Summer is the best time to experience the transporting power of live music -- especially at outdoor festivals. With the sun above, good food, drinks and fun-loving friends around you, the summer concert experience becomes indelible. This year, there will be plenty of opportunities to indulge your love for live music under the sun (though the offerings in air-conditioned arenas aren't too shabby, either) as some of the hottest names in pop, rock and R&B; blow through the area. Here are a few shows you don't want to miss.
Death Cab For Cutie -- Merriweather Post Pavilion, June 9
The alt-rock band, whose pop breakthrough came with the release of 2005's Plans, topped Billboard's albums chart last week with its latest CD, Narrow Stairs. The album is a starker, more dissonant follow-up to its gleaming, platinum-selling predecessor. On the set, it's also evident that the quartet, which first received mass exposure in 2003 on the teen soap opera The O.C., is still a restless bunch of musicians. The guys stretch their sound on the new record, coloring it with darker shades here and there. With its evocative arrangements and novelistic lyrical melancholia, Narrow Stairs is one of DCFC's stronger efforts and should translate well on stage.
R.E.M. -- Merriweather Post Pavilion, June 11
On Accelerate, the progressive '80s rock band finally returned to a sound evocative of its glory years. The CD, released in April, is focused and blistering with guitar blasts, defined grooves and Michael Stipe's straight-no-chaser lyrics and urgent vocals. The record doesn't displace the nervy rock of R.E.M.'s early years. That was another place and time. But Accelerate is still a welcome burst of energy, something the guys haven't shown in a while. It's a major step up from the utter lifelessness of the group's last studio album, 2004's Around the Sun. R.E.M. actually sounds like a solid unit on Accelerate. Maybe that'll come across on stage.
Alicia Keys -- 1st Mariner Arena, June 15
In a career that's barely a decade old, Alicia Keys has become one of the most celebrated artists of her generation. The native New Yorker owns 11 Grammys and four multiplatinum albums. Her latest CD -- As I Am, released in November -- was yet another immediate smash, spawning the across-the-board No. 1 hit "No One." The album is perhaps her most ambitious effort, expanding the scope of her "neo-soul" approach. Guest appearances include rockers John Mayer and Linda Perry.
But with stiff, laughably simplistic choreography, Keys' stage show can be corny at times. (She's no Janet Jackson, that's for sure.) The artist is at her best when she's sitting at the piano, banging and belting away. Let's hope there's more of that on this tour.
Vans Warped Tour -- Merriweather Post Pavilion, July 16
In keeping with the tradition of the 13-year-old music and extreme-sports event, the promoters of the alt-rock and pop festival have packed the day with budding and established bands.
The mile-long list of acts includes Angels and Airwaves, Gym Class Heroes, Every Time I Die, Relient K, Say Anything and As I Lay Dying. The Vans Warped Tour, like any other music festival, is very much about vitalizing the communal energy with exciting sounds. And the high-octane music is sure to induce lots of slam-dancing.
Donna Summer -- Pier Six Concert Pavilion, July 16
"The queen is back," Summer declares in a cut off her new CD, Crayons. Released last week, the album is her first set of new songs in nearly 20 years. The Queen of Disco, 59, certainly isn't in "MacArthur Park" anymore as she belts over sleek, propulsive tracks glittered with neon synths. Although the album is a mixed bag, Summer's voice is still a powerful, incredibly versatile instrument. The youthful vibrancy she brought to her greatest hits -- "Bad Girls," "Hot Stuff," "She Works Hard for the Money" and others -- hasn't diminished a bit. Although several of the new songs are well-performed, they can't touch the classics. At the show, I'm sure Summer fans will want to hear more of the old than the new.
Virgin Mobile Festival -- Pimlico Race Track, Aug. 9 and 10
Its third year in Baltimore, the two-day event is quickly becoming one of the hottest tickets on the national summer festival circuit. This year's lineup is perhaps the strongest with an array of acts from classic rock to progressive pop, and just about everything in between.
