When it comes to famous music festivals, there's usually a short list of the one's referenced, as each had some kind of historic story or moment that makes them so memorable. The first Woodstock is the granddaddy that's been the most chronicled throughout the years, even though the Monterey Pop Festival came first. The tragedy at Altamont is cited for the death that occurred, but endure through a Rolling Stones classic that became the title track to the famed documentary that went with the festival. Live Aid is one of the biggest charity events in history and the downfall of the third Woodstock helped kill a genre of music.
In 1982, Steve Wozniak just wanted a weekend of great music and a good time for all when he created the US Festival, and what came was so overall beloved, that it's now a great rock festival that falls under the radar when it comes to infamy, because the only thing that happened was that everyone had a good time.
Steve Wozniak, literally changed the world as cofounder of Apple with the creation of the Apple I and Apple II personal computers. After, making a fortune, Woz wanted to do something that gave back and was fun, so after believing that the 70s were the "Me" generation, he intended for the US Festival, to encourage the 80s to be more of a community-oriented decade by combining technology with rock music. Organized by Bill Graham Labor Day weekend in 82, the inaugural US festival became the first great festival to bring practice back since the downfall of them in the last decade.
Wozniak constructed an open-air field venue, with a state-of-the-art temporary stage at Glen Helen Regional Park, which is now home to the Glen Helen Amphitheater, and still resides at Disneyland since 1985. The US festival ran for three days, with 400,000 people attending with the price of $37.50 a ticket, and featured the first use of the U.S.-Soviet Space Bridge two-way satellite hookup, to have the US Festival and Soviet rock fans interact to promote goodwill. The festival helped pull The Ramones out of the underground after the fall of punk at the hands of the Sex Pistols at the end of the 70's, and gave rise to bands like the B-52's, The Cars, and Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers whose performances became classic in the eyes of rock fans. The Police, Santana, and Fleetwood Mac would bring superstar status to the festival cementing it as one of the biggest festivals of the decade, rivaled only by the two continent achievement of Bob Geldof's Live Aid.