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][7] 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.[8] The first was held Labor Day weekend in September 1982,[3] and the second less than nine months later, over Memorial Day weekend in May 1983.[4][9]
The festival ran for three days in early September in 110 °F (43 °C) weather;[2][12] there were 36 arrests and a reported twelve drug overdoses.[13] One "associated" murder of a hitchhiker occurred the day after the event.[citation needed] The festival lost a reported $12 million,[14] and total attendance for the three days was about 400,000.[4] The price for a three-day ticket was $37.50 (equivalent to $118.4 in 2023).[3]
The festival featured the first use of the U.S.-Soviet Space Bridge, a two-way satellite hookup between the United States and the Soviet Union.[15] 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.
Performers
Bands are listed below in the order they appeared:[citation needed]
The 1983 festival ran for three days over Memorial Day weekend, along with an additional day on June 4.[16][17]Colorado-based promoter Barry Fey replaced Graham as Wozniak's business partner.[18] The weather was slightly cooler than the September festival at 95 °F (35 °C), but the air quality in the region was the recorded worst in four years.[4][19] The total attendance was reported at 670,000.[citation needed]Van Halen was reportedly paid $1.5 million to perform.[20]The Clash demanded that $100,000 of their $500,000 for the performance be donated to charity before they took the stage for what would be their last show with guitarist Mick Jones before his firing in September.[21] There were two reported deaths.[22][23][24] The festival lost an estimated $12 million, as the 1982 festival had.[16]
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.[25] In this case, the name comes from the fact that the proceeds of the concert will "go to us!",[26] as in the promoters when asked in a fourth wall inquiry.[27] Several well-known groups and musicians make cameo appearances, including actual US Festival headliners Van Halen[28] and The Police,[29] non-performers Culture Club[30][31] and Barry Manilow,[32] and the fictional heavy metal band Tess Turbo and The Blackheads.[33][34]
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.[35]
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.[36]
On September 18, 2012, Shout! Factory released The English Beat: Live At The US Festival, ’82 & ’83 on CD/DVD.[37] On September 9, 2019, it released Santana: Live at US Festival on Blu-Ray and DVD.[38] On September 9, 2020, it released The B52s: Live at US Festival on DVD.[39]
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 the 1983 festival.
