The first of May signifies the official induction ceremony for short shorts and outdoor music festivals. Can I have an amen? There are good times and tired feet on the horizon, my friends. This weekend alone, several music festivals will offer quality performances from popular regional and national acts. In Jackson, the Miller Lite Crawfish Boil, which is a relatively young festival, has begun to give Jubilee!JAM a run for the money in terms of local excitement and anticipation. Single-day passes are available for $29.50, but trust me: you'll want to get the two-day pass, as both days are mandatory. Red Jumpsuit Apparatus, Flyleaf and Snoop Dogg are on deck for Friday night, with Hinder, LL Cool J, Lynyrd Skynyrd, among others for Saturday. Check out the music calendar at jacksonfreepress.com for the hour-by-hour complete lineup. Visit http://millerlitecrawfishboil.com for more info.
The New Orleans Jazz Fest is also going on this weekend with Kings of Leon, Bon Jovi, Neil Young and others, while the Memphis Beale Street Music Festival lineup includes The Cult, George Clinton, Elvis Costello, 311 and Fall Out Boy.
If those three festivals don't offer enough options, there are killer music events all over Jackson to kick off the weekend. On Thursday, April 30, it'll be garage and indie pop-rock at Martin's with Germany-based Redondo Beat, and locals ¡Los Buddies! and Tyler & The Apostles on support. Ole Tavern will host The Furrows, Cartright and Pinebox Serenade. Also Thursday night, the Special Passenger CD release party will feature Chris Wheeler, Woodpecker Street, The Bachelorettes, Emily Baker and others at One to One Studio. $10 cover includes a CD. Old-school '60s "Twist" icon Chubby Checker will perform at the Pearl River Resort in Choctaw Thursday. No, he's not dead; he's 67. He was only 19 when "The Twist" hit the charts in 1960.
On Friday, May 1, Martin's brings back popular roots-rock favorites Jerry Joseph & the Jackmormons. Fans of Widespread organ roots-rock will dig the instrumentation and intensity of their live performance. If you're looking for a different way to get your after-dinner drinks and stress relief, check out The Auditorium Friday night. Local (adult) improvisation comedy troupe the Intellectual Bulimics will perform at 9:18 p.m. for $15. Confucius say, nothing wipes away the work week like busting a gut.
You may recall reading the review of Dent May's new CD in the Jackson Free Press two weeks ago. May is bringing his ukulele back for a one-night-only hometown performance of his popular kitschy, power-pop at One to One Studios this Saturday night at 8 p.m. The Da Vincis and singer/songwriter Johnny Bertram will join him. The Mississippi Chorus will perform their "King of Rock and Roll" concert, with music from Elvis, this Saturday at Thalia Mara Hall. 7:30 p.m., visit http://www.mschorus.org.
If you're in the mood for a short road trip this weekend, Umphrey's McGee will be at the Lyric in Oxford Saturday night. Death Cab for Cutie, Cold War Kids and Ra Ra Riot hit New Orleans Saturday and Birmingham on Tuesday. Next Friday, May 8, the Mississippi Symphony Orchestra will host their Pepsi Pops concert on the Reservoir, and Hoobastank will perform at Club Fire downtown.
Mark your calendars: Robin Thicke and Jennifer Hudson play Beau Rivage in Biloxi May 9. TV on the Radio hits House of Blues New Orleans May 15; and Her Space Holiday brings the jams to the Bottletree in Birmingham May 16. Oxford hosts Manchester Orchestra at Proud Larry's May 30, and Animal Collective at the Library June 6. Coldplay will blow out the New Orleans Arena Tuesday, June 9.
Tickets are on sale now for U2 in Atlanta at the Georgia Dome, Oct. 6. Be sitting down when you see the price. Remember, though, not all of that $280 goes to Ticketmaster; Bono uses some to save the Earth. Don't forget to plan your vacations around the lineups for Bonnaroo, Lollapalooza and Pitchfork music festivals this summer. Cheers.
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