Black Label Society To Play Ozzfest 2006

Band Photo: Ozzy Osbourne (?)

BLACK LABEL SOCIETY booking agent Troy Blakely at APA has told Billboard magazine that the band will be taking part in this summer's Ozzfest before doing additional North American dates in the fall. "We don't know how we're going to do it yet or who we're going to be out with, but that's the plan, we're going to be back here in the fall headlining," he said.

This year BLACK LABEL SOCIETY will tour overseas for most of the spring and early summer. The band is booked in Europe by Nigel Kerr at APS and in South America by Bill Monot at Paradise Artists.

"For the first time this year, we're going to South America, for 16 headlining shows in 3,000-capacity-plus [venues]," BLACK LABEL SOCIETY manager Bob Ringe told Billboard. "We're going to Australia for the first time this year — eight shows in May, 3,000-capacity-plus. And we're doing a headlining European tour from May 23 until the first of July."

Blakely calls BLACK LABEL SOCIETY mainman Zakk Wylde "one of the hardest workers I've ever seen in the music business, period, and I've been doing this about 32 years."

Wylde's work ethic impressed Blakely early on. "He's working 24 hours a day, not just when he's onstage," Blakely said. "He's either writing material for himself or for OZZY OSBOURNE, working on other projects he's involved with, designing guitars or whatever else he's doing."

On the road, Wylde and BLACK LABEL SOCIETY are rock-solid at the box office. "we did two tours in 2005," Ringe noted. "The spring tour we did 97.6% capacity, and the fall tour we headlined 3,000-plus seaters."

According to Blakely, BLACK LABEL SOCIETY's fan base is very loyal. "That's one of the things I noticed a couple of years ago when I had JUDAS PRIEST on Ozzfest," he said. "I saw this fan base that Zakk has. There are chapters in each city that are very, very loyal fans, that come out for Zakk and bring other people and spread the word about what Zakk and BLACK LABEL SOCIETY are up to. I've never seen anything quite like that before."

As previously reported, Zakk Wylde is expected to write, record and tour with Ozzy in 2006 and beyond. This was announced after apparent scheduling conflicts with Wylde and subsequent auditions for Ozzy's replacement for Zakk.

Source: Blabbermouth