Rolling Rock Beer Teams Up With Little Steven's Underground Garage to 'Save Rock & Roll' by Helping Emerging Rock Bands

Rolling Rock Beer Teams Up With Little Steven's Underground Garage to 'Save Rock & Roll' by Helping Emerging Rock Bands

Rolling Rock to Sponsor 30 'Garage Rock' Club Shows Around the U.S.

LATROBE, Pa., Jan. 23 /PRNewswire/ -- Long live rock and roll! That's the battle cry as Rolling Rock beer teams up with rocker/actor/DJ Little Steven Van Zandt to support his effort to save rock and roll with a series of 30 "Garage Rock" club shows later this year and financial support for emerging bands. Rolling Rock's announcement today of its partnership with the Underground Garage takes the crusade to save rock and roll to a new level.

Van Zandt, who is well known for his role as Silvio Dante in the Sopranos on HBO and as a founding member of Bruce Springsteen and the E street Band, is also the host of a radio show that was born from his movement, Little Steven's Underground Garage, the most successful and fastest-growing syndicated rock radio show in the country.

"The cost for a new rock band to get around the country has become exorbitant, making it nearly impossible for great new music to reach fans," Van Zandt explained. "Rolling Rock's sponsorship will enable audiences nationwide to see the best up-and-coming bands around."

Van Zandt has long been a champion of emerging bands and has helped launch the careers of such notable bands as Jet, The Hives and The Strokes.

"We are incredibly excited about this new partnership with Little Steven," said Ronnie Tucker, brand director for Rolling Rock and Rock Green Light with InBev USA in Norwalk, Conn. "We are supporting the Underground Garage's campaign to save rock and roll because it's important to us, too. Rock and roll is more than just a style of music, it's part of the American experience, a way of life. Rolling Rock has a long history with rock music and if we can help one young band make it or help one rock club keep their doors open, then we'll have made a difference."

Ms. Tucker said Rolling Rock is developing detailed plans for supporting the Underground Garage's efforts, working through a foundation Mr. Van Zandt will set up to fund travel, promotional materials and other things to help emerging bands develop their music and fan base.

Rolling Rock plans to donate a portion of the sales proceeds from almost a million cases of beer to Little Steven's foundation during a specified period of time later this year.

Beginning in August or September, Rolling Rock will sponsor the "Garage Rock" club shows that will take place in ten cities around the country in local rock clubs and will feature the coolest new emerging bands. Tentatively, the shows will take place in the New York City/New Jersey metro area, Boston, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Chicago, Cleveland, Minneapolis, Atlanta/Athens, Ga., and Seattle.

In addition, Rolling Rock will create a variety of related consumer programs and materials, including opportunities for free downloads from Underground Garage bands and cool merchandise to support the foundation.

- "33" -

About Rolling Rock

Brewed in Latrobe, Pa., since 1939, Rolling Rock(TM) is one of America's finest high-quality lagers. Its longneck green bottle and painted label -- including horse head, steeplechase, pledge of quality and mysterious "33" -- capture the proud brewing heritage of Latrobe Brewing Company. Today, Rolling Rock is the #2 domestic specialty beer in the U.S. according to Nielsen and is the official beer and a founding partner of Heinz Field, home of the NFL's Pittsburgh Steelers. In a partnership with Atlantic Records, Rolling Rock's Web site, www.rollingrock.com, features some of the label's emerging artists.

About Little Steven & Renegade Nation

Aside from his roles as musician and actor, Steven Van Zandt acts as Chairman of parent company, Renegade Nation. A full-service media and entertainment firm, Renegade is home to Little Steven's Underground Garage radio show, Renegade Circus live event production, Wicked Cool Records, Renegade Swag merchandising, and numerous upcoming film and television projects. Little Steven's Underground Garage broadcasts on 140 stations in 197 markets in the U.S. and over 45 stations around the world, with one million listeners tuning in weekly. Mr. Van Zandt also programs and produces the 24/7 Underground Garage channel 25 on Sirius Satellite Radio and Outlaw Country channel 63.

About InBev and InBev USA

Headquartered in Leuven, Belgium, InBev is the world's largest brewer by volume, representing 13 percent of the world beer market. It holds the #1 or #2 positions in 20+ key markets, more than any other brewer. InBev USA, headquartered in Norwalk, Connecticut, was formed in 2004 by the combination of Labatt USA and Beck's North America. It distributes some of the world's leading premium beers, including Beck's(TM), Stella Artois(TM), Brahma(TM) and Bass(TM). As "America's Premium Beer Company," InBev USA offers a portfolio of over 20 international brands, including Labatt Blue(TM), and Labatt Blue Light(TM), as well as Rolling Rock(TM) and Rock Green Light(TM) from Latrobe Brewing Company. InBev USA is also the #1 supplier of imported draught beer to bars and restaurants throughout the country.

Source: Rolling Rock

CONTACT: Brenda Williams of InBev USA, +1-203-849-3712,
bwilliams@labattusa.com; or Lisa Vega of Strategic Communication,
+1-818-769-7803, lvegapr@aol.com, both for Rolling Rock

Web site: http://www.rollingrock.com/

NOTE TO EDITORS: Little Steven will be available for interviews on Tuesday, January 24 in New York. Please contact Lisa Vega at 213.247.3075 or lvegapr@aol.com.

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