Anthony Kiedis, AE create new festival

Red Hot Chili Peppers frontman Anthony Kiedis is hosting a new two-day summer music festival in which he put together the lineup. The New American Music Union Festival, presented by clothing manufacturer American Eagle Outfitters (AE) and produced in partnership with Live Nation, is set for August 8-9 in Pittsburgh, PA’s historic Southside Works.

The event combines 15 of the country's best college bands with some of the music industry’s most innovative and popular artists, including Bob Dylan and His Band, The Raconteurs, Gnarls Barkley, The Roots, Spoon, The Black Keys, Black Mountain, The Duke Spirit, NASA and Tiny Masters of Today. More artists are to be added.

AE created this festival to give college bands a national platform and the opportunity to share the stage with the artists that most inspire them. Tickets go on sale today, May 16. Student tickets are $25; general admission tickets are $49.50.

"My experience tells me that concerts can be life changing. That is how I approached putting this lineup together," Kiedis said in a statement. "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. 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."

The college band performances will be judged by music industry influencers, journalists and fellow musicians. The winning college band will receive a full-day recording session in a top Los Angeles studio valued at $10,000. AEO will support the winning college band by promoting its recording on its website and in its stores across the country.

AE has invited the following college bands to participate:
Bears (Kent State University), Flying Machines (The New School), Gospel Gossip (Carleton College), Magic Bullets (College of San Mateo), Math the Band (University of Massachusetts Dartmouth), My Dear Disco (University of Michigan), Nothing Unexpected (Robert Morris University), The Black Fortys (University of Southern Illinois), The Company Kang (Whitman College), The Delicious (Indiana University), The Depreciation Guild (New York University), The Elizabethan Report (Brigham Young University), The French Horn Rebellion (Northwestern University), The Royal Bangs (University of Tennessee) and The Steps (University of Texas Austin).