Rock on at these 15 fun outdoor concerts
Summer's here, which means a rockin' lineup of outdoor concerts throughout the region. Whether you're into pop, country or retro rock, here are 15 shows happening under the stars in the next few warm-weather months to help you get into the groove.
Rick Springfield
July 15 His Grammy-winning tune “Jessie’s Girl” and role as Dr. Noah Drake on General Hospital catapulted Rick Springfield to stardom in the ’80s. At this Thunder Valley appearance, the Aussie native will draw from his repertoire of upbeat rock anthems, including “I’ve Done Everything for You” and “Light This Party Up” from his new album Rocket Science. $34.75-$169.75. 6:30 p.m. Thunder Valley’s Outdoor Amphitheater. 1200 Athens Ave. Lincoln. 408-7777. thundervalleyresort.com
The Pointer Sisters
July 20 Originally from West Oakland, this three-time Grammy Award-winning R&B trio, which The New York Times once called “an act in which energy seems to pulse in the air,” has been topping charts since the early ’70s. The group rose to worldwide fame for its deep, gospel-tinged vocals and sassy lyrics in hit singles like "Neutron Dance," which was featured in the 1984 movie Beverly Hills Cop. The sister act will take the stage during the California State Fair’s summer concert series, performing catchy hits like “I’m So Excited,” “He’s So Shy” and “Jump (For My Love).” $20. 8 p.m. Cal Expo. 1600 Exposition Blvd. 263-3247. castatefair.org
Barenaked Ladies
July 23 This rock band from Canada, whose tongue-twister “One Week” topped the Billboard charts in 1998, will perform a mix of its hits (“If I had $1,000,000,” “Brian Wilson”) and new material (“Duct Tape Heart,” “Get Back Up”) at Thunder Valley as part of its “Last Summer on Earth” tour. Joining the group at the concert will be British new wave band OMD (“If You Leave”) and ’80s synthpop star Howard Jones (“No One Is To Blame,” “What Is Love?”). $35.75-$149.75. 6 p.m. Thunder Valley’s Outdoor Amphitheater. 1200 Athens Ave. Lincoln. 408-7777. thundervalleyresort.com
Brantley Gilbert with Justin Moore and Colt Ford
July 31 Bro-country singer Brantley Gilbert headlines the international “Take It Outside” tour, and will come to Wheatland with fellow artists Justin Moore and Colt Ford for a heel-kicking concert. Expect Gilbert—who won the 2012 Academy of Country Music Award for new male vocalist of the year—to break out radio hits like “Country Must Be Country Wide” and “Bottoms Up.” Moore will go old-school with twangy tunes like “Small Town USA” and “Lettin’ the Night Roll,” and Ford will keep things flowing with his signature blend of rap and country on songs like the raucous “Crank it Up.” $30.25-$55. 7 p.m. Toyota Amphitheatre. 2677 Forty Mile Rd. Wheatland. 800-745-3000. livenation.com
Joan Jett and the Blackhearts with Cheap Trick
Aug. 13 With the release of her debut LP Bad Reputation in 1981, Joan Jett quickly became a pioneer of the riot grrl punk movement. Expect to hear songs like “I Love Rock and Roll” (which is listed as one of Rolling Stone’s 500 greatest songs of all time), “Crimson and Clover” and “I Hate Myself for Loving You” at her Thunder Valley appearance. Jett and her band will be joined by Cheap Trick, whose 1978 live album Cheap Trick at Budokan topped the charts with upbeat pop-punk ear worms like “Surrender,” “Ain’t That a Shame” and “I Want You to Want Me.” $37.75-$169.75. 7 p.m. Thunder Valley’s Outdoor Amphitheater. 1200 Athens Ave. Lincoln. 408-7777. thundervalleyresort.com
Jason Aldean with Thomas Rhett
