On This Day in Music History: 670,000 Fans Attend US Festival ’83

On May 28, 1983, the first day of US Festival ’83 took place. The festival was held over Memorial Day weekend at Glen Helen Regional Park in San Bernardino, California. It was a four-day festival, launched by Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak and a Colorado-based promoter, Barry Fey. The goal was to promote music, technology, and community. The festival first launched in 1982 over Labor Day weekend. That lineup included The Police, The Cars, Tom Petty And The Heartbreakers, Fleetwood Mac, Santana, The B52’s, The Ramones, Talking Heads, The Grateful Dead, Pat Benatar, and more.

US Festival ’83 was split into themed days for different genres. On May 28, the lineup featured new wave bands. New Wave Day included Divinyls, INXS, Wall Of Voodoo, Oingo Boingo, The Beat, A Flock Of Seagulls, Stray Cats, Men At Work, and the headliner, The Clash.

The next day was Heavy Metal Day, on May 29. Heavy Metal Day saw performances from Quiet Riot, Mötley Crüe, Ozzy Osbourne, Judas Priest, Triumph, Scorpions, and the headliner Van Halen.

May 30 was Rock Day, and fans saw Little Steven & The Disciples Of Soul, Quarterflash, Berlin, Missing Persons, U2, The Pretenders, Joe Walsh, Stevie Nicks, and the headliner David Bowie. Five days later, and Country Day was included. Country fans saw The Thrasher Brothers, Ricky Skaggs, Hank Williams Jr, Emmylou Harris & The Hot Band, Alabama, Waylon Jennings, Riders In The Sky, and Willie Nelson.

Despite Record-Breaking Attendance, The Festival Lost Millions of Dollars

With all the days added together, 670,000 fans attended the festival. The Heavy Metal Day set a single-day festival attendance record of 375,000 fans. Ultimately, the festival lost an estimated $12 million due to high talent fees. Van Halen alone was paid $1.5 million to headline the festival. The Clash earned $500,000 for headlining New Wave Day, but demanded that $100,000 be donated to charity before they performed. Notably, it was guitarist Mick Jones’s last performance with The Clash.

Though the festival was a financial failure, many attendees highly regard the festival’s lineup. In 1983, genres such as new wave and heavy metal were taking over the airwaves. Seeing a chunk of legendary bands, all in one genre-centered day, was a dream for anyone to attend. It was truly a once-in-a-lifetime experience as the festival never returned.