The Eighties in America - Salem Press (2009)

The 1983 US Festival took place over two week-
ends. One-day tickets cost twenty dollars. The con-
cert began on Memorial Day weekend, 1983. The
opening day acts were the Divinyls, INXS, Wall of
Voodoo, Oingo Boingo, the English Beat, Flock of
Seagulls, Stray Cats, Men at Work, and the Clash. Sat-
urday’s show was titled Heavy Metal Day and was at-
tended by over 400,000 fans. The day was marred by
several incidents, including a fatal beating and a fa-
tal overdose. The bands that played were Quiet Riot,
Mötley Crüe, Ozzy Osbourne, Judas Priest, Triumph,
the Scorpions, and Van Halen. Monday featured
David Bowie, Stevie Nicks, Little Steven and the Dis-
ciples of Soul, Berlin, Quarterflash, U2, Missing
Persons, the Pretenders, and Joe Walsh. There was
a country music day the following Saturday. Over
100,000 fans showed up to see and hear country mu-
sic groups Riders in the Sky, Thrasher Brothers,
Ricky Skaggs, Hank Williams, Jr., Emmylou Harris

and the Hot Band, Waylon Jennings, Alabama, and

Willie Nelson.

Impact The US Festivals represented one of the

first attempts to combine a music-oriented demo-

graphic with personal computers. The strategy would

ultimately pay incredible dividends in future de-

cades, as the relationship between popular music and

computer technology grew.

Further Reading

Hunter, David. “Steve Wozniak Throws a Party.”Soft-

Talk Magazine3, no. 10 (October, 1982): 128-140.

Kirk, Cynthia. “Fun and Violence Mingle at US Festi-

val: Break-Even Point Is Still Elusive.”Variety 311

(June 1, 1983): 55.

_______. “US Festival in Cal. Deemed a Success, At-

tendance Is Good.”Variety308 (September 8,

1982): 1.

Ron Jacobs

1008
US Festivals The Eighties in America

Performers at the US Festivals, in order of appearance:

Friday, September 3, 1982

Gang of Four

The Ramones

The English Beat

Oingo Boingo

The B52s

Talking Heads

The Police

Saturday, September 4, 1982

The Joe Sharino Band

Dave Edmunds

Eddie Money

Santana

The Cars

The Kinks

Pat Benatar

Tom Petty and the

Heartbreakers

Sunday, September 5, 1982

Grateful Dead

Jerry Jeff Walker

Jimmy Buffett

Jackson Browne

Fleetwood Mac

Saturday, May 28, 1983

Divinyls

INXS

Wall of Voodoo

Oingo Boingo

The English Beat

Flock of Seagulls

Stray Cats

Men at Work

The Clash

Sunday, May 29, 1983

Quiet Riot

Mötley Crüe

Ozzy Osbourne

Judas Priest

Triumph

Scorpions

Van Halen

Monday, May 30, 1983

Little Steven and the

Disciples of Soul

Berlin

Quarterflash

U2

Missing Persons

Pretenders

Joe Walsh

Stevie Nicks

David Bowie

Saturday, June 4, 1983—

Country Day

Riders in the Sky

Thrasher Brothers

Ricky Skaggs

Hank Williams, Jr.

Emmylou Harris and the

Hot Band

Waylon Jennings

Alabama

Willie Nelson

The US Festivals