ATTENTION ALL YINZERS & FANS OF GOOD MUSIC:

Everyone knows about the major music festivals this summer. There’s Coachella in California, Bonnaroo in Tennessee and Lollapalooza in Chicago.

Now there’s the New American Music Union Festival in Pittsburgh and Bob Dylan is headlining it!

Yes Yinzers, finally you have something to look forward to other than indulging in monotonous belligerent weekends at the Strip, SathSide, Oakland, and Station Square. So sack up, get your kegs of Yuengling because this party is raging right in the heart of the SouthSide.

The festival will take place Aug. 8th and 9th at the SouthSide Works, and the lineup is killer: Bob Dylan Headlines, with The Raconteurs, Gnarls Barkley, The Roots, Spoon and The Black Keys also on the bill. Anthony Kiedis of The Red Hot Chili Peppers will serve as host.

If nothing else, tickets are affordable: The general-admission two-day tickets are $49.50; student tickets are $25.

The concert will be held between Hot Metal and 26th streets in the town square area near the Cheesecake Factory. Two stages will be set up in the area.

Kiedis, who curated the festival lineup, said in a prepared statement he wanted to create a concert he would want to see.

“The thrill of seeing Bob Dylan next to the Raconteurs next to Gnarls Barkley next to the Roots is reason for us all to celebrate,” Kiedis said. “Music is still the most inspiring creative force that I know of, and this seemed like a prime opportunity to let it shine. Add to this the fact of a generously low ticket price and that it all takes place in the streets of Pittsburgh, and we have the most rocking block party of the summer.”

While the big-name acts are the draw — other bands on the bill include Black Mountain, The Duke Spirit, NASA and Tiny Masters of Today — the festival also is reaching out to budding collegiate musicians. Fifteen bands, including Nothing Unexpected from Robert Morris University, have been invited to participate in a competition, with the winner receiving $10,000 worth of studio time in Los Angeles and promotional considerations from American Eagle.

“The goal of the festival is to celebrate college music by giving college bands a national platform and the opportunity to share the stage with the artists that inspire them,” Barney says.

The New American Music Union Festival is unique. It will take place only in Pittsburgh. Barney says American Eagle hopes fans from around the country will be prompted to come to Western Pennsylvania for the two-day event.

Already, it has provided a surge of interest in local music circles.

“It’s exciting for Pittsburgh,” says Melissa Franko, marketing director for WYEP-FM. “I think it’s going to bring some national recognition to the city.”

Tickets go on sale at 10 a.m. today at Ticketmaster outlets. To charge by phone: 866-448-7849. Online: www.ticketmaster.com or www.livenation.com.

Source: Pittsburgh Tribune-Review