Aerosmith, Rascal Flatts, Pitbull added for inaugural TC Summer Jam

The announcement was tardy, but music fans will probably be excited about the lineup for the inaugural Twin Cities Summer Jam Festival, a rock-and-country three-day event, in July at Canterbury Park in Shakopee.

Aerosmith, those classic rockers who seem to be falling apart at the seams but always manage to pull it back together, and Rascal Flatts, country's enduring harmonizing hitmakers, will be headliners along with the previously announced Tim McGraw.

When organizers made a splash last August rolling out the fest with McGraw as a headliner and an investor, they promised to announce the other big names by the end of 2018. Didn't happen.

Put together by Jerry Braam who founded the Lakes Jam in Brainerd, TC Summer Jam is set for July 18-20 on the infield of Canterbury Park racetrack. Organizers feel the space can accommodate up to 30,000 people.

TC Summer Jam will be the first major multi-day music fest in the metro area since 2012 when mega-promoter Live Nation's ambitious River's Edge Music Fest, with Dave Matthews Band and Tool, disappeared after only one year at Harriet Island in St. Paul.

Also performing at the new fest will be popular party rapper Pitbull, veteran '80s rockers REO Speedwagon, rising rapper Hobo Johnson and Minnesota music and radio personality Chris Hawkey, who sparked the idea for this festival. More artists will be announced.

Aerosmith last performed in the Twin Cities in 2012. Lead singer Steven Tyler has been pursuing a solo career in country music of late, and lead guitarist Joe Perry released his fourth solo album last year but he collapsed after performing with Billy Joel at Madison Square Garden in November and then canceled his solo tour.

Aerosmith is scheduled to present a residency in Las Vegas at the MGM Grand, beginning in April.

Tickets for the new festival will go on sale at 10 a.m. March 1 at tcsummerjam.com.