The headliners include the pioneering Chuck Berry, the legendary Bob Dylan, the egomaniacal but often interesting Kanye West and the moody Nine Inch Nails. Jack Johnson, Lupe Fiasco, Cat Power, the Foo Fighters and Wilco round out the list of marquee names. But still, there's more: Classic hard rock will be represented by Iggy Pop and the Stooges. Lil' Wayne will hold it down for hard-edged hip-hop. And funky retro-soul receives a fine ambassador in Sharon Jones and the Dap Kings. Others to catch include the charming KT Tunstall and the much-buzzed-about British pop-soul newcomer Duffy.
Anita Baker -- Pier Six Pavilion, Aug. 15
Last year's Paetec Jazz Festival, which spanned three days, has been refocused. It's now the Paetec Music Tour with stops in four other cities, including Chicago and Dallas. The "festival" has also been reduced to one day in Baltimore. The sole headliner is multi-Grammy winner Anita Baker, who staged a successful comeback after a 10-year hiatus with 2004's gold-selling My Everything.
Back in the '80s, the jazzy R&B; singer-songwriter was a fixture on urban-pop radio with such hits as "Sweet Love," "Giving You the Best That I Got" and "Just Because." A notorious perfectionist, Baker's shows these days are more relaxed and casual. Her velvety alto, more powerful and expressive today than it was in the '80s, has aged well. Baker's lush love songs and sultry crooning seem to be a fitting close to the outdoor summer concert experience.
rashod.ollison@baltsun.com
Concert highlights
May
May 29 -- Clinic, Sonar
May 29 -- Cold Taxi, Recher
May 29 -- Filter, 9:30 Club
May 29 -- Pete Best Band, RHT
May 30 -- Bruce in the USA, RHL
May 30 -- Fire in the Hole, Sonar
May 30 -- Danity Kane, Pier Six
May 30 -- She Wants Revenge, 9:30 Club
May 30 -- Strange Design, Recher
May 31 -- Bill Kreutzmann, Recher
May 31 -- Bruce in the USA, RHT
May 31 -- Stugottz, Sonar
May 31 -- Sugarland, Nissan
June
June 1 -- Her Last Words, Recher
June 1 -- Ryan Cabrera, RHL
June 1 -- Will Dailey & Keaton Simons, RHT
June 2 -- Bonerama, RHT
June 2 -- Filter, RHL
June 3 -- Bell X1, 9:30 Club
June 3 -- David Ryan Harris, RHT
June 3 -- Dead Confederate, Sonar
June 4 -- Squirrel Nut Zippers, RHT
June 5 -- Blondie, RHL
June 5 -- Salvages Souls, Recher
June 5 -- Soja, Rebelution, 9:30 Club
June 6 -- Adrian Belew, RHT
June 6 -- Capital Jazz Fest, Merriweather
June 6 -- Downcycle, Ninetail, RHL
June 6 -- The Duprees, Four Lads, Four Aces, Lenny Welch, Lyric
June 6 -- Lansdowne, Sonar
June 6 -- Lisa Loeb, Recher
June 7 -- Bill Kirchen, RHT
June 7 -- Capital Jazz Fest, Merriweather
June 7 -- Jakob Dylan, 9:30 Club
June 7 -- Limelight, Recher
June 7 -- Rilo Kiley, RHL
June 7 -- True Colors tour, featuring Cyndi Lauper, the B-52s, Regina Spektor and Tegan & Sara, Constitution
June 8 -- Capital Jazz Fest, Merriweather
June 8 -- Deana Carter, RHT
June 8 -- Shawty Lo, Sonar
June 8 -- Swervedriver, 9:30 Club
June 8 -- Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, Nissan
