We all know that Austin is the center of the music universe. We have SXSW and the Austin City Limits Festival every year.

But you have to give credit to the organizers of the Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival. It just might be the biggest and bestest music festival in the country. It’s huge. And it always has a terrific, eclectic line up of bands to see.

It’s happening this weekend in Manchester, Tennessee. Unfortunately, I’m not going, and apparently neither are you.

Too bad. But there is a nice little consolation prize for us. National Public Radio is offering a free sampler of songs from performers scheduled for this year’s Bonnaroo.

Yes. It’s free. If you don’t already have an iTunes account, you’ll have to register for one in order to download. But other than that, there are no strings attached.

It’s eleven tracks by eleven excellent bands that are among the up-and-comers of the festival, including The Black Keys, Ozomatli,  The Dodos, and others. Don’t worry if you don’t know these bands. I’m reasonably hip, and I only knew two of the artists on the list. The music is all at the very least interesting, and it’s FREE. You have nothing to lose but a few minutes of bandwidth.

NPR’s Bonnaroo music sampler will be available for download through July 31. Click –> here <– to go to the relevant NPR web page.

(Photo: Some rights reserved, Amy L. Riddle)