Metallica to Create Music, Arts + Lifestyle Festival [VIDEO]

Metallica has been teasing a big announcement on their website for over a week now, and today the announcement was made. The band is creating a new music, arts and lifestyle festival that they hope will be an annual event. The festival, will be called the Orion Music + More, and will make its debut June 23-24 at Bader Field in Atlantic City, New Jersey. Metallica will, of course, headline both nights of the festival. 20 other bands that will participate including bans like Avenged Sevenfold, Arctic Monkeys, Cage the Elephant, Modest Mouse, Best Coast and the Gaslight Anthem. More bands will be announced in the coming weeks.

In addition to the live music aspect, the festival is also going to include "lifestyle elements" that reflect the personal interests of each member of Metallica. In a statement, Lars Ulrich said,

We've had the idea of doing our own lifestyle festival with lots of diverse music and fun and games for years.  Finally this year all the practical ducks lined up in a row, and we are beyond psyched to bring Orion to our fans, friends and the curious.

Metallica Fan club presales for the festival will begin February 8 at 10 a.m. ET and will run through Friday. The public will get a chance to buy tickets this Saturday, February 11 at 10 a.m. ET. A $150 two-day pass, including all fees, will be an option. Visit OrionMusicandMore.com to buy tickets.