Jeremy gets 'obscenely optimistic'

Songwriter Townes Van Zandt once famously said, "There are only two kinds of music: the blues and 'Zip-a-Dee-Doo-Dah.' " Minneapolis indie-folk star Jeremy Messersmith has gone full-bore "Zip-a-Dee-Doo-Dah" on us, in a predictably clever way. He surprised fans Monday by posting a link to sheet music for "11 Obscenely Optimistic Songs for Ukulele" on his website, a la Beck's well-received 2012 "Song Reader." He plans to share his own recordings of the songs by mid-April, but in the meantime Messersmith is trying to get people to record their own versions. With titles including "Everybody Gets a Kitten" and "I'm a Snowflake, Baby," the collection is all about escapism and fluffy feel-goodisms. "It was just a natural, perhaps crazy reaction to all the crazy stuff that's been going on," said the singer, who wrote the songs during a winter retreat to a cabin in Lanesboro, Minn. The results felt so good that he recorded the songs in a one-day session in late February, using a ukulele for the simplicity associated with the instrument. "I'm actually deadly serious about this," he wrote on his site. He's so serious that he intends to perform "pop-up concerts" in public spaces, starting at 10 a.m. April 17 at Powderhorn Park in Minneapolis. He's inviting people to bring their own ukes and good cheer to each of the "micro-tour" dates, posted at JeremyMessersmith.com. Then he'll get back to sad songs for his next "proper" album, "Late Stage Capitalism," coming in May from Glassnote Records.

CHRIS RIEMENSCHNEIDER

Treasure Island Casino is answering the call for a sizable amphitheater for the greater metro area. Six concerts have been announced for this summer on its Red Wing property, with at least three more planned. The series will kick off June 9 with Willie Nelson, Charlie Daniels Band and Bruce Hornsby. Other announced shows are Journey and Asia July 1; Weezer and Cold War Kids July 14; Steve Miller Band and Peter Frampton July 23; Brad Paisley and Dustin Lynch Aug. 26, and Matchbox Twenty and Counting Crows Sept. 16. Sure sounds like a State Fair grandstand lineup. In fact, Paisley, a grandstand veteran, will play the first Saturday of this year's fair. The temporary setup will include about 9,000 seats with potential for 7,000 more people on a grassy berm where they can sit on blankets or lawn chairs. Mystic Lake Casino Hotel is also planning an outdoor concert series, but the only announced show is Santana on July 13.

JON BREAM

In December, Playwrights' Center lost its managing director when Kerri Kellerman left to run the Marin Theatre in Northern California. Now the center has done some poaching of its own. Robert Chelimsky, managing director of the Epic Theatre Ensemble in New York City, will fill that post starting May 1. A veteran manager who has led arts organizations for more than two decades, Chelimsky spent five summers managing the Chautauqua (N.Y) Theater Company alongside artistic director Ethan McSweeny — a frequent Guthrie Theater director during the Joe Dowling years — before he joined Epic in 2011. The Playwrights' Center, whose alumni include August Wilson, Lee Blessing and Barbara Field, celebrates its 45th anniversary this spring.

ROHAN PRESTON

Lil Wayne says he's sorry he didn't make it to Target Center last Friday night at Target Center. (In a tweet, he blamed "plane mechanical issues" for his third Twin Cities no-show in three years.) So his promoter is putting his money where Weezy's mouth is: There will be full refunds — but no rescheduled show. See startribune.com/artcetera for details on how to get your money back. The good news for those who went? You got to see a free show by Rick Ross, Young Jeezy and Prof.J.B.