June 8 -- The Trip, Recher
June 9 -- Death Cab for Cutie, Merriweather
June 9 -- The Felice Brothers, RHT
June 10 -- Lil' Wayne, 1st Mariner
June 10 -- Mark Bryan, RHT
June 11 -- The Breeders, 9:30 Club
June 11 -- Guy Clark, RHT
June 11 -- R.E.M., Merriweather
June 12 -- Jamie Lidell, 9:30 Club
June 12 -- Remember the City, Recher
June 12 -- Strawbs, RHT
June 13 -- Alicia Keys, Verizon
June 13 -- Acoustic Alchemy, RHT
June 13 -- Chase, Recher
June 13 -- Earth Daze, Sonar
June 13 -- Melissa Ferrick, 9:30 Club
June 13 -- Robert Plant and Alison Krauss, Merriweather
June 13 -- Toad the Wet Sprocket, RHL
June 14 -- Battles, 9:30 Club
June 14 -- The Legwarmers, RHL
June 14 -- Skitzo Calypso, Recher
June 14 -- Willie Nile, RHT
June 15 -- Alicia Keys, 1st Mariner
June 15 -- Cyrus Chestnut, RHT
June 15 -- Jose Gonzalez, 9:30 Club
June 15 -- Spill Canvas, Recher
June 15 -- Tim McGraw, Nissan
June 16 -- Pink Spiders, Sonar
June 16 -- Tab Benoit, RHT
June 17 -- Ayo, RHT
June 17 -- TheDeathSet, Sonar
June 17 -- Natasha Bedingfield, RHL
June 18-19 -- Dickey Betts & Great Southern, RHT
June 18 -- Dilated Peoples, RHL
June 18 -- Iron Maiden, Merriweather
June 18 -- White Tie Affair, Sonar
June 19 -- Dark Lotus, RHL
June 19 -- Ingrid Michaelson, Recher
June 20 -- Absence, Sonar
June 20 -- David Sanborn, RHT
June 20 -- Hil St. Soul & Ayo, 9:30 Club
June 20 -- Mike McFadden, Recher
June 20 -- Rooney, RHL
June 21 -- Hotbox, Pasadena, RHL
June 21 -- Maze, featuring Frankie Beverly, Pier Six
June 21 -- Pat Mahoney, Will Eastman, 9:30 Club
June 21 -- Robben Ford, RHT
June 21 -- Skanoah Irie, Recher
June 22 -- Another Secret Told, Recher
June 22 -- Fish, 9:30 Club
June 22 -- Michael Franks, RHT
June 22 -- Pearl Jam, Verizon
June 23 -- Demon Hunter, Recher
June 23 -- Goldfinger, RHL
June 23 -- Mandrill, RHT
June 24 -- Pat Benatar & Neil Giraldo, RHL
June 24 -- Shawn Colvin, RHT
June 25 -- Lizz Wright, RHT
June 25 -- Melissa Etheridge, Constitution
June 25 -- Richard Cheese & Lounge Against the Machine, 9:30 Club
June 26 -- Butthole Surfers, 9:30 Club
June 26 -- Dethklok, RHL
June 26 -- Somber Tones, Recher
June 26 -- Teop, Mully Man, Clayway, Comp, Skarr-Akbar, Sonar
June 26 -- Tift Merritt, RHT
June 27 -- Alice Peacock, Josh Joplin, RHT
June 27 -- Hold Steady, RHL
June 27 -- Ladytron, Sonar
June 27 -- Pat Green, 9:30 Club
June 28 -- Dave Matthews Band, Nissan
June 28 -- emmet swimming, 9:30 Club
June 28 -- Inkarnit, Recher
June 28 -- Jay & the Americans, RHT
June 28 -- The Queers, Sonar
June 28 -- Thievery Corporation, SueJorge, TV on the Radio, Ladytron, Turntables on the Hudson, Federico Aubele, Merriweather
June 29 -- Brooke Fraser, RHT
June 29 -- Raheem DeVaughn, Chrisette Michele, Merriweather
June 29 -- Two Weeks Straight, Recher
June 30 -- Neville Brothers, RHT
June 30 -- Peter Murphy, RHL
July
July 1 -- Cute is What We Aim For, 9:30 Club
July 1 -- Rickie Lee Jones, RHT
July 2 -- Coldplay, Verizon
July 3 -- Doc Hochman's Patriotic Dixieband, RHT
