George Thorogood's bad-to-the-bone guitar, Jimmy Cliff's lilting reggae and Lucero's rousing indie rock will serenade animals and concertgoers at the Minnesota Zoo this summer.
The rest of the lineup is predictably heavy on baby-boomer favorites (Levon Helm with John Hiatt, Joan Baez, Marc Cohn), jam bands (Yonder Mountain String Band, Moe, Blues Traveler) and zoo reliables (Los Lobos, Los Lonely Boys, Gear Daddies). New faces for the zoo include New Orleans party machine Trombone Shorty and Appalachian blues/folk explorers Carolina Chocolate Drops.
Here is the lineup thus far:
June: Straight No Chaser (6); Yonder Mountain String Band (12); Blues Traveler (16); Gear Daddies (19); Dark Star Orchestra (24); Edwin McCain (26); Buckwheat Zydeco (30).
July: Levon Helm and John Hiatt (6); Mary Chapin Carpenter (7); Trombone Shorty and Tab Benoit (8); Greg Brown (9); Taj Mahal (10); Moe (12); Joan Baez (13); Los Lobos (14-15); Dave Koz and Jonathan Butler (16); Los Lonely Boys (18); Lucero and Jason Isbell (31).
August: Marc Cohn (6); Jimmy Cliff (7); Gaelic Storm (12); George Thorogood (17); David Sanborn (20); Jerry Jeff Walker (21); Carolina Chocolate Drops (27).
September: Crowded House (4).
With the zoo relaxing some of its rules for maximum number of concerts in a season and consecutive nights with shows, promoter Sue McLean expects to add more performances. Tickets to individual concerts go on sale May 3. For more information, go to www.suemclean.com.
