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Summer Music Festival set for Saturday at Fayetteville's Festival Park [The Fayetteville Observer, N.C. :: ](Fayetteville Observer (NC) Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) July 24--When: Saturday, 3 p.m. Where: Festival Park Admission: Free Information: wccg1045fm.com WCCG's Summer Music Festival will bring some of today's hottest stars from the Internet to the stage. For the second consecutive year, the radio station's organizers have planned a lineup of artists who are blowing up Twitter, YouTube, Vine and other social media outlets. "A lot are big independent artists," said Kalim Hasan, program director of WCCG (104.5 FM). "They're not on radio's radar, but they're up and coming." The concert starts at 3p.m. in Festival Park. Admission is free. There will be food vendors as well as a car, bike and truck show just outside Festival Park on the promenade. Many of the artists soon will be on radio's radar, given their popularity. Take "#DropThatNaeNae" by We Are Toonz, a dance video that has racked up 11.7million hits on YouTube and counting. The dance has spawned countless videos of people doing the dance, to include some dressed up as Disney characters. One of the official ones features NBA star Dwight Howard. "It's one of the biggest urban dance crazes to date," Hasan said. So when the group takes the stage, expect Festival Park to be one squirming, gyrating mass. "Everyone's going to do the Nae Nae," Hasan said. Other highlights include a reunion show by '90s R&B girl group Total; Lil TerRio, a 7-year-old who became a social media star with his dance moves; and D Low, creator of the D Low Shuffle. This is the festival's sixth year but the second that Hasan has made an effort to connect with online artists on the rise. This year builds on that success, he said. "It all started last year," he said. "I look at who is buzzing, YouTube followers and the 'likes,' and I chase those artists. They're not on the radio, so it takes a lot of time to connect with these artists." He notes that the station owned by Carson Communications does play many of them. "That's what listeners know our station by, breaking the new music," he said. Hasan is excited to see Ice JJ Fish take the stage, an artist who has more than 25 million views for his single "On the Floor." "He's serious about his craft with major marketing and major promotion," Hasan said. And the performance by Total will be its first major one since reuniting, he said. As for Lil TerRio, the kid who became a hit on Vine and who just signed a Hollywood management deal? Hasan can't wait for him, along with the Lights, to perform together. "He is a fun kid," he said. "Not only is he phenomenal online, but he's a great personality." Metro/features editor Jessica Banov can be reached at [email protected] or 486-3562. Follow on Twitter @JessicaBanov. ___ (c)2014 The Fayetteville Observer (Fayetteville, N.C.) Visit The Fayetteville Observer (Fayetteville, N.C.) at www.fayobserver.com Distributed by MCT Information Services |