Mann features summer of indie rock and classics

Last summer, the Mann Center for the Performing Arts brought in Grammy winners-to-be Arcade Fire and '90s rockers Pavement in a bid to establish the Fairmount Park amphitheater as the go-to open-air venue for indie-rock acts that have outgrown the club circuit.

This year, its pop partnership with promoter AEG Live has lined up more choice indie bookings. Omaha songsmith Conor Oberst and his band Bright Eyes play June 10, with country-rock harmonizers Dawes and ace guitarist-producer M. Ward opening. Aug. 5, Ben Gibbard brings in Death Cab for Cutie, with Scottish band Frightened Rabbit. (And Owl City - which has lifted and profited from the electro-singer-songwriter moves Gibbard developed with his side project the Postal Service - plays June 25.)

But this season is by no means just all-about-the-indie. Marquee veterans abound, starting with the Red Headed Stranger himself, sitting atop Willie Nelson's Country Throwdown bill, which kicks off Memorial Day weekend and the Mann season in alt-country style May 27. A host of young-buck country songwriters are touring with Nelson, including Randy Houser, Lee Brice, and Jamey Johnson, who's the one not to miss.

This season there's sure to be at least one hot, steamy and sticky summer night. Sex-obsessed R&B eccentric R. Kelly supports his Love Letter album on July 3, with the formidable female backing of Keyshia Cole and Liverpool-born, Philly-based songwriter-singer Marsha Ambrosius.

There'll be classic rock, too. The Furthur tour, featuring the Grateful Dead's Phil Lesh and Bob Weir, which sold out five nights at the Tower Theater in March, plays the Mann on July 23. And Roger Daltrey of The Who will do Tommy in its entirety, sans Pete Townshend, on Sept. 21.

Other shows of note: Glee's Matthew Morrison (June 27); hip-popper Kid Cudi (July 7); tween popper Selena Gomez (Aug. 19); and beardy adult-alternative heartthrob Ray LaMontagne, with Brandi Carlile (Sept. 30).