Anniversary of the US Festival

Giant music festivals have a way of being remembered for a lot of things besides music. Woodstock was about the hippies, Altamont was about the Hell's Angels and the US Festival became known for losing a ton of money for Apple Computer founder Steve Wozniak. In 1982, Wozniak had paid to bulldoze a site and then construct an open-air music venue near Devore in southern California. His idea was to hold a three-day festival that would feature top music acts on the big stage, but also the latest in computers and technology in an air-conditioned tent. The first US Festival took place on Labor Day weekend of 1982, but it wasn't a big success. Despite landing top acts like Fleetwood Mac, The Police and Tom Petty, 110-degree heat and other factors kept many people away and the enterprise lost Wozniak an estimated $12 million.