Editor’s note: This story has been updated to reflect the addition of Tom Morello to the Evolution Festival lineup.

By all accounts, the first Evolution Festival, held in Forest Park last August and headlined by Brandi Carlile, the Black Keys, Ice Cube and the Black Crowes, was a huge success. The festival was well attended, the weather cooperated, the artists raved about the urban oasis setting from the stage, bourbon makers and vendors sold plenty of food and drinks, and the crowd was treated to some excellent and unique performances throughout the two-day festival.

This year, Evolution organizers are determined to build on last year’s success with an even bigger festival and a lineup that includes The Killers, Beck, Billy Idol, Nile Rodgers & CHIC, Killer Mike, Elle King, Todd Rundgren and more than 20 other acts. The festival has also expanded the experience to include a third stage and planned more extensive culinary options, including a craft beer tent.

Joe Litvag, co-founder of Evolution, compares Evolution’s growth from year one to year two to building a custom home. “You don’t build your dream home in a day,” Litvag says. “First you have to build a solid foundation, and that’s what we did in year one. Now in year two comes the fun part. We start building the house on top of that.”

To form Evolution, Litvag partnered with legendary St. Louis concert producer Steve Schankman, who has been synonymous with live music in St. Louis since 1968, when he co-founded Contemporary Productions. Schankman has been involved in virtually every major concert project in St. Louis since then, from the Busch Stadium Superjam concerts of the ’70s and ’80s to the VP Fair Fourth of July concerts downtown to the construction of the Riverport (now Hollywood Casino) Amphitheater, the Pageant and the Factory.

Litvag himself is the former head of the St. Louis office of Clear Channel Entertainment (now Live Nation), was an executive at AEG Live, and was president of Danny Wimmer Presents, the producer of huge multi-day festivals like Bourbon & Beyond in Louisville. Litvag now runs his own live entertainment company, Just Listen, here in St. Louis.

In short, these guys know how to put on great live music events, and that was evident last year.

“The first year was about showing Missouri and St. Louis that we’re not just talking about it,” Litvag says. “We told everyone last year that (Evolution) was going to be the real deal. It’s run by an incredible team, we know what we’re doing, we’re proving we can do it, and now we’re building on that.”

We’re sitting in Schankman’s 18th-floor office in Clayton, which offers a spectacular view of what feels like the entire city, including Forest Park, where the festival will once again take place at Langenberg Field. “The most important thing for me is diversity,” Schankman says of his vision for the festival. “If we can’t do it for everyone, then I don’t want to do it. Diversity is something I grew up with, so I think it’s important to do something that everyone can come to.”

To that end, the festival has booked everything from classic rock legends to country acts and hip-hop heavyweights to singer-songwriters, blues and folk troubadours and cutting-edge indie rockers, all the while making sure to appeal to adults of all ages.

“When we look at our lineup, I like to think about decades,” Litvag says. “We all have a decade that was our decade. For me, it was the ’80s. But no matter how old you are, there will always be something you like and want to see.”

If you like classic rock, the lineup is particularly extensive this year. In addition to ’90s and 2000s heavyweights like The Killers and Beck at the top of the bill, the festival boasts two Rock & Roll Hall of Fame inductees: disco-funk icon Nile Rodgers & CHIC and ’70s rocker Todd Rundgren, as well as an ’80s icon who will probably be inducted one day: Billy Idol.

But Evolution also focuses on contemporary music that appeals to music lovers who want to discover something new. “If we can help every festival-goer discover at least one new act, then our mission is accomplished,” says Litvag. Again this year, our chief talent booker Jeff Jarrett has booked indie rock acts that will introduce audiences to a new sound architecture, but also offer festival-goers accessible new experiences, in the form of Irish punk rockers Sleevens, Weird Ears from quirky country guitarist Sean Thompson, glam rock throwback Billy Tibbals, psych shoegaze band Asteroid No. 4 and others.

At the same time, organizers are careful to remember what makes St. Louis so unique as a music city. “When we book the lineup, we have to remember where we are,” Litvag says. “A lot of St. Louis music is rock and country, so we have to start with that and see how far we can expand those circles.” The festival is indeed rich in twang, including country rebel Elle King, alt-Americana songwriter SG Goodman, psychedelic indie-country band Beachwood Sparks and retro-leaning Texas duo Chaparelle.

