Joey Ramone, Sept 3, 1982, San Bernadino, CA
Photography by Ken Friedman

The US Festival was a massive undertaking promoted by Bill Graham and sponsored by Steve Wozniak of Apple Computers. It was the first major festival in over a decade that wasn’t a charity event; the three-day concert was simply a celebration of technology. The US Festival was the earliest large concert to use video screens, and the onstage action was also broadcast live to MTV viewers at home. There were large air-conditioned tents featuring the “US Festival Technology Exposition” which was an impressive presentation of then-cutting edge computers, software, and electronic music devices. The event took place in 105 degree heat, hosted 400,000 people, saw 12 overdoses and 36 arrests, and was a commercial failure (with losses totaling $12.5 million), but that didn’t discourage Wozniak from sponsoring another US Festival the following year. This candid snapshot of Joey Ramone was captured by BGP staff photographer Ken Friedman—note Joey’s signature black-clad outfit despite the severe heat.

See more photography by Ken Friedman