Over the past couple decades, Omaha has built its reputation as an indie music powerhouse.

Now Omaha is getting a festival worthy of its music scene.

The inaugural Mid-American Music Festival will take place from Wednesday to Saturday in Omaha’s Benson district. The festival will be one of the largest independent music festivals in the Midwest with 145 bands gathering to play 10 stages over four days.

The festival will represent most musical genres, ranging from rock to blues.

The MAMF was organized by Tony Lange of RiverCity Productions. He said the idea for the music festival came from the “entire industry movement in Omaha over the last few years.”

He encourages college students to attend MAMF due to its low cost and relaxed atmosphere. A single night wristband for all venues costs $10 – $15.

Benson was chosen as the site of the festival due to the close proximity of each venue. Most of the 10 venues – The Waiting Room, The P.S. Collective, The Foundry, Barley Street Tavern, Mick’s, Musette Bar, Espana, Benson Grind, Mia’s Bongo Room and Louis Bar & Grille – are on Benson’s Maple Street and within walking distance, making each set accessible.

The festival was not only created to spotlight new independent bands, but also to draw attention to Benson. Amy Ryan, manager of the P.S. Collective, was a main supporter of the festival.

“I hope we have a good turn out,” Ryan said. “Most music festivals today are done on the corporate level. It’s nice to see that Tony brought it to our district. It’s great for the small businesses in the area.”

Lange said he modeled the Mid-American Music Festival after a very popular music festival in Austin, Texas.

“If you look at South By Southwest, this is exactly how it got started,” Lange said.

Like SXSW, MAMF will include panels and seminars providing instructions on developing film and television projects.

Lange started planning for the festival in January. After taking out ads in major city newspapers and alternative newsweeklies, he received over 300 applications from acts all over the country for spots in the festival.

One of the bands to make the cut was the New York-based indie rock band, The Boy Bathing. The band’s frontman, David Hurwitz, will be performing a solo acoustic set in the P.S. Collective Friday night. Hurwitz is not sure what to anticipate with the first MAMF.

“I have only been to Omaha in my head,” Hurwitz said. “The experience is my only expectation.”