OXFORD — More than 5,000 people are expected to fill the Oxford County Fairgrounds on July 26 for a 12-hour music festival titled “Oxxfest 2009.”

National act Papa Roach and popular locals Dead Season are scheduled to headline a slate of 25 metal bands, including: In the Kingdom of Nightmares, Brutality Remains and Werewolves on Wheels.

“It’s a huge show,” said Ian Truman, Dead Season’s lead singer. Last September, his band drew 5,000 to the fairgrounds for a solo show. “We’re hoping to raise the bar again.”

Plans call for the show to begin at 10 a.m. Amenities will include a beer garden, commercial vendors and food sellers. And it’ll go forward, rain or shine, warned concert organizer Alex Gray.

“It will be a true outdoor festival,” said Gray, a production coordinator for New England Concerts.

And it wouldn’t have happened without Dead Season, he said.

The four-man group, whose members come from Lewiston-Auburn and the Oxford Hills, has built a dedicated following in its five years. It’s bumper stickers are ubiquitous, and its music is a mainstay on Portland’s WCYY radio.

Last week, two Dead Season singles, including “Cancer,” were on the playlist, station program director Herb Ivy said.

The band’s fall 2008 show at the fairgrounds proved they could pull in a big crowd, Gray said. If the weather holds, the many acts and California’s Papa Roach could ensure an even bigger crowd, he said. Another national band, Saving Abel, had been announced for Oxxfest but pulled out of the festival for a different gig.

Papa Roach, which has sold 10 million albums, is expected to draw people on its own from far beyond Maine. It has released six albums. Last year, the band was part of Motley Crue’s touring festival, “Cruefest.”

For Dead Season, the concert may help its members land a big label contract, Gray said.

“They’re a minute away from breaking out,” Gray said. Playing larger venues is needed for a band to catch on and grow.

“Motley Crue didn’t become Motley Crue overnight,” Gray said. “Bar gigs are not enough.”

Truman and his bandmates — Andy Hackett on drums, Steve Church on bass and brother Matt Truman on guitar — are happy to be on the same ticket with Papa Roach. They are set to go on stage right before the headliner, at around 7 or 8 p.m., Ian Truman said.

Before they leave the stage, they hope to make a few converts, he said.

“We’re always looking to pull in new fans,” Truman said.

dhartill@sunjournal.com