Launched in the late ’60s as both fundraiser and an opportunity to wrap up the weekend on a musical note, the Robert Mondavi Summer Music Festival celebrates its 40th anniversary this year with a little something for everyone.

Founding producer Margrit Biever Mondavi said the 40th anniversary program is an eclectic mix that ranges from the quirky new wave band, the B-52s, to Grammy Award-winning vocalist Natalie Cole with the Napa Valley Symphony Orchestra; from Los Angeles culture mashers Ozomatli to Motown king Smokey Robinson; from Miami’s disco darlings, KC and the Sunshine Band, to the pride of New Orleans, Preservation Hall Jazz Band.

Only Cole and Preservation Hall Jazz Band have appeared on previous festival lineups. Cole made her Napa Valley debut in 1981, while the New Orleans ensemble will make its 38th appearance at this summer’s event.

Tickets for all six concerts went on sale today — online, by phone and through the mail — with ticket prices ranging from $60 for general admission to the 4th of July show to $260 for a reserved seat with wine-paired dinner for the B-52s wine country debut.

It began in 1969 by Margrit Mondavi as part of the winery’s commitment to supporting the arts. In four decades, the summer festival has raised more than $2 million for the Napa Valley Symphony Orchestra and music programs of the Napa Valley Unified School District.

“Robert Mondavi Winery has welcomed an impressive list of music legends and icons in the past 40 years who graciously agreed to be a part of this Napa Valley tradition,” noted the festival’s founder. “Each year patrons and performers eagerly anticipate the summer concert series as it is an important part of Napa Valley culture and a favorite community program. Through our festival, we have been able to provide support to these marvelous programs, ensuring that great music in Napa Valley endures.”

Among the impressive list of festival headliners over the span of 40 years were Buena Vista Social Club, Ella Fitzgerald, Lena Horne, Benny Goodman, Tony Bennett, Sarah Vaughan, Johnny Mathis, Boz Scaggs, Stan Getz, George Shearing, Dizzy Gillespie, Dave Brubeck, Oscar Peterson, Keith Jarrett, Mel Torme, Herbie Hancock, Antonio Carlos Jobim, Herbie Mann, Pat Metheny, Dave Koz, Robert Cray, George Benson, Chris Botti, Cesaria Evora, India.Arie, Julio Iglesias, Harry Belafonte, Cassandra Wilson, Dianne Reeves and Tears for Fears.

The 40th anniversary lineup

All concerts take place on a Saturday and begin at 7 p.m., with gates opening at 5 for picnicking. There are four tiers of tickets this year — general admission lawn seating; reserved lawn seating; dinner seating with wine-paired family-style meal; premier dinner seating, which includes center lawn stage seats at concert time.

Concert headliners include:

• June 27 — The B-52s kick off the 40th anniversary series with their distinct danceable sound — an enjoyably garish mish-mash of early rock ’n’ roll, B-movie kitsch and surfboard funk that’s been the group’s stock in trade since its emergence in the new-wave boom of the mid-1970s. The B-52s took their name from the Southern slang for the mile-high bouffant wigs sported by singers Kate Pierson and Cindy Wilson, a look emblematic of the band’s campy, thrift-store esthetic. The five-piece group also included founding members Fred Schneider, guitarist Ricky Wilson (Cindy’s older brother who succumbed to AIDS in 1985) and drummer Keith Strickland. The popular band released its first recording in 16 years in 2008. Tickets: $100 general admission, $130 reserved lawn seating, $230 dinner seating, $260 premier dinner seating.

• July 4 — Preservation Hall Jazz Band will bring its popular Big Easy sound to wine country for a traditional Independence Day celebration that includes post-concert fireworks. Actually two bands, there is both a touring ensemble and another that holds down the fort in the celebrated performance space in New Orleans French Quarter. Preservation Hall Jazz Band has enjoyed a long association with the Mondavi winery, begun when Billie and DeDe Pierce fronted the group in the early ’70s. Tickets: $60 general admission, $90 reserved lawn, $190 dinner seating, $220 premier dinner seating.

• July 11 — Ozomatli, the eight-piece cross-cultural combo from Los Angeles, has served as U. S. State Department cultural ambassador and proven one of the most popular bands reflecting urban culture today. The group’s repertoire — largely built on Latin, hip hop and rock foundations — also embraces jazz, funk, reggae and salsa. The Grammy Award-winning band’s name is taken from the Nahuatl word for the Aztec astrological symbol for the monkey, god of fire, dance and music. Tickets: $65 general admission, $95 reserved lawn, $195 dinner seating, $225 premier dinner seating.

July 18 — Natalie Cole with the Napa Valley Symphony Orchestra. Although she’s on dialysis and awaiting a kidney transplant, Natalie Cole promises she’ll return to wine country to perform with the Napa Valley Symphony Orchestra this summer. Recipient of 10 Grammy Awards, the singer/songwriter/performer may be best remembered for her 1991 album, “Unforgettable ... with Love,” featuring her own arrangements of her father’s greatest hits. She’s expected to perform material from that recording as well as numbers from her latest jazz CD, “Still Unforgettable.” Tickets: $95 general admission, $125 reserved lawn, $225 dinner seating, $255 premier dinner seating.

• July 25 — KC & the Sunshine Band is expected to turn the winery lawn into a giant dance floor when the 15-member ensemble churns out hits like “That’s The Way (I Like It),” “(Shake, Shake, Shake) Shake Your Booty,” “Get Down Tonight,” “I’m Your Boogie Man,” “Keep It Comin’ Love” and “Please Don’t Go.” This is KC’s second Napa Valley appearance, having performed at the Napa Town & Country Fair in 2004. Tickets: $75 general admission, $105 reserved lawn, $205 dinner seating, $235, premier dinner seating.

• Aug. 1 — Smokey Robinson wraps up the 40th anniversary season in a debut performance presented in conjunction the Napa Valley Opera House. Save for founder Berry Gordy, no single figure has been more closely allied with the Detroit-based recording empire known as Motown than William “Smokey” Robinson.

In addition to leading the Miracles, Robinson served as a Motown producer, songwriter, talent scout and Berry’s most trusted confidant and right-hand man. Robinson is responsible for a wide range of charttoppers, including “The Tracks of My Tears,” “Tears of a Clown,” “Ooh Baby Baby,” “I Second That Emotion,” “You Really Got a Hold on Me,” “Shop Around,” “Being With You” and “Cruisin’.” Tickets: $95 general admission, $125 reserved lawn, $225 dinner seating, $255 premier dinner seating.

Tickets can be ordered at www.robertmondaviwinery.com, by calling the festival box office at 226-7372 or by mailing a check to Robert Mondavi Summer Festival Box Office, c/o Napa Valley Opera House, 1000 Main St., Napa 94559.