Popular Lehigh Valley country rock band leader Scott Marshall says he remembers years ago, as a young, budding singer-songwriter, watching big-name music acts perform on the iconic Allentown Fair grandstand stage.

“We watched our favorite bands play this stage, dreaming that one day, maybe we would be so fortunate,” Marshall says in an interview.

That dream will come true Sept. 6 when Scott Marshall & The Highway Souls perform on a bill with five other Lehigh Valley-area bands in a concert on the Service Electric Grandstand Stage that the Fair has billed as “Local Legends Live,” a mini-festival offering some of the area’s best-known rock bands.

Also performing: The Aardvarks, Social Call, Common Bond, Strange Culture and Stereotype.

“Local Legends Live” starts at 2 p.m. and is expected to conclude at 10 p.m.

“It’s a great lineup, and I was overwhelmed and honored [to be asked],” Marshall says.

“It’s very, very special. It’s special to us, and I know it’s special to all of our friends and the fans who have always been there, and continue to support us to this very day. And these opportunities are because of them,” says Marshall.

Allentown Fair Marketing and Entertainment Manager Jessica Ciecwisz says that Fair officials for several years considered the idea of a festival of local acts “because we really don’t have the site to have some of these bands to perform for Fair week, nor the slots.”

“So it was always something that we kind of wanted to do, and we had the opportunity to do it this year,” says Ciecwisz.

She says the Fair, especially this year, wanted to be cognizant of the tougher economy by keeping tickets for Grandstand shows affordable.

“We approached it as making sure the ticket prices were, no pun intended, fair, given the reality right now,” she says. “No ticket is over $75. We were really conscious of trying to keep the prices low.”

In addition to “Local Legends Live,” the Grandstand this year will offer such shows as Motown music icons The Four Tops, with the Allentown Symphony; professional wrestling for the first time in 32 years; country singer Warren Zeiders; pop-punk band All Time Low, and the Fair’s traditional Labor Day closer, a demolition derby.

“It’s a unique lineup compared with previous years,” says Ciecwisz. “The acts are certainly different, for sure.”

In recent years, the Fair has offered comedians on Sundays for a more family-oriented presentation.

“We had submitted many offers and were kind of getting to the point of running out of options,” Ciecwisz says.

“It’s also difficult to find somewhat of a clean comedian, besides Fluffy [Gabriel Iglesias] and Jeff Dunham. So it’s kind of, how many times? We just wanted to take a break from that,” says Ciecwisz.

“And it was, like, ‘Well, why don’t we try this? And given the current economy and environment, we realized we could do this at a pretty fair price. And just see and give these bands that are so well-known in our area the opportunity to play the Grandstand and enjoy the night.”

Ciecwisz said that the Fair’s Box Office Manager Anne Csencsits “is a huge follower of local music” and made suggestions on which bands to feature.

Beyond that, Ciecwisz says, “We kind of tried to stay within the same kind of genre of things, as well, like not go obscure.” She says that Fair officials debated whether to have a broad offering of genres.

“But some of the main bands around here kept on coming up, and it was, like, The Aardvarks and Stereotype, and they all kind of fell into place,” Ciecwisz says.

“And it was, like, we can’t put on an out-of-left field band. So we tried to stay with the same kind of sound.

“We wanted to make sure live music was played as much as possible. We wanted to make sure that bands had a good set time. And you have to switch over between [acts], so we wanted to make sure everyone was getting a good set and time [that] you could play more than three songs.”

Ciecwisz said that when the Fair reached out to the chosen musicians, the response was “excitement.”

“I think, honestly, some people didn’t believe it was real,” she says.

“They would pick up the phone and call me; you could tell they were ecstatic. They have told our box office manager how excited they all are to play.

“I think every band in this lineup has called me and told me a Grandstand story about how they came and saw this band and that band and stuff. So it’s actually been fun.”

Marshall says he was among those who were excited.

“When the folks at the Fair reached out, I’ve got to admit, I was a little bit overwhelmed because for years, we’ve all watched some of our favorite bands play this stage.

“My initial reaction was I certainly don’t consider myself a legend. [But] I’m always grateful for every opportunity I’m given.”

Singer-guitarist Reuben Rodriguez of Stereotype, in a video posted on the Fair’s Facebook account, says, “Can’t wait to play this great stage where I saw so many bands growing up, and finally we get to play it. What an honor.”

In the same video, Social Call lead singer Larry Werner says, “The boys and I are so psyched to play that stage. We’ve been watching bands play there my whole life and now we finally get to do it.”

Mike Rauscher from The Aardvarks, says, “We are so stoked to be playing that stage, it is unbelievable. September 6 is going to be a hoot.”

Marshall says that “all the bands, we’re all friends. And some of them, we’ve known each other since we were teenagers when we first were part of the scene. So we’ve established some wonderful friendships and continue to support each other.”

Referring to his younger self’s dream of playing the Grandstand stage, Marshall says, “Now that that day has arrived, it’s pretty exciting. It’s pretty exciting for all of us. I’m pretty sure I can speak for all the entertainment, because all of us, we’ve been working the local and regional scenes together.”

Marshall says his band plans to play “a set of pretty much all original music. I’ll throw in two or three timeless classics, as always. I’m going to use the opportunity to try to unite and bring the whole community together through the gift of music.”

He says the other acts on the bill with whom he’s spoken: “They’re all excited. We love doing what we do. … I can’t speak for them, but I know there’s excitement in their hearts. I’m honored to be a part of it. I know all the guys are. And I know everybody’s going to bring their ‘A’ game. And we’re going to have a good time.”

Marshall, for one, says he hopes the “Local Legends Live” festival becomes a Fair tradition.

“There’s so much talent in the local area, and they’re all worthy of this opportunity,” he says. “Maybe the Fair will continue this. I hope they will because there’s so many other great bands. And the talent is all over the area, and they’re all worthy of an opportunity like this.”

“Local Legends Live”: The Aardvarks, Social Call, Common Bond, Stereotype. Strange Culture, Scott Marshall & The Highway Souls, 2 p.m. Sept. 6, Service Electric Grandstand Stage, The Great Allentown Fair, Allentown Fairgrounds, bounded by 17th, Chew and Liberty streets, Allentown. Ticket information: https://www.allentownfair.com/local-legends/