat September 18 2012 Retrieved May 20 2014 Further reading EditWarren Jr Jim C July 1982 Us Festival Will Feature Music Sept 3 5 in San Bernardino 250 000 Expected at Concert and Technology Fair PDF Silicon Gulch Gazette Computer Faire Woodside CA USA 30 1 3 16 Archived from the original PDF on January 20 2022 Retrieved January 15 2020 Bashe Philip August 31 1983 US Festival 83 in Words and Photos Circus New York Circus Enterprises Corporation pp 33 45 ISSN 0009 7365 Retrieved December 15 2021 External links EditSteve Wozniak s US Festivals site Softalk magazine s 1982 article on the festival Video coverage of U2s set May 30 1983 The US Festival 1982 The US Generation Documentary Amplified 2017 US Festival 1983 Days 1 3 2009 Documentary IMDB Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title US Festival amp oldid 1150613804, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