But St. Louis music is also heavily influenced by jazz, blues and hip-hop traditions, so this year’s lineup also includes socially conscious rapper Killer Mike (Sunday), bayou blues musician Robert Finley (Saturday), unique folk-punk stylist Sunny War (Sunday) and soulful singer-songwriter Tré Burt (Saturday).

Schankman also stresses that supporting the local scene remains an important part of Evolution. “We like to use as many local vendors as possible,” he says. “Whenever we have the opportunity to engage local businesses, we will, and we will always support the local artistic community.”

Local yacht punk band Nite Sprites is on the bill, as are gritty blues rockers Daddy Long Legs, whose singer Brian Hurd hails from St. Louis. The festival also reunites Nadine, a mainstay of St. Louis’ ’90s alt-country scene, with singer Adam Reichmann and guitar hero Jimmy Griffin. And speaking of local alt-country heroes, Jay Farrar will also be there when Son Volt plays on Sunday.

In terms of lineup, Evolution has had a few bad luck this year. The original lineup included legendary new wave band Blondie, who cancelled their July tour and, with it, their Evolution appearance. However, the festival quickly recovered and added Billy Idol, a suitably exciting replacement for classic rock. “We wanted Billy Idol from the beginning, but the timing was never right,” says Litvag. “We wanted him early this year too, but at that point he hadn’t worked out his plans for September, so we had to move on. But when we got the call about Blondie, Billy was our first call.”

Then another surprise. A few nights ago, Jane’s Addiction imploded in Boston during their current reunion tour when singer Perry Ferrell physically attacked guitarist Dave Navarro on stage, ending the concert, the tour and, in all likelihood, the band. With less than two weeks to go before the festival, Evolution organizers were once again forced to look for replacements. On September 20, the festival announced that Rock & Roll Hall of Famer Tom Morello of Rage Against the Machine, Audioslave and Prophets of Rage would join the lineup and take over Jane’s Addiction’s Sunday slot.

In addition to the lineup, attendees will notice other changes to the festival this year designed to improve the fan experience. “We learned a lot in the first year,” says Litvag. “We took pages of notes on how we wanted to improve things.” These included adding a third entrance to the festival, tripling the number of restrooms in certain areas, and adding a third stage for music.

The third stage is in the large tent between the two main stages, so ambitious stage hoppers will have more decisions to make this year as some sets overlap. The beverage focus in this tent has also changed, from bourbon last year to craft beer this year. “Bourbon brands will still be on site, as will cigar demonstrations,” says Schankman. “But we will be showcasing many of our craft beers and local breweries that we can be proud of.”

The food offerings have also expanded after last year’s focus on barbecue. “We’re trying to even out the food selections this year,” Litvag says. “There’s still a lot of barbecue. Sugarfire is one of our partners and they’re there, as are a few others, but we’re bringing a lot of other types of food.” Food vendors include Steve’s Hot Dogs, Hi-Pointe Burgers, Taco Buddha and more than 30 other pizza, Mexican, Asian fusion, vegan and other options.

Another major change: this year, visitors are not allowed to bring their own chairs to the festival. Organizers say oversized chairs and inflatables caused space and traffic issues last year. So all chairs are now rented on-site and are therefore the same size, which organizers say provides a better viewing experience for all fans. GA+ pass holders have paid for their chairs in advance and can pick them up on-site each day when they enter the festival.

Schankman says the changes are an attempt to make everyone comfortable. “We have no interest in cramming people together like sardines because that would take away from the upscale, more mature festival atmosphere we’re trying to create,” he says. “We want people to be able to spread out their blankets and have fun.”

This approach seems to be working. Schankman emphasizes: “We didn’t have a single expulsion last year. No medical problems, no safety problems.”

For Schankman, the whole thing is a once-in-a-lifetime event that goes far beyond the music at Evolution. “I have some friends who don’t really know any of the bands,” he says. “They come to experience something.”

But Schankman and Litvag stress that Evolution can only work if St. Louisans are behind it. “A music festival is an important part of a vibrant community,” Litvag says. “We’re trying to create something that has something for everyone, where everyone feels welcome and something that St. Louis can be proud of. But for Evolution to be successful long-term, people have to come and experience this festival. We know that when they do, it will blow their minds and they’ll want to come back every year.”