Van Halen US Festival '83 Event Shirt

retox6666

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Wed, 22/01/2025 - 07:57

This is an SUPER RARE Van Halen, US Festival 1983, exclusive event shirt.
Bought it at the US Fest myself. Absolutely the BEST concert I've ever gone to.
Size - Large
In immaculate condition

TShirt or Longsleeve

Sale or Trade

Year: 1983

TShirt tag:

** Other **

Original TShirt Fabric Color:

Black

Size:

Large

More: Van Halen TShirts Van Halen Patches

Bands:

Van Halen

US Festival '83

Heavy Metal Day

slayerslayer on Wed, 22/01/2025 - 11:27

cool shirt, do you remember any other bands on the bill? or anecdotes from your experience?

retox6666 on Wed, 22/01/2025 - 14:33

The US Fest was my 2nd concert ever. The lineup for 'Heavy Metal Day' was as follows...
Quiet Riot (last minute fill-in for Joe Walsh)
Motley Crue
Judas Priest
Ozzy Osbourne (1st concert after the death of Randy Rhodes)
Triumph
Scorpions
Van Halen
All bands played full sets and that day broke the record (at the time) for the most people to attend a concert at just over 350,000 people.
I attached a photo I took of some of the crowd that day.
As for stories, even though we only spent about a day and a half at the festival, there's not nearly enough space here to tell them all. It was probably THE greatest thing I've ever been a part of. Thanx for the interest.

bad_american1992 on Wed, 22/01/2025 - 18:13

That looks insane... that is a true Heavy Metal Day! Was that in the amphitheater or did the concert spill over into the adjacent park? I've been to a few shows out at Glen Helen amphitheater in the 2010s

retox6666 on Thu, 23/01/2025 - 05:27

Before it was an amphitheater, Glen Helen was one big "Regional Park". All open space with a few benches and tables and a little lake in the middle where people would have picnics and rent peddal boats. Nothing like it was when you were there. No permanent stage, no seats, no fences, just dirt. Up until the early 2000's, the only concerts that were ever put on there were the two US festivals in '82 and '83.
OK, I do have a quick story for you. In '83 i was in 8th grade and going to San Gabriel Mission Grammar School (catholic). I was also an altar boy for sunday mass. One of the priests that was assigned to the Mission was Fr. Richard Wozniac, who pulled me aside after mass one Sunday and asked me if I wanted tickets to an event his nephew was throwing. His nephew was Steven Wozniac, who, along with Steve Jobs, co-founded Apple Computers. The US Festival was sponsored by Apple, so I'm probably the only person to get a ticket to Heavy Metal Day from a Catholic priest.

bad_american1992 on Thu, 23/01/2025 - 05:45

That is an incredible story man! That is one radical preist right there. Too funny that was the Woz's uncle, I never knew he came from a Catholic background. What are the odds? Hahaha.

doctordeath on Thu, 23/01/2025 - 10:32

man !!!

doctordeath on Thu, 23/01/2025 - 10:34

Strangely enough, I had someone from woz.org join another side business of mine :-) wozniac is a legend!!!!

retox6666 on Thu, 23/01/2025 - 14:24

and yet, with all those people and with all those great bands, AND having gone thru losing all kinds of money before with US Fest '82, Woz lost around 10 to 12 million on US Fest '83. Well, people calkl it a loss, but I think Woz did what he set out to do. It basically was a way to showcase Woz's new baby... the Apple II computer and to get the public to try out and not be afraid of these evil things called computers I think he succeeded