Aug. 18 Country superstar Jason Aldean—who won the ACM Award for entertainer of the year this past April—will stop in Wheatland on his “Six String Circus Tour,” riling up audiences with bro-country radio favorites in which trucks and tractors feature large, including “My Kinda Party,” “Big Green Tractor” and “Dirt Road Anthem.” Newcomer Thomas Rhett, whose 2015 Tangled Up was labeled one of Rolling Stone’s 40 best country albums of the year, and whose pop-country tune “Crash and Burn” hit No. 2 on the iTunes country chart, will join Aldean, along with country DJ Dee Jay Silver and Southern rock-country quartet A Thousand Horses. $30.75-$70.75. 7:30 p.m. Toyota Amphitheatre. 2677 Forty Mile Rd. Wheatland. 800-745-3000. ticketmaster.com
Culture Club
Aug. 19 The ’80s really began in 1982, when Boy George crooned “Do You Really Want to Hurt Me,” as frontman for this new wave outfit, whose debut album, Kissing to Be Clever, also produced Top 10 hits “Time (Clock of the Heart)” and “I’ll Tumble 4 Ya” and earned the group a Grammy for best new artist. Though they disbanded in 1986, the original quartet (Mikey Craig, Jon Moss, Boy George and Roy Hay) reunited in 2014, and will bring these hits and others to Lincoln on its international tour. According to The Guardian, the band is “still as remarkable now as it was then.” $47.75-$179.75. 7 p.m. Thunder Valley’s Outdoor Amphitheater. 1200 Athens Ave. Lincoln. 408-7777. thundervalleyresort.com
Journey with The Doobie Brothers
Sept. 2 Journey owned the ’70s and ’80s with a string of hits like “Don’t Stop Believin,’ ” “Lovin’, Touchin’, Squeezin’ ” and “Anyway You Want It,” all of which can be heard in Wheatland this summer, with Arnel Pineda replacing former lead singer Steve Perry. Grammy-winning roots-rock trio The Doobie Brothers will also take the stage with perennial favorites like “Listen to the Music,” “Jesus is Just Alright” and “Black Water” (which spent 17 weeks at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart). Guitarist Dave Mason will open the evening with tunes from his decades-long career, including “Feelin’ Alright,” which he wrote as a member of the British rock group Traffic. $29.50-$142. 7 p.m. Toyota Amphitheatre. 2677 Forty Mile Rd. Wheatland. 800-745-3000. ticketmaster.com
Wynonna & The Big Noise with The Oak Ridge Boys
Sept. 3 Widely known for her success as the younger half of mother-daughter duo The Judds, and as a solo country act in the ’90s, Wynonna Judd is now backed by her husband’s band The Big Noise, which The Wall Street Journal describes as “a versatile rock and twang-capable outfit.” At this Thunder Valley appearance, expect to hear Wynonna belt out tunes from the group’s self-titled album, released in February, like the Americana blues-rock song “Ain’t No Thing” and the classic country ballad “Jesus and a Jukebox.” Grammy-winning country-gospel quartet The Oak Ridge Boys will also take the stage, harmonizing on melodies like “Elvira” and “Baptism of Jesse Taylor.” $39.75-$169.75. 6:30 p.m. Thunder Valley’s Outdoor Amphitheater. 1200 Athens Ave. Lincoln. 408-7777. thundervalleyresort.com
Folsom Lake Symphony
Sept. 8 For its sixth annual free outdoor concert, this Sierra foothills group will present “Dancin’ in the Street,” a program that will include Voices of Spring, waltzes by Austrian composer Johann Strauss the Younger; the vibrant Danzon No. 2 by contemporary Mexican composer Arturo Marquez, inspired by the traditional dance halls of Veracruz and Mexico City; Dave Brubeck’s complex and rhythmic Unsquare Dance, featuring a seven-beat looping phrase and a melody that resembles country music; and a medley of Duke Ellington songs, including “Satin Doll,” “Mood Indigo” and “Don’t Get Around Much Anymore.” Free. 6:30 p.m. El Dorado Hills Town Center. 4634 Town Center Blvd. El Dorado Hills. 357-6718. folsomlakesymphony.com
