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El Torreon will cease to exist for one weekend. In its place, rising out of the fiery depths of the underworld, Hell On Earth: The Midwest Hardcore and Metalfest will emerge. Starting at noon on Saturday and Sunday, July 22 and 23, more than 10 bands will bring their own particular brands of heavy rock to the brave souls who crave it.

"People are starting to recognize in the underground that Lawrence and Kansas City have something going on," says Mean Dean, host of KJHK 90.7's all-metal show, Malicious Intent, and organizational ringmaster for Hell on Earth. "Most places where you have a scene, it's a bunch of bands that have a similar sound or a similar vibe, and that doesn't really happen here. We have a scene, bands hang out, they get along, they do shows together, they split records together, whatever, but there really is no Kansas City/Lawrence sound as far as the heavy music goes."

Hell on Earth was originally going to have but a one-day stay in this mortal realm, though when Mean Dean began the booking, it quickly expanded to two. "It started out as a bunch of the big-name local metal bands, like Esoteric, Origin, Overture, Wormwood -- those guys and some more up-and-comers," he remembers. "Then it grew because Cephalic Carnage ended up on tour and said, 'Hey, we'd like to play.' Their package consisted of Mortal Decay, Disgorge, and Deeds of Flesh. Then I found that Hellchild and Disassociate were also on tour and looking to play that same weekend. Then I got routing for Dillinger Escape Plan, and they were routing for their tour with Candiria and Isis at that same time, so I said, 'Okay, we're going to do this, and we're going to do two days, full-on, with a bunch of touring bands, all the great local bands, and just really go at it."

Go at it they shall, and go at it again same time, next year. "The response has been so overwhelming. The event hasn't even happened yet and we're already discussing next year," Mean Dean forewarns. "I've had probably 70 e-mails from bands all around the region. Desecration, this band from Great Britain, e-mailed me and said, 'Hey, we want to play,' but at that point obviously I was filled up, having only one stage to deal with."

Twenty-six bands is a lot of acts to deal with on one stage for two days; thus, the concept of Hell on Earth was born. In theory, the number of participants next time around could be exponentially higher. "There is the potential next year for two to three stages," Mean Dean predicts. "El Torreon is doing the small stages for the smaller shows in the pit (a room that recently opened) and then the stuff in the big room right now. Then, of course, there's the upstairs, the ballroom, which they're working on and should have done this winter. It has a 1,000 seat capacity, so technically we could have three stages next year, all inside El Torreon, and have three times as many bands."

Right now, however, the time is ripe for Hell on Earth to make its debut, what with all the interest in Kansas City and Lawrence's scene from the metal labels that are bringing them into their respective folds. "There are so many bands around here that are starting to take that next step and moving on to a national level," Mean Dean says. "I really believe that if the people here and the bands here and the scene here want something to happen, they've got to make it happen. It's not New York, it's not Los Angeles; it's not just going to happen because you're there, but the people here know that. Everyone works their ass off to be successful and get the recognition and make their music and get it out to the masses. People do labels here and distros here on their own. You don't see that kind of work ethic in the coastal scenes.... People here work harder, and that's why good things are going to happen."

The lineup and ticket information for Hell on Earth: The Midwest Hardcore and Metalfest can be found at www.eltorreon.com.

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Before the metal-inclined ever set foot upon this untamed territory, however, Kansas City was a jazz and blues town. That fact is celebrated annually at the Kansas City Blues and Jazz Festival, held Friday, July 21, through Sunday, July 23. This year marks the festival's 10th anniversary, and if nothing else, that seems to be even more of a reason to throw a party.

"Because of that," begins Connie Humiston, the festival's operations manager, "we are featuring mainly on Saturday night on the Harrah's Jazz Stage the sounds that Kansas City is known for -- none other than the legendary Jay McShann with the Duke Robillard Band. McShann is the one that brought jazz and blues together, along with some of his compadres."

In fact, most of our esteemed locals will be highlighted on one of the festival's three stages, from such treasures as Claude "Fiddler" Williams to upstart blues youngster Brody Buster. That doesn't mean the festival is limited to just Kansas City residents, though; the KC style has spread throughout the world to some surprising locations. "We're global," Humiston notes. "The Kansas City Band from Tokyo with special guest Karen Gallinger is flying clear around the world to bring back the music that they took there."