The inaugural Peak Festival will be held at the Queenstown Events Centre and will become an annual one-day "summer music" event, with a laid-back "day in the park atmosphere" featuring dub, downbeat and dance music.
Festival director Chris Cole said there would be two stages set up - one at the events centre's cricket ground while a "Ministry of Sound" room would be set up in the indoor stadium where local talent and international DJs would perform.
The first artists named include New Zealand acts Kora and Salmonella Dub, and renowned United Kingdom performers the Utah Saints.
The English dance duo has a long history and profile in the British dance scene, having sold over 2 million record worldwide and having six top-40 hits in the United Kingdom, four of those in the top 10.
Their live shows have taken them to Glastonbury, Reading and V-Festivals and on tour with U2.
"The purpose of this year's Peak Festival is to provide a professionally run and environmentally-friendly event," Mr Cole said.
"In the years to come, we want the event itself to be larger than the acts that actually attend. We are here to stay and, as the years move forward, the calibre of the acts will continue to grow."
Tickets for the festival went on sale yesterday through TicketDirect.
Early bird tickets cost $75 plus a booking fee.
Mr Cole said once the special allocation was exhausted tickets would cost $89 plus a booking fee.
More artists would be announced over the coming weeks, he said.
