Harmonix Music Systems and MTV Games, a part of Viacom’s MTV Networks, today announced the launch of “Rock Band Bar Nights,” a new initiative providing tools for U.S. bar owners to host their own Rock Band Nights.

The program gives bars a cutting-edge in-bar entertainment option to help increase foot traffic and provide Rock Band fans with the opportunity to take the stage for a true rock star experience.

Rock Band - featuring a full band performance with guitar, bass, drums and mic – is revolutionizing the standard karaoke night in bars. The Rock Band Bar Nights program expands the Rock Band social experience for current fans and gives new fans the opportunity to try the game in an authentic performance setting with a live crowd cheering them on.

To help venues host and promote their own Rock Band Bar Nights, the program offers support to registered bars with everything from exclusive Rock Band product offerings to multiplatform marketing support. Through an exclusive e-commerce store, the program will also provide bars with a full music solution to easily rock their bar with the extensive Rock Band catalogue featuring more than 800 tracks and growing every week.

To kick off the program, Harmonix and MTV Games are providing bars that sign up before September 8th with an exclusive five-song preview disc from The Beatles: Rock Band, allowing their customers to experience the highly anticipated game before it hits stores on September 9th.

In addition to offering in-bar support for this new entertainment option, the Rock Band Bar Nights program extends online and gives members direct access to the Rock Band community with hundreds of thousands of fans, as well as the chance to stay connected on Rock Band’s official Facebook and Twitter pages. In the coming months, Rock Band fans will be able to find official Rock Band Bar Nights in their area through an online application searchable by zip code and a mobile version available for download as a free iPhone application.

Interested bar owners or fans can check out www.RockBand.com/BarNights for registration and more information.