July 3 -- Lyle Lovett, Pier Six
July 3 -- A Nameless Desire, Recher
July 5 -- Beretta Jane, Of Broken, Forgive the Fallen, Outreach, Recher
July 5 -- John Hiatt and the Ageless Beauties, RHT
July 6 -- Backdraft, Recher
July 6 -- Leela James, RHT
July 7 -- Seun Kuti, Egypt 80, 9:30 Club
July 9 -- Dropkick Murphys, Mighty Mighty Bosstones, Merriweather
July 10 -- No Room for Regrets, Recher
July 11 -- Alkaline Trio, RHL
July 11 -- Bo Bice, Recher
July 12 -- Art Sherrod, RHT
July 12 -- Brad Paisley, Jewel, Chuck Wicks, Julianne Hough, Nissan
July 12 -- Crack the Sky, Recher
July 11 -- "Weird Al" Yankovic, Pier Six
July 13 -- "Crue Fest," featuring Motley Crue, Buckcherry, Papa Roach, Sixx:A.M. and Trapt, Nissan
July 13 -- John Mayer, Merriweather
July 14 -- Shelby Lynne, RHT
July 15 -- Beth Nielsen Chapman, RHT
July 16 -- Amos Lee, RHT
July 16 -- Bow Wow, RHL
July 16 -- Donna Summer, Pier Six
July 16 -- Vans Warped Tour, Merriweather
July 17 -- Steve Miller Band, Merriweather
July 18-19 -- All Time Low, Hit the Lights, Valencia, There for Tomorrow, RHL
July 18 -- Bow Wow, Ray J., Constitution
July 18 -- Phil Vassar, Pier Six
July 19 -- Ballyhoo, Recher
July 19 -- Oleta Adams, RHT
July 19 -- Rush, Nissan
July 19 -- "Volunteer Jam," featuring Charlie Daniels Band, .38 Special and Shooter Jennings, Pier Six
July 20 -- Jeff Lorber, RHT
July 20 -- Mickey Hart Band, RHL
July 20 -- Teddy Geiger, Recher
July 20 -- 311, Snoop Dogg, Nissan
July 21 -- Cavalera Conspiracy, RHL
July 21 -- Dave Mason, RHT
July 22 -- Frank Marino & Mahogany Rush, RHT
July 23 -- Ian Tyson, RHT
July 23 -- Rose Funeral, Sonar
July 24 -- Radney Foster, RHT
July 25 -- Greg Adams, RHT
July 25 -- Halo of Locusts, Anubis, Beyond the Scar, Burn the Fields, Tolerance for Tragedy, Inkarnit, Sonar
July 25 -- Matt Costa, Recher
July 26 -- Deanna Bogart Band, RHT
July 26 -- Dru Hill, featuring Sisqo, RHL
July 26 -- O.A.R., Merriweather
July 26 -- Rascal Flatts, Nissan
July 26 -- "Roots Rock Reggae Festival," featuring Ziggy and Stephen Marley, Pier Six
July 27 -- Leo Kottke, RHT
July 27 -- "Projekt Revolution," featuring Linkin Park, Chris Cornell, the Bravery and more, Nissan
July 27 -- "Rock the Bells," featuring A Tribe Called Quest, Nas, Mos Def, De La Soul, Rakim, Method Man, Redman, Raekwon & Ghostface, Immortal Technique, Dead Prez, Murs, Spank Rock, Kid Sister, Jay Electronic, Wale, B.O.B., Kidz in the Hall, Amanda Blank, Santogold and The Pharcyde, Merriweather
July 27 -- STS9, Umphrey's McGee, Pier Six
July 28 -- Tommy Castro, RHT
July 29 -- George Michael, Verizon
July 29 -- Jimmie Dale Gilmore, RHT
July 29 -- Yes, Pier Six
July 30 -- Badfish, RHL
July 30 -- Southern Culture on the Skids, RHT
July 31 -- Poison, Nissan
July 31 -- Vesta Williams, RHT
August
Aug. 1 -- Young Dubliners, RHT
Aug. 2 -- Diane Schuur, RHT
Aug. 2 -- Extreme, RHL
Aug. 3 -- Gladys Knight, the Dells, Pier Six
Aug. 4 -- Chick Corea, Stanley Clarke, Lenny White and Al DiMeola, Merriweather
Aug. 4 -- The Yardbirds, RHT
