While 2025 sadly saw the passing of its patriarchal namesake of sorts, the ‘Ozzfest‘ may yet return. That festival, originally launched back in 1996 by Sharon Osbourne and her late husband Ozzy Osbourne, has been dormant since 2018. While initially launched after Ozzy was snubbed by ‘Lollapalooza‘, the festival went on to introduce and help break numerous band’s during it’s decade-plus run, propeling the likes of Slipknot, System Of A Down and more.
In a newly published interview with Billboard, Sharon revealed that she has been in dicussions with promoter Live Nation to potentially resurrect the festival. She told the publication:
“I’ve been talking to Live Nation about bringing [Ozzfest] back recently. It was something Ozzy was very passionate about: giving young talent a stage in front of a lot of people. We really started metal festivals in this country. It was [replicated but] never done with the spirit of what ours was, because ours was a place for new talent. It was like summer camp for kids.”
According to Sharon, she has been actively considering artists for the return of the festival, which could launch as soon as 2027. She also went on to note that the return would likely be a touring incarnation, as opposed to the destination festivals that the event morphed into in the latter years of its run. Sharon did however offer one caveat sure to ruffle the feathers of excited metalheads, stating that she’d, “like to mix up the genres” for this big comeback.
Sharon also noted that she has another project in the works to honor her late husband, as well as his heavy metal pioneering band Black Sabbath. She told Billboard that she has also been in discussions with Live Nation to launch a tour featuring classical renditions of Black Sabbath songs performed by local orchestras with state-of-the-art visuals and stage production.
Black Sabbath reunited for one final show in July of 2025, raising some $10 million for charity. That event, ‘Back To The Beginning‘, was held in the band’s hometown of Birmingham, UK and served as the final live sendoff for Ozzy Osbourne, who would passed away just weeks afterward.
