Stir Cove announces summer concerts, Joan Jett at Memorial Park, Weekend shows

Stir Cove announced its full roster of summer shows today and it looks like the series will attract more younger crowds than it has in the past. The lineup includes the highest number of contemporary acts in years. Last year, for instance, featured a run of 10 shows and eight of the shows featured artists who came to prominence before 2005.

Compare that to this year’s 16 shows. This year, only seven of those shows feature artists aimed mostly at older crowds.

The lineup is also void of hip-hop, as it has been for several years excusing one show in 2013 with LL Cool J, Public Enemy, Ice Cube and De La Soul.

May 20 – Judas Priest with Saxon

June 13 – George Thorogood and The Destroyers with Brian Setzer’s Rockabilly Riot

June 14 – Last Summer on Earth Tour: Barenaked Ladies, The Violent Femmes and Colin Hay

June 20 – Rob Thomas with Plain White T’s

June 26 – Neon Trees

June 30 – David Gray with Rachel Yamagata

July 2 – Weird Al Yankovic

July 8 – The Avett Brothers

July 10 – Little Big Town with David Nail

July 18 – The Roots

July 28 – Alt-J

July 30 – Alice in Chains

July 31 – Hozier with Dawes

Aug 1 – Alabama Shakes

Aug 29 – Slightly Stoopid and Dirty Heads with The Expendables

Sep 10 – Billy Idol

Tickets for Judas Priest, Alt-J and Last Summer on Earth Tour are on sale here. Tickets for other shows go on sale April 10.

* * *

Speaking of nostalgia acts, Bank of the West Celebrates America announced that Joan Jett and Eddie Money will play a free concert in Omaha’s Memorial Park on June 26. One local headliner is to be announced.

When was the last time this series hosted a fresher face?

It’s the 25th anniversary of free concerts in Memorial Park and Bank of the West will be celebrating with a fireworks show.

* * *

Let’s get to shows this weekend.

Tonight (Friday) at Vega, JD Samson, bandleader for Men and one-third of electro-punk band Le Tigre, plays a DJ set with Todd Fink and Plack Blague. RSVP here.

At The Hideout, Nick Clawson has launches his 365 to India crowdfunding campaign with Midtown Marauders, Artillery Funk and Rezo. Clawson, who raps as Articulate, is trying to raise money to take his child to India to meet his grandparents. Proceeds from the show will benefit an orphanage in India. RSVP here.

San Francisco-based shoegaze outfit Whirr plays O’Leaver’s tonight with honorary Nebraska band Sour Boy, Bitter Girl (actually from Denver) and Those Far Out Arrows. RSVP here.

Saturday, Simon Joyner plays the release show for his album Grass, Branch and Bone at Slowdown with Outlaw Con Bandana and L. Eugene Methe. We wrote a feature about the record and gave it an audio review here. RSVP to the show here.

Over at Barley Street, Dan Mariska and the Boys Choir plays with Uh Oh and Lot Walks. RSVP here.

On Sunday night, Meadowlark hosts Songwriter Sunday with Lincoln’s La Musa Confusa and California-based dark folk act Minor Birds. RSVP here.