Boom — new music fest in I.B.

P.O.D., the South Bay rap-metal band that broke out 25 years ago with radio hits such as “Alive” and “Youth of the Nation,” was on the radio recently to announce its Lower Left Fest, a multi-band music festival with “two stages on the beach.”

The three-time Grammy-nominated band will be involved in selecting the local bands they will share the stage with when the fest is held next July 15.

P.O.D. has long been championed by radio DJ/programmer Mike Halloran, who says he played P.O.D. records months before they broke out nationally in 2001. Halloran is the organizing force behind the Lower Left Fest.

A release said the free family-friendly event would be held near the Imperial Beach Pier. Lowrider cars and custom motorcycles will also be on display.

The event follows along the lines of the annual Bro-Am music festival in Encinitas, hosted and curated by North County band Switchfoot. The fest is now underwritten by numerous sponsors, but when it launched 13 years ago, the band agreed to cover all expenses.

P.O.D., which asked fans to help underwrite its most recent record through crowdfunding, is not backing Lower Left, says Halloran. He says he is confident that there will be plenty of sponsorship money to cover the fest. “That’s why we announced it so early,” he says. “We have already been speaking with people who want to be involved.... People will be flying in from all over the country for this.”

Halloran estimated the expenses — including security guards, the stages, P.A. system, sound techs, portable toilets, cleanup — at about $30,000.

Ed Vea, a management analyst with the I.B. city manager’s office, was asked via email how many security guards the city was asking for and if there was a deadline the city had set to prove that Lower Left sponsorship goals had been met. He did not respond.