ST. LOUIS, July 30, 2012 /PRNewswire via COMTEX/ --The All-American Rejects will headline the free Charter Center Stage concert in culmination of the Charter Center Stage Battle of the Bands. Opening for the world renowned band will be the talented winners of Charter's online music battle. The concert will be held at the Charter Taste of St. Louis festival in downtown St. Louis (TasteSTL.com) on September 29 and will be webcast live on Facebook (http://www.facebook.com/chartercom).

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The concert at Soldiers' Memorial in St. Louis caps off the 2nd annual Charter Center Stage Battle of the Bands in which hundreds of aspiring musicians from across the country vie for a chance to appear as the opening act. Throughout the summer, bands have been submitting videos online, while music fans found new musical favorites and voted for those they hope to help launch to stardom.

"As the leading provider of Internet services in markets across the country, we created the Charter Center Stage contest as a way to bring bands and fans together online. We give bands new ways to showcase their talent while providing fans with a fun way to discover and share the music that is an increasingly important part of their lives," said Allan Samson, Charter Senior Vice President, Marketing.

"By providing bands with social sharing tools for Facebook and Twitter along with other promotional materials to draw fans in to view and to vote on their uploaded videos, we had more than 55,000 fan votes in our inaugural year and we're expecting to more than quadruple that number this year," he continues. "Our Internet speeds make it incredibly easy to upload and download videos, and to stream and listen to music without lags or interruptions, so Charter Center Stage Battle of the Bands is the ideal way to demonstrate the power of our Internet service."

The All-American Rejects will arrive in St. Louis coming off a successful international tour to promote their most recent album, "Kids In The Streets." Starting in Stillwater, OK in 1999 with humble beginnings, the band has gone on to sell more than 4 million albums and 16 million singles worldwide. The group is composed of lead singer and bassist, Tyson Ritter; drummer, Chris Gaylor; guitarist, Nick Wheeler; and rhythm guitarist, Mike Kennerty.

"It will be an experience of a lifetime for our contest winners to perform for 100,000 fans, warming them up to greet The All-American Rejects," said Mr. Samson. "And we know it's going to be an evening they'll never forget."Details about the event can be found on the Charter Center Stage website (www.charter.com/centerstage).

The winning band also walks away with a prize package valued at up to $25,000, which includes a $10,000 gift card plus travel expenses to perform at the free concert.

Besides casting a vote for a favorite band, voters in Charter's service areas can register to participate in the Charter Center Stage Sweepstakes for an opportunity to win a gift card of up to $2,500. Fans can vote one time every day.See complete contest rules at https://connect.charter.com/CenterStage/Home/HowItWorks#contest_rules

Key Dates:
Band Submissions - Ends July 30
National Voting - Ends August 20
Finalist Voting - August 27 through September 10
Winner Announced - On or around September 12
Charter Center Stage Concert - September 29
Charter Presents Taste of St. Louis Festival - September 28-30
To learn more, visit charter.com/centerstage

About Charter
Charter (NASDAQ: CHTR) is a leading broadband communications company and the fourth-largest cable operator in the United States. Charter provides a full range of advanced broadband services, including advanced Charter TV® video entertainment programming, Charter Internet® access, and Charter Phone®. Charter Business® similarly provides scalable, tailored, and cost-effective broadband communications solutions to business organizations, such as business-to-business Internet access, data networking, business telephone, video and music entertainment services, and wireless backhaul. Charter's advertising sales and production services are sold under the Charter Media® brand. More information about Charter can be found at charter.com.

About Taste of St. Louis
The Charter Taste of St. Louis is an award-winning celebration of the best food, art, music and culture our great city has to offer. St. Louis Post Dispatch readers voted it the "Best Family Festival" in the region, and our turnout of more than 350,000 patrons last year proves it. The event has also been recognized as one of the "Best Food Festivals" in AAA Midwest Traveler's Best of the Midwest 2010, voted the "Best Festival" by Metromix.com and "Best Culinary Festival" in Alive Magazine's Top 100 Hot List.

This year's event will take place at Soldiers' Memorial (12th & Market - Downtown St. Louis) on September 28, 29 and 30 and will feature celebrity chef appearances, 50+ restaurants on Restaurant Row and Food Truck Row, the Chef Battle Royale Culinary Competition, National Concerts on the Charter Center Stage, the Art & Wine Walk, the interactive Marketplace, and the Kids Kitchen.

New this year, we introduce the Grand Tasting Event - an upscale, private sampling experience with delectable tastings from the area's best establishments, premium wine & beer samplings, celebrity appearances, live music and free event parking for the day.

In 2009, the Taste introduced EGS - an Event Greening & Sustainability program - which has resulted in a 50% diversion in landfill waste (among other impressive achievements). More info at TasteSTL.com

Charter Taste of St. Louis Dates and Times:
Friday, September 28, 4:00 p.m. - 11:00 p.m.
Saturday, September 29, 11:00 a.m. - 11:00 p.m.
Sunday, September 30, 11:00 a.m. - 9:00 p.m.

SOURCE Charter