Lamb of God Gear Up for Ozzfest 2007

“Come join us,” said Ozzy and Sharon Osbourne February 6 at the Los Angeles press conference to unveil the bombshell: this year's 12th annual Ozzfest will be known as “FreeFest.” Ozzy and Sharon's statement—with tour producer Live Nation—was an invitation for other artists to join Ozzy by performing for free, thus making the tickets to the summer's premiere touring concert festival entirely free for fans.

This bold invitation to perform in front of tens of thousands of frenzied rock kids has already been accepted by such artists as Lamb of God, Hatebreed and cutting-edge Finnish act Lordi, who will lead the charge with Ozzy in this historic move that redefines a concert industry marred by rising ticket prices. Lamb of God and Lordi will perform on the main stage with Ozzy, while Hatebreed will headline Ozzfest's reliably down and dirty second stage with Mondo Generator, Ankla, Circus Diablo, Nile and the Showdown. These are only the first artists who have stepped forward to be part of this ground-breaking touring extravaganza, with more artists to be announced in the coming weeks for the main and second stages.

The 24-city earth-pounding Ozzfest will now launch July 12 in Seattle, WA, at the White River Amphitheatre. The tour was originally announced to start July 7 in Southern California but had to be moved to accommodate the extension of Ozzy's European tour. Ozzfest will also hit Seattle, WA, George, WA, Sacramento, CA, Mountain View, CA, Devore, CA, Phoenix, AZ, Albuquerque, NM, Denver, CO, Kansas City, MO, Dallas, TX, San Antonio, TX, St. Louis, MO, Columbus, OH, Tinley Park, IL, East Troy, WI, Indianapolis, IN, Holmdel, NJ, Hartford, CT, Boston, MA, Philadelphia, PA, Pittsburgh, PA, Detroit, MI, Charlotte, NC and West Palm Beach, FL.

As Ozzfest's founder and namesake, Ozzy will make his triumphant return to the headlining position on this year's mainstage after surprising fans last year by performing on the second stage at a handful of dates. Audiences can expect the Prince of Darkness to unveil new songs from his forthcoming studio album, Ozzy's first disc of new material since 2001.

To gain entry into this year's Ozzfest, fans will go to ozzfest.com or livenation.com to find links that will direct them to special sponsor sites where tickets can be secured. Select sponsors will have a unique opportunity to engage fans one-on-one utilizing one of music's best known brands. Tickets will be available for download on June 12. Stay tuned to ozzfest.com and livenation.com in the coming weeks for more ticketing information.