Waukesha, Wisconsin — the hometown of the late, great Les Paul — is finally giving its favorite son the block-party-sized salute he deserves. On Saturday, June 13, the inaugural Les Paul GuitarTown Annual Music Festival rolls into town, and yes, it’s completely free.

Presented by the City of Waukesha, Sound Check Entertainment, and the Chad Smith Foundation, GuitarTown is built around three very Wisconsin ideas: champion original local music, honor the legacy of the man who basically invented the sound of modern rock guitar, and pour the proceeds back into after-school music programs so the next generation of riff-makers actually has an instrument to plug in.

Red Hot Chili Peppers drummer and Chad Smith Foundation founder Chad Smith taped a personal announcement hyping the festival, which makes sense — few people understand the pipeline from “kid messing around in a garage” to “stadium stage” better than Chad. His foundation’s involvement signals this isn’t a one-and-done civic photo op; it’s the launch of what organizers intend to make an annual Waukesha tradition.

Expect a lineup leaning hard into original local talent rather than the usual cover-band circuit, with the spirit of Les Paul — innovation, craftsmanship, and a healthy disregard for what a guitar is “supposed” to sound like — running through every set. Pair that with food, family-friendly programming, and the kind of small-city hospitality that makes Midwestern festivals quietly the best-kept secret in American music, and you’ve got a Saturday well spent.

For a primer on the man whose legacy this festival celebrates, dig into Les Paul’s catalog and the records that shaped electric guitar as we know it: https://open.spotify.com/artist/3WedQO7VFG4MOAfeBmHOrV

Mark the calendar: Saturday, June 13, in downtown Waukesha. Free admission. Bring the kids, bring your ears, and bring a few bucks for the after-school music fund — because every great guitarist started somewhere, and somewhere usually had a teacher and a borrowed amp.