On this day in 1982, Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak hosts the US Festival.

Following the founding of Apple in the mid-’70s and the rise of technology which saw the release of the Apple I and Apple II personal computers, the generation of this time began to be given the name of the ‘Me’ Generation.

Wanting to shake off the negative connotations of this term, Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak wanted to put on an event that was much less a personal experience and more of a communal gathering. Thus, the US Festival (pronounced like the pronoun, not as initials) was born.

Intended as a music festival “for a few thousand friends”, the three-day festival attracted more than 200,000 people to a purpose-built open-air field venue in California.

The festival featured a number of big name acts, including The Police, the Ramones, Talking Heads, Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers, The Grateful Dead, and Fleetwood Mac, who played their first show in two years.

Sadly, the event reached temperatures over 40 degrees, saw over 100 arrests, 35 drug overdoses, and also lost more than $12 million in the process. Despite this, the festival was considered to be a rather big success by all those who attended.

Check out the Ramones at the US Festival:

YouTube VideoPlay

US Festival Lineup 1982

Friday, September 3rd

Gang Of Four
Blairing Out
The Ramones
The English Beat
Oingo Boingo
The B-52’s
Talking Heads
The Police

Saturday, September 4th

Joe Sharino
Dave Edmunds
Eddie Money
Santana
The Cars
The Kinks
Pat Benatar
Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers

Sunday, September 5th

The Grateful Dead
Jerry Jeff Walker
Jimmy Buffett And The Coral Reefer Band
Jackson Browne
Fleetwood Mac

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