When the tickets were ordered months ago, it seemed like June would never arrive.
Now that it’s here, I can hardly wait. Let the 2012 summer concerts begin.
In previous years, the summer would always be anchored by a trip to Chicago for Lollapalooza, but a less-than-stellar lineup combined with rising ticket/airline/hotel prices forced me to look elsewhere for my live music fix. Fortunately, some regional shows have come through.
Bruce rocks Cleveland.
My 2012 concerts have already gotten off to a solid start (J Roddy Walston in March, Bruce Springsteen in April, Heartless Bastards in May), and June looks to keep that trend going strong with a trip to Nashville, which, as always, will feature sugar-free RockStars, sour gummy worms, barbecued ribs and the Ryman Auditorium. There will likely be some good music thrown in that mix, too.
For now, my summer concert schedule looks like this (feel free to share your upcoming concerts (including any recommendations) in the comments section):
• June 2, Justin Townes Earle/Todd Snider, Ryman Auditorium, Nashville
• June 5, Radiohead, Riverbend, Cincinnati
• June 10, Roger Waters, KFC Yum! Center, Louisville
• July 14, Gaslight Anthem/Weezer (and more), Bunbury Festival, Cincinnati
• July 15, Wilco (and more), Forecastle Festival, Louisville
• Aug. 23, Steve Earle/John Hiatt, Taft Theatre, Cincinnati
I’m sure a few other local shows will be added to the list along the way, but even if this is it, I can’t complain, particularly when you consider that my top four current musicians (Springsteen, Wilco, Gaslight Anthem and Steve Earle; it’s worth noting that Radiohead is moving waaaaaay up on that list, Weezer was once a major favorite and Roger Waters/Pink Floyd are historical favorites) are all on my 2012 schedule .
I’m ready for June. I’m ready for rock. And roll. And everything in between.
So ... there I was 