Cary leaders have said that the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame + Museum and the John Entwistle Foundation will present a major fundraising concert at Koka Booth Amphitheatre at Regency Park on Sept. 20.

“This will be one of the bigger music events in the country without a doubt,” said Cary resident and hall of fame national trustee Rick French.

French said he could not yet disclose the names of acts who could play at the event.

The concept for the concert will be an all-star backing band “of very well-known musicians from big-name bands behind the front men from some of rock ‘n’ roll’s most legendary groups,” French said.

Despite keeping the names of performers under wraps, French said that Steve Luongo, drummer for Mountain and the John Entwistle Foundation’s founder and executive director, would play.

More announcements about performers, whom the foundation is lining up, should start in the next few weeks, French said.

The concert will benefit both the hall of fame and the John Entwistle Foundation, French said. John Entwistle was bassist for renowned British band The Who. He died in 2002, leaving his estate to the foundation that bears his name.

According to its Web site, the foundation’s mission is “to develop and manage a musical education, donation and training program at libraries whose patrons are most likely to be underprivileged children and adults.”

French said that he suggested the event to hall leaders after his election as a trustee last fall as a way to make the Cleveland-based organization’s “iconic brand” more accessible.

Enthusiasm for the idea among hall of fame leadership was high and French was tapped to chair the event, he said.

Typically the hall has only three events each year, two in Cleveland and the induction in New York, French said.

In addition to making the hall of fame more accessible to the general public, French said he had a civic motive as well.

“I wanted to give something back to this community in terms of a really exciting event,” French said.

Along with the lineup, other details such as ticket prices remain to be determined.

Because the event is a fundraiser and will include top-shelf acts, ticket prices would probably include a “premium,” said Lyman Collins, the town's cultural arts manager.

In his weekly blog posting Sunday, Mayor Harold Weinbrecht referred cryptically to the possibility of a “big event for Cary” at the amphitheater.

Weinbrecht clarified the remark in an interview Wednesday, saying that this concert was what he was alluding to. “It really puts Cary on the map nationwide if not worldwide,” Weinbrecht said.

French cited several factors that helped bring the event to Cary. He said he wanted a venue about the size of Booth Amphitheatre, which holds about 7,000.

That size keeps performers accessible to those in attendance without having too small a site, French said. “You can’t find a better venue for the concert than Koka Booth,” French said.

The Triangle’s strong economy and the fall weather also helped, French said.

He also credited town leaders for their willingness to bring the event.

Among others, French praised amphitheater general manager Becky Schmidt for coordinating meetings among various officials necessary for the town to sign off on the event.

“It was just very impressive how they went about it,” French said.

A variety of ancillary events will also be planned for the week leading up to the concert, French said.

There are plans to bring memoribilia from The Who from the hall of fame, French said.

Another likely event, given the foundation’s mission, could take place in a local library, French said.