Summer thunderstorms are not unusual events in northwestern North Dakota. But come July 2010, the thunder you hear from southeast of Minot will be from an event that is anything but usual.

"The Thunder is coming!" is the official slogan of Thunder Mountain Rockfest, a three-day outdoor rock festival coming to Sawyer from July 8-10.

Promoter Corey Hanson said Thursday that he is hoping to attract 5,000 people per day to an 80-acre area just north of Sawyer to be henceforth known as the "Rock Dakota Ranch," lured by the promise of "three days of rock 'n' roll hysteria."

Bands already confirmed for the festival include platinum artists such as Night Ranger, Foghat, and Kix, as well as Chuck Negron of Three Dog Night, The Guess Who, and Blood, Sweat and Tears. In all, 12 bands will perform on the main stage during the three-day festival.

Hanson said that he and his wife, Stacey, came up with the idea for Thunder Mountain Rockfest after experiencing success with smaller promotions.

"We had worked in the past with a small country festival," Hanson said. "Then we were introduced to (Rock Dakota Ranch owner) Rory Schell by a mutual friend, and he loved the idea."

That mutual friend, Dean Clott, is another of the people Hanson credits as being a catalyst behind the festival. Clott is providing sound and lighting for the side stage, where Hanson is planning to enlist about 20 other national acts to play between concerts on the main stage. Some of the names being thrown around but not finalized yet are Saigon Kick, Nelson, Loverboy, Ratt, and Junkyard, Hanson said.

Hanson said he initially scouted the area near Bottineau that formerly played host to Rockin' the Hills, but decided on Sawyer for the location, in large part because of its proximity to a major population base. Locating the festival near Minot will provide a much broader selection of hotels, restaurants and other amenities that will be accessible in mere minutes.

The festival is currently designed to run in three segments in order to include as diverse a group of rock fans as possible and to provide diversity to people who are just fans of rock. Thursday will kick off as a '70s day, Friday is designed for groups from the '80s and Saturday's final day will include major acts from the '80s, '90s and today.

Also, Hanson said that the emcees for the event will be none other than "Wayne and Garth" (impersonators, at least) from the hit "Wayne's World" movies and Saturday Night Live sketches.

Hanson said he is looking forward to the launch of what he hopes will be the first of many annual festivals.

A variety of food vendors and exhibitors will be on-site, Hanson said. Schell has been handling vendors and volunteers up to this point.

"We're really trying to make this something that's good for the area," Hanson said. Among other things, Hanson said he is currently working on contracts with a number of bus companies to provide shuttles both within Sawyer and from the festival to Minot.

Also big on his priority list is keeping the festivities "green." For $50, attendees will be able to purchase a "TMRF Green Team Membership," which will buy a t-shirt, reusable mug and discount card to use with food vendors at the festival. Most importantly, recycling bins, recycled products and green cleaning products will be used at the festival.

In talking to Hanson, it is obvious that he is already about as excited as anybody could be about the prospect of a great outdoor music festival-concert-party.

Hanson confirms this with a laugh. Saying he is just a "normal guy" himself, he said "Corey's Backstage Bar" will be open after the last show wraps each night.

"That will be a place where everybody including the artists can just hang out afterwards and have a good time," he said.

"We're not like a big-time corporation or anything," Hanson laughed. "We're just normal guys."

Tickets for the festival are on sale now at the Thunder Mountain Rockfest Web site at (www.tmrockfest.com) or by calling 757-7625. A three-day pass is $120 plus tax and handling. Camping passes are also available now.

The Rock Dakota Ranch is located 14 miles southeast of Minot, just off U.S. Highway 52.