Blizzard of Ozz Brings the Randy Rhoads Era of Ozzy Osbourne to the Charlestown Rathskeller
Blizzard of Ozz (Ozzy Osbourne Tribute) at the Charlestown Rathskeller brings the music of Ozzy Osbourne to Charlestown on Saturday, September 19, with a tribute band that goes considerably deeper than a greatest-hits impersonation.
The concert runs from 8 to 11 p.m. at the Charlestown Rathskeller, with tickets priced at $15 in advance plus Eventbrite fees or $20 at the door.
Blizzard of Ozz builds its show around the early years of Osbourne’s solo career and, in particular, the extraordinary music he created with guitarist Randy Rhoads.
That means Crazy Train and Mr. Crowley, certainly. But the band’s repertoire extends through both of the Osbourne/Rhoads albums, later Ozzy favorites and selected Black Sabbath material.
For anyone who thinks an Ozzy tribute begins and ends with shouting “All aboard!” before the opening riff of Crazy Train, this band has considerably more planned.
Blizzard of Ozz Starts With Randy Rhoads
The band’s name tells you exactly where its priorities lie.
Ozzy Osbourne released his debut solo album, Blizzard of Ozz, in 1980 after his departure from Black Sabbath.
The album introduced a new musical partnership between Osbourne and Randy Rhoads, a young California guitarist whose combination of heavy-metal aggression and classically influenced technique helped establish a dramatically different sound for Ozzy’s solo career.
The record produced some of Osbourne’s defining songs, including Crazy Train, Mr. Crowley, I Don’t Know and Suicide Solution.
It was followed by Diary of a Madman in 1981, with songs including Flying High Again, Over the Mountain and the title track.
Then everything stopped.
Rhoads was killed in a plane crash in Florida on March 19, 1982. He was 25.
More than four decades later, those two albums remain the musical foundation of Blizzard of Ozz.
The tribute band’s stated mission is not simply recreating Ozzy’s appearance and famous songs. It places particular emphasis on preserving the music Osbourne and Rhoads created together.
This Band Can Play Both Rhoads Albums in Their Entirety
That’s an important distinction.
Blizzard of Ozz has developed a repertoire that includes every song from Blizzard of Ozz and Diary of a Madman.
For a general audience, the familiar songs provide the immediate payoff.
Crazy Train has one of the most recognizable guitar riffs in heavy metal. Mr. Crowley remains one of the great showcases of Rhoads’ playing. Flying High Again became another cornerstone of Osbourne’s early solo catalog.
But fans who know the albums rather than simply the radio hits get the deeper cuts too.
The band’s full repertoire allows it to explore the period when Osbourne was reinventing himself after Black Sabbath and Rhoads was helping create a new vocabulary for heavy-metal guitar.
That’s why the guitar chair matters so much in this particular tribute.
Damiano Christian Has the Randy Rhoads Assignment
Guitarist Damiano Christian handles the role.
Blizzard of Ozz describes Christian’s playing as deliberately faithful to Rhoads’ style, and his job goes beyond reproducing the famous opening riff to Crazy Train.
Rhoads’ playing combined rapid alternate picking, legato passages, harmonics, tapping, intricate chord voicings and techniques drawn from classical guitar. His solos could be melodic and carefully constructed while still sounding explosive.
Getting the notes approximately right isn’t enough if you’re building a band specifically around this era.
The phrasing and tone are part of the music.
Christian’s role is therefore closer to reconstruction than imitation: recreating guitar parts that generations of metal players have spent decades studying.
Mark Lavoie Takes on Ozzy
At the microphone is Mark Lavoie, who performs the Osbourne role.
That’s another difficult assignment because Ozzy’s voice has always been unusually recognizable.
He wasn’t a conventional technically polished hard-rock singer. His slightly nasal tone, phrasing and ability to carry melodies over enormous guitar riffs made his voice immediately identifiable, first with Black Sabbath and then on his solo records.
A successful tribute has to capture enough of that character to make the songs feel right without turning the entire performance into parody.
Blizzard of Ozz’s current lineup pairs Lavoie with Christian on guitar, Paul Sylvia on bass and Kenny Evans on drums.
Together, the four-piece recreates the basic architecture of the classic Ozzy solo band: voice, guitar, bass and drums, with the guitar occupying a particularly prominent place in the arrangements.
The Set Doesn’t Stop in 1982
Rhoads is the band’s musical center of gravity, but Blizzard of Ozz doesn’t end the story with his death.
Ozzy Osbourne continued recording and touring for decades with a remarkable succession of guitarists.
Blizzard of Ozz reaches into those later periods as well.
The band’s advertised repertoire includes Bark at the Moon, No More Tears and Mama, I’m Coming Home, taking the show into the Jake E. Lee and Zakk Wylde chapters of Osbourne’s career.