Aug. 5 -- Live, Collective Soul, Blues Traveler, Pier Six
Aug. 5 -- Neil Diamond, Verizon
Aug. 7 -- Joe Piscopo Sextet, RHT
Aug. 7 -- "Metal Masters Tour," featuring Judas Priest, Heaven & Hell, Motorhead and Testament, Nissan
Aug. 9 -- Doug E Fresh, Slick Rick, KRS-One, Big Daddy Kane, Whodini, Pier Six
Aug. 9 -- Toby Keith, Montgomery Gentry, Nissan
Aug. 9-10 -- "Virgin Festival," featuring the Foo Fighters, Jack Johnson, Offspring, Wilco, Nine Inch Nails, Kanye West, Stone Temple Pilots, Bob Dylan and others, Pimlico
Aug. 10 -- Limeliters, RHT
Aug. 12 -- Hootie & the Blowfish, Pier Six
Aug. 13 -- Boston, Styx, Pier Six
Aug. 14 -- Steep Canyon Rangers, RHT
Aug. 15 -- Anita Baker, Pier Six
Aug. 15 -- California Transit Authority, RHT
Aug. 15 -- Peter Frampton, RHL
Aug. 16 -- Counting Crows, Maroon 5, Nissan
Aug. 16 -- "Hot August Blues & Roots Festival," featuring John Hiatt, Marcia Ball and Bonerama, Oregon Ridge
Aug. 16 -- Soulive, Lettuce, RHL
Aug. 17 -- G. Love and Special Sauce, Pier Six
Aug. 17 -- Slipknot, Disturbed, Dragonforce, Mastodon, Underoath and Machine Head, Nissan
Aug. 17 -- Suede, RHT
Aug. 18 -- Jonas Brothers, Nissan
Aug. 19 -- George Thorogood, Buddy Guy, Pier Six
Aug. 19 -- Suzanne Vega, RHT
Aug. 21 -- Leon Redbone, RHT
Aug. 21 -- Puddle of Mudd, RHL
Aug. 22 -- Billy Bob Thornton, RHT
Aug. 23 -- Robert Cray Band, Keb Mo Band, Pier Six
Aug. 24 -- Rod Stewart, Nissan
Aug. 24 -- Slightly Stoopid, Pepper, Pier Six
Aug. 25 -- Xiu Xiu, Carla Bozulich's Evangelista, Sonar
Aug. 26 -- Ted Nugent, RHL
Aug. 27 -- Beres Hammond, RHL
Aug. 27 -- Journey, Heart, Cheap Trick, Nissan
Aug. 27 -- Mindi Abair, RHT
Aug. 28 -- The Motels, RHT
Aug. 30 -- Slim Man, RHT
VENUES KEY
Constitution -- DAR Constitution Hall, 18th and D streets Northwest, Washington, 410-547-7328, tick etmaster.com
1st Mariner -- 1st Mariner Arena, 201 W. Baltimore St., 410-547-7328, ticketmaster.com
Lyric -- Lyric Opera House, 140 W. Mount Royal Ave., 410-547-7328, tick etmaster.com
Merriweather -- Merriweather Post Pavilion, Little Patuxent Parkway, Columbia, 410-547-7328, tick etmaster.com
9:30 Club -- The 9:30 Club, 815 V St. N.W., Washington, 800-955-5566, 930.com
Nissan -- Nissan Pavilion at Stone Ridge, Bristow, Va., 410-547-7328, tick etmaster.com
Oregon Ridge -- Oregon Ridge Park, 13401 Beaver Dam Road, Cockeysville, 877-321-3378, hot augustblues.com
Pier Six -- Pier Six Pavilion, President Street and Eastern Avenue at the Inner Harbor, 410-547-7328, tick etmaster.com
Pimlico -- Pimlico Race Course, Hayward and Winner avenues, 410-547-7328, ticketmaster.com
RHL -- Rams Head Live, 20 Market Place, 410-244-1131, ramshead live.com
RHT -- Rams Head Tavern, 33 West St., Annapolis, 410-268-4545, ramshead tavern.com
Recher -- Recher Theatre, 512 York Road, Towson, 410-337-7210, 410-547-7328, rechertheatre.com
Sonar -- 407 E. Saratoga St., 410-327-8333, sonarbaltimore.com
Verizon -- Verizon Center, 601 F St. N.W., Washington, 410-547-7328, tick etmaster.com