Ozzfest, Knotfest Joining Forces For Second Year
It appears Ozzy Osbourne‘s OZZFest and Slipknot‘s Knotfest will meet again this year to share a weekend, as they did last year.
Both acts have been teasing a major announcement for July 10: Osbourne posted a photo with guitarist Zakk Wylde on Facebook and the caption “Hey Zakk, should we do an #Ozzfest this year?” while a second posting asks “Should we do an Ozzfest Meets Knotfest again this year?”
The inaugural pairing took place September 24-25 in San Bernardino, Calif., and Slipknot frontman Corey Taylor tells us it was an honor to have his band’s even associated with OZZFest, which Slipknot played on a couple of occasions:
“It’s kind of a lot of things for us. It’s us really trying to solidify our brand while also paying respect to the brand that not only really kind of started it all but also helped us to get to where we eventually got. Every time we were a part of OZZFest we were treated like family and we did everything that we could to really go above and beyond for them because they treated us so well. For us to be able to partner with OZZFest and really be able to make something incredible, to me it’s just about respect and saying thank you.”
Interestingly, the San Manual Amphitheater and Festival grounds where last year’s pairing took place also hosted the very first OZZFest back in 1996.
Osbourne is playing select festival shows throughout the summer, while Taylor is busy with his other band Stone Sour, so Knotfest will mark a reunion of sorts for Slipknot.
Gary Graff is an award-winning music journalist who not only covers music but has written books on Bob Seger, Neil Young and Bruce Springsteen.
