Kerry King, Kirk Hammett, Scott Ian, others to perform all-star tribute to "Dimebag" Darrell at Ozzfest

Hard-rocking music fans headed to this year's Ozzfest will experience a special one-time only all-star tribute to fallen Pantera guitarist and Texas native "Dimebag" Darrell Abbott as part of the Saturday, August 9 one-day stadium spectacular at Dallas' Pizza Hut Park (home of FC Dallas... go Galaxy).

The tribute to "Dimebag" Darrell will feature Abbott's brother, Vinnie Paul (acting as musical director and playing drums), along with an array of prominent hard rockers. This not-to-be-missed performance will salute the acclaimed guitarist whose December 2004 murder while performing onstage at a Columbus, Ohio club still has the hard rock/metal community reeling.

Artists already confirmed to honor "Dimebag" Darrell Abbott include:

Kerry King (Slayer)
Jerry Cantrell (Alice in Chains)
Mike Inez (Alice in Chains)
King Diamond
Scott Ian (Anthrax)
Charlie Benante (Anthrax)
Kirk Hammett (Metallica)
Jamey Jasta (Hatebreed)
Chad Gray (Hellyeah)
Bob Zilla (Hellyeah)

These musicians will stand together onstage, following Hellyeah's mainstage performance, to pay their respects to their fallen friend with a set including many Pantera classics.

Dimebag's longtime partner Rita Haney — who has worked tirelessly to keep his spirit alive — organized the tribute along with the Ozzfest team. While this began as an Ozzfest idea, Rita aggressively pursued it and brought together the talent making this homage a reality.

"To have this event on the main stage at Ozzfest in Dallas is such a treat and an honor!" says Rita Haney. "When this tragedy originally happened, I saw the music community come together like I've never seen before. To have the name 'Dimebag' still, to this day, unite musicians to pay homage in such a respectful way, is very overwhelming! In Dime's vision, it's always been about a damn good time!"

"When we decided on Dallas as the site for this year's Ozzfest, it seemed like the perfect opportunity to pay tribute to 'Dimebag' Darrell since it was his hometown," said Ozzfest founder Sharon Osbourne. "Dimebag was a part of our Ozzfest family and everyone in the metal community misses him dearly."

Read More News

Tags:  ozzfest, kerry king, kirk hammett, scott ian, dimebag darrell

Quentin    July 23, 2008