Summer has arrived. The days get longer, the weather gets balmier and music fans across the nation come together with one destination in mind: Bonnaroo.

Hailed as the ultimate summer festival by Rolling Stone Magazine, Bonnaroo attracts bands from a wide array of genres each year.

To help propel up-and-coming artists into the eclectic world of Bonnaroo, Atlanta’s 92.9 Dave FM is holding its third annual “Search-a-Roo” contest. This year, one of the two remaining finalists is local band The Reeds.

“Dave FM advertised the contest on the radio,” said Josh Reid, lead vocalist and guitarist and University alumnus. “Pretty much the only rule to participate was that you had to be a band from Georgia, and from there they picked four finalists out of all the submissions.”

The voting process, conducted via Dave FM’s Web site, ended on Sunday with the Reeds and Atlanta band Hightide Blues advancing to the next round. The two bands will be judged on their live performances at Virginia-Highland Annual Summerfest in Atlanta.

“From there, some Bonnaroo and Dave FM executives will decide who will go on to play at the festival itself,” said Ben Austin, violinist and University graduate student.

The Reeds are using the exposure from the contest as a chance to promote their newest album, “Bleed Lust.”

“We started recording ‘Bleed Lust’ in December,” Reid said. “We just finished it a couple months ago, and we haven’t formally released it yet. But that’s the music you’ll hear us playing now.”

Although this is the group’s second official album, Reid and Austin’s musical histories can be traced back to their high school days.

“[Reid] and I both grew up in Augusta and we both started at Davidson Fine Arts Magnet School in sixth grade,” Austin said. “We started playing together when we were only 14.”

Although the two briefly went their separate ways in college, they reunited in Athens to continue their musical chemistry.

In addition to Austin and Reid, the band includes bassist Sean McPherson and drummer Craig Eck.

“Our bassist and drummer live in Atlanta, so we only use them for our biggest shows,” Reid said. “So a lot of the time, [Austin] and I will perform as a duo.”

The band says its music has evolved over the years. “Our music has definitely become more electric,” Reid said. “Since I was inspired by Dave Matthews, and all he generally plays is acoustic guitar, that’s how I started out. But nowadays I don’t really enjoy playing acoustic, so I pretty much just play electric guitar.”

In 2005, when Austin moved to Athens for graduate school, he and Reid began playing more blues-influenced music.

Reid describes his band’s music as “bluesy pop – it’s not exactly blues, but it does have that feel. We also throw in a little bit of folk.”

Austin also emphasized the music’s jam-based component. “It’s always fun to jam out when we play live, and people seem to enjoy hearing the violin and guitar converse in blues,” he said.

Reid echoes Austin’s opinion.

“We always improvise solos when we play live, but the lyrics usually don’t change and the songs generally stay intact.”

The Reeds said that they are excited to have the chance to represent the Athens music scene at Bonnaroo and experience the festival.

“I love the idea of not just going to see one band I like, but multiple bands that I like. But the strong communal aspect of a festival like this is the greatest part of all,” Reid said.