Chicago based machine-metalists MARAZENE will headline the 2nd annual Cream Of The Crops Festival, to be held Labor Day Weekend - Sunday, August 31st.

Held in the heart of the Mississippi Valley in Davenport, IA, the festival is dedicated to highlighting the wealth of talented local and regional acts in the Midwest.

Bands confirmed so far: MARAZENE, SPEEDFINGER, MINDSET EVOLUTION, LOST NATION, MOB RULES, THREE YEARS HOLLOW, THE SYSTEM AFTER, FREAKLABEL, WASTELANDER, THROUGH TERROR, BLIND THE SUN, LEFT OF CENTER.

Live remotes will be provided all day by Rock 104.9, and tattoo and piercing giveaways will be offered by the festivals chief sponsor; OTool Design Custom Tattoo and Body Piercing. The event is the collaborative brainchild of OD Productions and Rodman Productions.

As previously reported, Marazene will hit the road in July as support for WEDNESDAY 13 on select US dates.

The following dates are confirmed:

July

22 - Cleveland, OH - Peabodys
23 - Mokena, IL - Pearl Room
25 - Milwaukee, WI - Vnuk's Lounge
27 - St. Paul, MN - Station 4

More dates are pending.

Marazene completed three national tours in 2007 with such acts as MUSHROOMHEAD, PSYCLON NINE, DEADSTAR ASSEMBLY, and THE HUMAN ABSTRACT as well as dozens of Midwestern regional tour dates in support, all under the banner 100% DIY.

Marazene are currently in the studio writing the follow-up to their debut album, MachiNation, self released on 06.06.06.

Multi-instrumentalist and co-founder Dietrich Thrall recently issued a studio update for the band: "We have a couple dozen really strong song ideas and we’re writing more every day. There’s plenty of new material in all different stages of development and we're constantly bouncing riffs off of one another on whatever instrument the part calls for."