Billed as "the new Merritt Mountain," the Electric Mountain Music Festival was unveiled Friday as the successor to what was once Canada's largest country music festival.

The venue along the Coldwater River remains the same, but don't expect to hear any twang at the festival grounds come Labour Day long weekend. Regime Entertainment, the company behind the festival, is aiming straight for a younger demographic, not the country music market.

"The thing is, we wanted to rebrand and be something entirely different," said Meghan Edmondson, festival publicist and partner with Regime principal Joshua Allen. "We don't want to alienate our audience, the 18- to 35-year-olds who want a fun, party, camping weekend in Merritt."

Claude LeLievre, co-owner of Active Mountain Entertainment, still owns the Mountainfest site and maintains a residence there. He's invited Regime to operate one or more musical events annually for a period of up to 10 years. Regime has managed to lure back many of the Mountainfest staff, who can provide the necessary background knowledge, Edmondson said.

Allen's vision for Electric Mountain is a hybrid, "part music festival, part rave," but country will be entirely eclipsed by contemporary music.

"It's three days of music, and we want the music to be solid," Edmondson said. "We want to make sure there's entertainment for the majority of the festival."

Headliners - the usual magnets that propel advance ticket sales - have yet to be announced, but Electric Mountain (www.electricmountainmusicfest.com) has a full slate of regionally based performers in the genres of hip-hop, electronica and funk. They include Tre Funk, Woodhead, Max Ulis, Sage, Nomayo, Lando, DJ Hyperfunk, Norrie Taylor, DJ Hedspin and Dave Armstrong, all regulars on the Lower Mainland club circuit.

Allen produced the Summerbreak Festival for 10 years, Edmondson said. With this event they want to build gradually.

"This year's really going to give us our test to know what we can do to get bigger and better."

Still, organizing a festival only two months in advance is a challenge, she admitted.

"It's extremely ambitious, but we feel it's meant to be. The people of Merritt want it. Time will tell, really," she added.

Tickets, with an early-bird rate of $120, go on sale July 9, 10 a.m., through Ticketmaster outlets, the festival website or in Kamloops at the Desert Hemp Hut, 253 Fourth Ave.

(Kamloops Daily News)