And then there’s Black Sabbath.
Blizzard of Ozz also works selected Sabbath material into its performances for fans who want to hear the music that established Osbourne before his solo career began.
The band specifically lists Paranoid among the songs it performs.
The result is effectively a tour through Ozzy’s career, but one viewed through the lens of the Randy Rhoads years rather than a generic collection of heavy-metal hits.
Saturday’s Concert Is Actually the Second Attempt
There’s another wrinkle to the Charlestown show.
Blizzard of Ozz was originally scheduled to play the Rathskeller on July 18.
That performance was canceled because of weather.
The band now lists the September 19 Charlestown date as the rescheduled July 18 show.
That’s particularly relevant at the Rathskeller because its larger seasonal concerts take place outdoors.
September 19 gives the band and the venue another shot at bringing the Ozzy show into the woods of Charlestown before the outdoor concert season winds down.
Down Back Is Built for Nights Like This
The Charlestown Rathskeller at 489A Old Coach Road is both a restaurant and a seasonal live-music destination.
The property traces its tavern history back to the early 20th century and sits away from the main commercial strips, surrounded by woods.
Its outdoor Down Back area transforms the property into something closer to a small festival ground during concert nights.
There’s a stage, outdoor space, lawn games and the Rathskeller’s enormous fire pit.
It’s a different environment from seeing a metal tribute inside a conventional nightclub.
And the setting should work particularly well once darkness settles in.
A band playing Mr. Crowley, Bark at the Moon and Paranoid on an outdoor stage in the woods doesn’t exactly need much additional atmosphere.
Come Early and Make Dinner Part of the Night
The Rathskeller is encouraging concertgoers to arrive early for dinner and drinks.
That’s practical advice.
The restaurant is open until 1 a.m. on Saturdays, while the kitchen is scheduled to serve until 10 p.m.
Its menu runs through burgers and pub food into steaks and seafood, with items such as New England clam chowder, calamari, mussels, fish and chips, steak frites and the Rathskeller’s well-known fries.
Arriving before the 8 p.m. show gives you time to eat without trying to coordinate dinner with a three-hour concert.
It also gives you a better chance to settle into the outdoor concert area before the band starts.
Ozzy’s Music Has Outlived Almost Everything Around It
There’s a reason tribute bands can build entire shows around this particular catalog.
The music survived its era.
Crazy Train was released more than 45 years ago. Blizzard of Ozz and Diary of a Madman came from a period when heavy metal was still defining what it would become during the 1980s.
Rhoads didn’t live long enough to see how influential his playing would become.
Osbourne did.
He continued performing for decades, became a cultural figure far beyond heavy metal and was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame twice: first as a member of Black Sabbath and later as a solo artist.
Ozzy Osbourne died in July 2025 at age 76, just weeks after performing at the massive Back to the Beginning farewell concert in Birmingham, England.
That inevitably changed the character of Ozzy tribute shows.
The music is no longer celebrating the career of an artist who might conceivably appear on another stage someday.
It’s preserving it.
For Blizzard of Ozz, though, that mission was already familiar.
The band had spent years preserving the work of Randy Rhoads.
Now the same songs carry the legacy of both men.
Three Hours of Ozzy in the Woods
There isn’t much ambiguity about what Saturday night is supposed to be.
This isn’t a broad classic-rock tribute with a couple of Ozzy songs tucked into the set.
Blizzard of Ozz has built the entire night around him.
The early solo albums.
The Randy Rhoads guitar parts.
The later hits.
And enough Black Sabbath to reach back to where the story started.
For three hours Saturday night, the Charlestown woods are going to sound considerably heavier than usual.
Details
Event: Blizzard of Ozz (Ozzy Osbourne Tribute) at the Charlestown Rathskeller
Date: Saturday, September 19, 2026
Time: 8–11 p.m.
Location: The Charlestown Rathskeller
Address: 489A Old Coach Road, Charlestown, RI 02813
Band: Blizzard of Ozz
Tribute: Ozzy Osbourne, with a particular focus on the Randy Rhoads era
Band Members: Mark Lavoie, vocals; Damiano Christian, guitar; Paul Sylvia, bass; Kenny Evans, drums
Advance Tickets: $15 plus Eventbrite fees
Door Price: $20
Original Date: July 18, 2026; canceled because of weather and rescheduled to September 19
Venue Hours Saturday: Noon–1 a.m.
Kitchen Hours: Noon–10 p.m.
Venue Phone: 401-792-1000
Venue Email: info@rathskellertavern.com
Music Contact: music@rathskellertavern.com
Weather: This is an outdoor concert. Check the venue’s current event information if weather is questionable.
More information is available at the Event Website link below.
To purchase tickets, click the Event Ticketing link below.
Featured image is an artistic representation inspired by the event and may not depict the actual people, location, or activities shown.