What if you could design your dream roster of bands and they all decided to play Denver? Local music fans will be able to see some of their favorite acts hit the Mile High Music Festival this weekend in a two-day, non-stop music extravaganza.

The two main headliners of the show are Tom Petty and the Dave Matthews Band, but there are a slew of other top-name artists hitting Saturday and Sunday’s stages at Mile High. The Daily was able to catch up with two prime acts playing this weekend’s fest – O.A.R. and Jason Mraz, and the musicians were happy to fill locals in on their new CD’s and tours.

OF A REVOLUTION

For newbies to the music game, O.A.R. stands for Of A Revolution. The roots-and-rock band built its career by playing for college audiences, but today the group has refined its mix to encompass indie-pop sounds.

In 2006, the group kicked-off its successful run in the mainstream music scene with the very radio-friendly song “Love and Memories.” That led to the band opening shows for prestigious acts like the Dave Matthews Band. Now, O.A.R. is hitting the road to promote its latest CD “All Sides.”

“We’ve been a band since 1996,” said O.A.R. guitarist Richard On. “The band’s evolved now –we’ve all grown up. When we started out as teens we had no idea what we were doing – we didn’t even know how to write songs. Now, the music’s evolved; it’s more complicated and there’s a sense of the art of songwriting. Musically, our fans can still relate to our songs, People have gravitated to O.A.R. songs, because they spoke to them.”

On says O.A.R. wanted to cover all facets of the band with “All Sides.”

“Some of the songs on the record are radio pop tunes, and some pay tribute to our older reggae and roots sound – and some songs strictly rock,” said On. “It’s a great mix of songs we brought to the table, and it’s the most invested our band has been with an album.”

O.A.R. just released the new video for its single “Shattered.” Fans of the band can catch the group Saturday at the Mile High Music Festival.

JASON MRAZ

Singer-songwriter Jason Mraz will also be making a stop at the Mile High Music Festival. The performer had been taking some well-deserved time off from the road, but he’s back on the road now to support is new CD “We Sing, We Dance, We Steal Things.”

Mraz is best known for his 2002 record “Curbside Prophet” and the CD’s hit radio single “The Remedy.” The musician’s biggest coup came when he got the chance to open for the Rolling Stones in 2005. In 2007 Mraz’s tune “The Beauty in Ugly” was used for TV’s top-rated show “Ugly Betty.”

Now, Mraz is rested and ready to hit audiences with all-new tunes from his CD “We Sing, We Dance, We Steal Things.”

“It was great. I took some time off the road to surf, garden, take care of my pets and live a slow life,” said Mraz. “It was a transforming time in my life and I kept writing songs for the new record.”

Mraz had one experience on the road that he says changed his life –and his new songs.

“I hadn’t taken a break, so by the end of 2005 I was exhausted,” revealed Mraz. “I didn’t know what I was doing and I asked the universe for some kind of sign. When I was in Australia, someone anonymously delivered some books to me. It was crazy – all these books and CDs just showed up and they were all about the spiritual path. They guided me and eased me off the road. They really changed my life. I incorporated all these new life experiences into my new songs. It was sort of an awakening!”

Mraz went into the recording studio and with the aid of Sacha Skarbek (who co-wrote James Blunt’s hit “You’re Beautiful”), the musician was able to create some of the compelling tunes for the new CD. Mraz also enlisted the aid of Colbie Caillat to appear on his new song “Lucky.”

Saturday you can hear all of Mraz’s new songs at the Mile High Music Festival.

RUSTED ROOT

The Fox Theatre is hosting a full week of cool musical events. Friday, moe. plays the club. Monday, Rusted Root hits the venue with its mix of roots rock and percussive sounds. The band is coming back to Boulder to play tunes off its new CD “Stereo Rodeo.”

“This is a much more organic record,” said band front man Michael Glabicki. “The songs are more intimate and there’s more dynamics to the songs. This marks a really new and evolutionary step for the band. We’ll play the entire new record and do some of our old stuff at the Fox.”

Thursday, Lunar Fire brings its primal dance experience show to the Fox.