Ten cool things to look for at Music Midtown

ATLANTA — The day that he announced the lineup for Music Midtown 2014, Live Nation Georgia President and festival mastermind Peter Conlon told The Albany Herald, “This will be the best Music Midtown ever.”

Given the successful run of the festival, the sheer numbers of amazing artists who have played at the showcase Atlanta event, Conlon set the bar for Midtown 2014 pretty high. With headliners Eminem, Jack White, John Mayer and Zac Brown Band set to perform, though, the anticipation has climbed to 11 and few are doubting the man with the musical Midas touch.

With preparations complete, all the hoopla and hype moving ever deeper into the rear view mirror, it’s showtime for Music Midtown. The festival kicks off today at 4:30 p.m. with sets by Mayer Hawthorne on the Electric Ballroom Stage and Ron Pope on the Roxy Stage. The thousands in attendance will have to decide later if they want to watch co-headliners Mayer or White. Both perform from 9 p.m. to 11 p.m., Mayer at the Electric Ballroom Stage and White on the Roxy Stage.

Music starts at 12:30 p.m. Saturday with sets by Magic Man (Electric Ballroom) and Sleeper Agent (Roxy). Eminem and the Zac Brown Band have the 9-to-11 shift to close the festival, Slim Shady on the Electric Ballroom Stage and ZBB on the Roxy.

As Southwest Georgia fans make the three-hour journey north to the heart of the state’s capital, here are 10 things they can look forward to over the two days of Music Midtown:

1. Eminem and Jack White. As a baby boomer who’s loved and followed music since the onset of the British Invasion, I’ve seen and heard thousands upon thousands of artists perform. Amazingly, two of my Top 10 favorites ever are playing at the same event. This is why other major festival promoters come to Music Midtown to learn how it’s done.

2. Bastille, Gregg Allman, Run DMC, Lorde, B.o.B and The Strypes as Support Acts? Those, ladies and gentlemen, are headliners in their own right, a mix of some of the best rock musicians ever and some of the best young acts on the music scene.

3. Piedmont Park. I’ve never been to New York’s Central Park, but I won’t believe it’s beauty is comparable to the landmark Atlanta park’s until I’ve seen the place with my own eyes.

4. Nights at Midtown. Grab a vantage point that offers a view of the crowd and the stage as headliners play. (If you’re lucky enough, get a spot as near to one of the stages as possible and look outward.) The skyline, the swaying/enraptured audience and the lighting are a magical mix.

5. Artist Market. Everything you can think of having ever wanted — and a whole lot of things you never would have even imagined — are readily available, and in any color.

6. Historic Stages. What a great tribute to Atlanta’s rich music history, naming two of Music Midtown’s three stages for landmark Atlanta venues: The Electric Ballroom and The Roxy. (The Honda Stage? Well, sponsors do spend the dough that allows Conlon and Co. to bring the best acts to town.)

7. Peter Conlon. You probably won’t see the man who’s chiefly responsible for making Music Midtown happen, but it’s his (and, as he’s told me on more than one occasion, his hard-working staff) vision and connections that are the crucial component to landing the amazing Midtown lineup.

8. Midtown Crowds. National publications have attempted to ordain festivals like Bonnaroo and Coachella and other such gatherings with mythical status, snobbishly ensuring any who will listen that only the enlightened are allowed to view these fairy tale events. But there’s no crowd cooler than a Midtown crowd buzzed on the music of a headline performer.

9. People You Know. I’ll make this bet: It doesn’t matter if you’re from Meigs, TyTy, Irwinville, Parrot or Putney, you will bump into somebody you know at Piedmont Park either today or Saturday.

10. Georgia On Our Mind. This, folks, is our state showing the world that, while we may lag in some areas, when it comes to throwing a rocking party, the Peach State takes a backseat to no one.