The Avett Brothers
Sept. 16 Though the Avett Brothers have been extensively touring and recording since 2000, it was their 2009 breakout record I and Love and You (which debuted in the Top 20 on the Billboard 200) that put them on the map. Their 2012 LP, The Carpenter, earned a Grammy nod for best Americana album. They will bring what Time magazine calls “their charming brand of bluegrass-tinged folk” to Lincoln with songs like “The Ballad of Love and Hate” and the newly released, boot-stomping “Ain’t No Man.” Singer-songwriter Brett Dennen will open the evening. $39.75-$169.75. 6:30 p.m. Thunder Valley’s Outdoor Amphitheater. 1200 Athens Ave. Lincoln. 408-7777. thundervalleyresort.com]
Gavin DeGraw and Andy Grammer
Sept. 17 New York native Gavin DeGraw rose to singer-songwriter stardom with his 2003 platinum-selling debut album Chariot, which produced such hits as “I Don’t Want to Be” and the title track. Expect to hear these and other tunes drawn from his four studio albums at this Thunder Valley show. Pop newcomer Andy Grammer also brings his upbeat, rhythm-driven tunes, including “Honey, I’m Good,” which has garnered more than 60 million views on YouTube with what Rolling Stone calls a “ridiculously infectious beat.” $27.75-$159.75. 6:30 p.m. Thunder Valley’s Outdoor Amphitheater. 1200 Athens Ave. Lincoln. 408-7777. thundervalleyresort.com
Cyndi Lauper and Indigo Girls
Sept. 23 Cyndi Lauper burst onto the MTV scene with her 1983 debut album She’s So Unusual, which spawned four Top Five singles, including “Time After Time” and “Girls Just Wanna Have Fun,” and earned her a Grammy award for best new artist. Folk singer-songwriter duo Indigo Girls, featuring Emily Saliers and Amy Ray, will also take the stage with what The Boston Globe describes as “pristine harmonies” on tunes like “Closer to Fine” and “Galileo.” $47.75-$189.75. 7 p.m. Thunder Valley’s Outdoor Amphitheater. 1200 Athens Ave. Lincoln. 408-7777. thundervalleyresort.com
Def Leppard and REO Speedwagon
Sept. 25 Def Leppard—whose 1983 release Pyromania was named by Rolling Stone as one of the 100 greatest albums of the decade—will rock out in Wheatland with classics like “Animal,” “Pour Some Sugar on Me” and “Armageddon It,” as well as tracks from its 2015 self-titled LP. The rock trio REO Speedwagon, whose 1980 record Hi Infidelity sold a million copies within five weeks of its release, will also perform songs from its multi-decade career, including chart-topping hits like “Keep on Loving You” and “Can’t Fight This Feeling.” $23-$125. 7 p.m. Toyota Amphitheatre. 2677 Forty Mile Rd. Wheatland. 800-745-3000. ticketmaster.com
Kenny Loggins and Air Supply
Sept. 30 As part of the duo Loggins and Messina, Kenny Loggins co-wrote such ’70s hits as “Your Mamma Don’t Dance” and “Danny’s Song,” and then went on to find solo success in the ’80s with two Grammy Awards and 12 platinum albums. Expect to hear a bevy of Loggins’ pop-rock songs (“This is It,” “Whenever I Call You Friend”) and famous film anthems (“Footloose,” “Danger Zone”) at this Thunder Valley concert. The Australian soft-rock duo Air Supply (Graham Russell and Russell Hitchcock) will also bring its lighter-worthy tunes like “All Out of Love,” “Lost in Love” and “Every Woman in the World.” $39.75-$179.75. 7 p.m. Thunder Valley’s Outdoor Amphitheater. 1200 Athens Ave. Lincoln. 408-7777. thundervalleyresort.com
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