Mashantucket — With the inaugural Revolution Rock Festival less than three weeks away, ticket sales are keeping pace with projections, according to the Sept. 17 event’s executive producer.

“Sales are strong currently, and they continue to pick up momentum as we move into the final stretch …,” Joe Litvag, an AEG Live senior vice president, wrote Tuesday in an email exchange. “Our expectation is that we will have 15,000-18,000 rock fans in attendance for the event.”

AEG Live is partnering with Foxwoods Resort Casino to bring the all-day, outdoor concert to the Mashantucket Pequot reservation. The festival will be held on land northwest of the Tanger Outlets at Foxwoods, which is connected to the tribe-owned casino's Fox Tower.

Event organizers had originally hoped to host the concert on non-reservation land the Mashantuckets own in Preston.

“We had our hearts set on a gorgeous parcel of land across Route 2 next to Avery Pond … but the residents of Preston voiced initial concerns, so we made a change,” Litvag wrote. “… Our sincere hope is that the residents of Preston will observe the event this year and learn that we can be trusted to deliver on our promises and commitments, that we will not put the Town of Preston at risk, and perhaps we can revisit the Avery Pond location in the future.”

Although the festival’s 16-band bill includes the likes of Avenged Sevenfold, Slayer, Volbeat, Chevelle, Of Mice & Men, Anthrax and Ghost, the “heavy metal” label doesn’t apply to the entire lineup, according to Litvag.

“Yes, there are a couple of classically heavy bands on the bill, but they are balanced out with more melodic, mainstream rock artists as well,” he wrote. “This bill intentionally touches many of the sub-genres under the larger rock umbrella.”

Litvag said the bands heading to Mashantucket attract extremely loyal fans.

“We saw a need for a festival like this in New England, given there really isn’t anything similar happening there,” he added.

While the creation of a multi-act, multi-stage music event in a non-traditional venue in the Northeast is bound to recall Woodstock, Litvag said there "truly aren’t any real comparisons" between the Revolution festival and the legendary 1969 event that drew more than 400,000 people to Max Yasgur's dairy farm in upstate New York. 

“Woodstock took place in an era with little to no regulation in the live music business,” he wrote. “There were no rules, no standards, no best practices. In 2016, the live music business as a whole, and specifically the festival business, is extremely regulated and well-planned. A lot of discussion and thought goes into detailed plans with police, traffic, emergency medical services, security, ticketing, etc.

“Every detail is planned out, every contingency is thought about. Very little is left to chance.”

For more information about the festival and to purchase tickets, visit www.RevolutionRockFestival.com.

b.hallenbeck@theday.com