Briefly

Early birds flock to US rockarama

May 27, 1983

Devore, Calif. -- Hundreds of campers have already settled in for the second annual rock music extravaganza and computer show known as the US Festival, organizers say.

The Glen Helen Regional Park campground doesn't officially open until today for the open-air Memorial Day weekend concerts staged by UNUSON Corp. and its founder, Apple computer designer Steve Wozniak. However, the gates were opened Wednesday for those willing to pay $3 a campsite.

The rock festival begins tomorrow and goes through Monday, then picks up again next Saturday with a country music concert. UNUSON spokesman Matt Helreich said so far that only 281,000 tickets have been sold, including seats for the June 4 country phase starring Willie Nelson. Wozniak said last week he needed to sell 800,000 tickets to break even.

Although UNUSON officials won't confirm the figures, Wozniak has been widely reported as having lost $5-million on last year's concert.

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