The "Gentlemen Of The Road" music festival is coming to Whitman in August 2015

Grammy Award-winning British folk rock band Mumford & Sons has selected Walla Walla, Washington, as one of their 2015 Gentlemen of the Road Stopover festivals. The City of Walla Walla and the Downtown Walla Walla Foundation, in cooperation with Whitman College and DeSales Catholic High School, will host the community celebration Friday and Saturday, Aug. 14 and 15, 2015.

Mumford & Sons will headline the Saturday show on the Main Stage, located at the Whitman College Athletic Fields, along with an eclectic roster of artists selected by the band themselves. Foo Fighters will kick off the action on the Main Stage on Friday evening. A series of smaller music events and activities involving local businesses, artists and local musicians will happen in and around downtown Walla Walla on Thursday, Friday and Saturday of that week.

Concert-goers will be able to camp at Veteran's Memorial Golf Course located just a short walk from the Main Stage. The camp site will open on Thursday, Aug. 13 to allow concert-goers to explore downtown Walla Walla throughout the weekend.

The Gentlemen of the Road tour combines the intimacy of a community celebration with the excitement of a world-class music festival.

"The Gentlemen of the Road Stopovers are all about live music," said Mumford & Sons. "We get to put them on in towns not normally frequented by touring bands. We deliberately look for towns that have something unique, or some vibe of which they are proud, explore them and enjoy what they have to offer."

Walla Walla was attractive to the band and concert producers due to its vibrant and historic downtown, the scenic Walla Walla Valley, picturesque Whitman College campus, the proximity to park space and camping, the warm and comfortable summer weather, and performing venue options.

Attendance at the two-day Stopover in Walla Walla is expected to more than double the city's population and generate millions of dollars for local businesses.

Walla Walla Mayor Jerry Cummins welcomes the anticipated thousands of visitors from around the world. "We are proud that our community and our downtown has been recognized for its historic character and amenities and singled out for this unique opportunity," he said.

Whitman College, the City of Walla Walla, the Downtown Walla Walla Foundation, the Walla Walla Catholic Schools and several other community partners have worked together over the past five months with Madison House Presents to make this once-in-a-lifetime experience for the Walla Walla community a reality.

"The festival is a wonderful opportunity to have a major musical event in Walla Walla," said Peter Harvey, Whitman College treasurer and chief financial officer. "Music and the arts are essential to Whitman's liberal arts curriculum so it made perfect sense for us to partner with others for this exciting event."

Promoters approached city leaders in September of 2014 and a delegation from Walla Walla visited Troy, Ohio, a Stopover for the tour in 2013, in order to see how the festival would work in a city of a similar size to Walla Walla. That's when they decided they could make it happen here.

Walla Walla is one of four carefully-selected and unique locations across the U.S. The other Stopovers are in Salida, Colorado; Waverly, Iowa; and Seaside Heights, New Jersey.

Tickets to the two-day Stopovers will be $199, with no additional service fees or hidden charges. Tickets for all Stopovers will be available at gentlemenoftheroad.com beginning on Friday, March 6 at 10 a.m.

A limited number of Walla Walla Stopover tickets will be sold to the local community at the Tourism Walla Walla Visitor Center located at 26 E. Main Street in downtown Walla Walla. The Visitor Center will accept credit card purchases only and will be open Friday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and on Saturday and Sunday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Ticket purchases will be limited to six per person.