Jack Antonoff launching music festival in New Jersey

Rocker Jack Antonoff is expanding his resume by launching his own music festival in New Jersey.

The Bleachers frontman and fun. star is curating Shadow of the City because he wants to showcase the talent in his home state.

He tells RollingStone.com, "It's something I've always dreamed about doing... Even more than that, I grew up in New Jersey and lived there for 28 years. New Jersey is part of who I am. I've always thought that it's the perfect place for a festival."

He continues, "I want everything about this festival to feel like New Jersey... Everything from the vendors to everything going on is totally Jersey-based. We're going to have record stands where it's just Jersey music. It's going to be based around that. That's never going to get lost in the festival. It is meant to be a New Jersey festival."

Shadow of the City will kick off on 19 September (15) at the Stone Pony SummerStage in Asbury Park and will feature eight artists, including the Bleachers, Charli XCX and Vic Mensa.

He adds, "The title is really special to me. I grew up in New Jersey, and it's one of those places where you spend your life trying to get out. It's funny because it's one of the most incredible places in the world. The term 'shadow of the city', specifically, means what it sounds like. New Jersey is such a unique place because it is literally in the shadow of the greatest city in the entire world (New York). So that creates an unmistakable feeling, good and bad. You're the constant younger brother. You're constantly looking through the window at the party. You're always less."

Antonoff began thinking about putting the festival together last year (14) and is hoping he can host the event annually.

He says, "I want to do it forever, and I want it to be something that I want to curate every year and not headline. With all these new festivals coming up, I think there's a danger for all of them to become too corporate or too much like the other ones. I just want it to exist in its own place...

"I just want it to be this thing every September that everyone looks forward to in New Jersey. People can come from the city and it's just like this last hurrah for the summer."