Ozzy Osbourne is off the bill for October’s Power Trip festival.
The 74-year-old heavy-metal pioneer, who revealed in 2020 that he had Parkinson’s disease, announced the cancellation in a statement Monday that said he wasn’t physically fit for the gig.
“As painful as this is, I’ve had to make the decision to bow out of performing on Power Trip in October,” he said of the festival that will bring a roster of veteran hard-rock acts to Indio’s Empire Polo Club. “My original plan was to return to the stage in the summer of 2024, and when the offer to do this show came in, I optimistically moved forward.
“Unfortunately, my body is telling me that I’m just not ready yet and I am much too proud to have the first show that I do in nearly five years be half-assed.”
Osbourne, who last toured in 2018, pulled out of a string of European tour dates earlier this year, saying he knew he “couldn’t deal with the travel required.” The Black Sabbath frontman performed a brief set in September during halftime at a Rams-Bills NFL game at Inglewood’s SoFi Stadium; his most recent studio album, “Patient Number 9,” came out the same month.
Presented by the powerful L.A. concert promoter Goldenvoice (which also puts on Coachella and Stagecoach), Power Trip is set to feature Guns N’ Roses, Metallica, Iron Maiden, AC/DC and Tool over three nights from Oct. 6 to Oct. 8. The festival comes seven years after Goldenvoice’s Desert Trip, which gathered classic-rock legends including Paul McCartney and the Rolling Stones, and rang up more than $150 million in ticket sales.
In his statement, Osbourne said the festival would announce his replacement soon. “They are personal friends of mine and I can promise that you will not be disappointed,” he said.
This story originally appeared on LA Times
