Big Bad Voodoo Daddy and Beatlemania Now will headline the 2007 Erie Summer Festival of the Arts, set for June 22-24 at Liberty Park.

Erie fans will recall BBVD; they played Celebrate Erie in 2004, turning State Street into a swing dance party. This time, they'll play Pepsi Amphitheater on June 22 at 9 p.m.

Beatlemlania Now! spans the Fab Four's entire career, from the early yeah-yeah-yeah days through "Abbey Road," their last, great opus (though "Let It Be" was released later). They do a lot of costume changes, too. You'll definitely hear "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band"; this is the 40th anniversary of that influential album, which kick-started the Summer of Love.

Beatlemania Now plays June 23 at 9 p.m.

Summer Festival will also feature Tanglefoot on Friday at 3 p.m., plus lots of local acts: Potato Battery, Forsythe Special, Dave Stevens Big Band, and the Erie Thunderbirds' drum and bugle corps, all on Friday.

Saturday's lineup also includes Nerds Inc., Thirst 'n Howl, Paul Fortin, Zach Watt, and Eastave.

Sunday will feature jazz, as part of Erie's Summerlong Jazz series. Look for Gene Leone, Sack O' Bones, and Carl Hultman.

Meanwhile, word is awfully quiet -- too quiet -- on the CelebrateErie front. Pollstar lists Bacon Brothers and country band Emerson Drive, so they seem likely. Neither one is the sort of big-name headliner we've become accustomed to -- Beach Boys, Los Lobos, Wailers, Dickey Betts, etc.

Let's hope the city is holding a card we don't know about. If this is the best it can come up with, we're in for one downer of an event, one that's hardly going to draw tourists from Pittsburgh, Cleveland, and Buffalo.

Looking for fun this weekend? I recommend Cleveland's Whiskey Daredevils, who play Beer Mug tonight (June 2). They feature three members from the late great Cowslingers but serve up a lot of hillbilly rave-up fun in their own right.

I also recommend Yankee Zydeco Company, who play a CD release party on Saturday at Docksider. And metal fans can't go wrong with Saturday's all-day Metal Massacre at Jim-N-I park in West Springfield. Beneath the Scars, Waiting for Never, and Misery Bay will headline the show, which features 12 bands. Music starts at 1:30 p.m. Tickets are $10.

Bikers can also rejoice. Rick and the Roadhouse Rockers ride back into Erie on Saturday at French Quarter.

Thursday's Block Party drew a terrific crowd for Next of Kin, but not so great for Matty B and the Dirty Pickles and Leave No Trace, who were both over and done with by 8 p.m.
The party time moved up to 6 p.m. for this summer -- a bit early, considering people may not be done eating dinner yet. I'd like to see the bands spaced out a bit more, so music runs up to 10 p.m. or so.

This is a hot weekend for music. Best bets include Ron Yarosz and the Vehicle -- they scorch -- over at Docksider tonight, Dirt McGurtt and the Trashed at Roadhouse Theatre tonight, after "Hedwig"; and Katie CHriest and Shldon Peterson making magic at BIllies.

As for Saturday, that's your call, cause I'm outta here, headed to Cleveland's House of Blues for a shot of Fountains of Wayne.

Jerry Uht Park will host a Faith Night concert on June 24, following its 1:05 p.m. game. Hawk Nelson will headline, with special guest the Send and a guest appearance by the Veggie Tales.
Both Hawk Nelson and the Send play modern Christian rock that actually rocks.
For $18, you can see both the SeaWolves and the post-game concert. Call 1-800-861-0850 for more details.

Reminder: Next weekend will be be huge for live fun inthe Erie area, with Mayville BLuegrass Festival, the Rise Records tour at the Hangout with Devil Wears Prada and Drop Dead, Gorgeous; Harper and the Bridge both at Docksider, and comediain John Heffron at Jr.'s Last Laugh.
Watch Showcase for previews of all those.

Pat Monahan on his web site lists Sept. 18 as the release date for his first solo CD, "Last of Seven."
The title presumably refers to his Erie childhood; he was the last of seven kids in his family.
Pat also says "Her Eyes" will be the first single. Sounds like it'll hit radio soon; he's asking fans to start requesting it.

His web site is www.patmonahan.net, if you want to keep tabs on the project.

That previously announced concert with Hawk Nelson and the Send at Jerry Uht Park on June 24 is now canceled. No word on why. I didn't know it was off until I tried to get Hawk Nelson on the phone and found out it was rescheduled for Brooklyn, N.Y., that day, instead.

Hammerd and Trev Zeppelin will play the Downtown Improvement District's Block Party on Thursday at the Boardwalk. Afterward, former Warrant singer Jani Lane will perform inside the venue. City officials didn't want Lane -- a national act -- for the free block party, fearing the crowds might be too large. That's the same reason Vince Neil will not be playing outside for the Cellbock's party.
Cellbock's Dave Hartwig hopes to reschedule Neil for the fall. Instead, Joe Bachman and the Crew from Key West, Fla. will headline the Cellblock's July 12 block party. Bachman, formerly of Jagermeister party band the Benderz, plays a wide range of covers, from U2 (his favorite band) to Bruce Springsteen to Metallica and more. Hartwig is trying to nail down the Earthquakers as openers for that show.

VH1 plans to broadcast the entire Concert for Diana on July 1 from Wembley Stadium in England. Scheduled performers for the six-hour (!) event include Duran Duran, Bryan Ferry, Kanye West, Elton John, Fergie, Rod Stewart, Lily Allen, Nelly Furtado, P. Diddy, Joss Stone, and even Tom Jones.

Got nothing going tonight? Can't go wrong with Docksider, where Australian-raised blues-rocker Harper plays, with Erie's own Ralph Reitinger on bass. Also, Pegasus Unicorn and Black Rose Diary both jump back into action after a too-long hiatus. They play at Sherlock's, along with Hello Kitty Death Squad.

Make sure you log onto rockerie.com on Monday. That's when all the nominees for the first RockErie Music Awards will be posted and voting will begin. The top 3 vote-getters in most of the band categories through July 20 will be invited to play the local stage at CelebrateErie. The overall top 3 vote earners through Aug. 19 will be invited to the ceremony on Aug. 26, at the new Bayfront Convention Center, where the winners will be announced.

So it's official, the CelebrateErie lineup, and it's nothing to get excited about.
Headliners include the Bacon Brothers, the Romantics, 1964 -- a Beatles tribute -- and Emerson Drive, a country band. We also have an Elton John tribute, and Tusk, a Fleetwood Mac tribute.

What a comedown from the past few years, when CelebrateErie secured bands such as Los Lobos, the Wailers, Beausoleil, the Smithereens, Dickey Betts, Donna the Buffalo, Derek Trucks Band, and more. These were big-time, festival-proven bands that drew out-of-town tourists. This one lacks comparable star power.

I don't want to hear anyone blame poor city finances. In the past, CE performers were paid by sponsorship dollars, not the city, except the Beach Boys, who were generously paid for by Gov. Rendell (though that was still state money)..Apparently, the city didn't raise enough to hire top acts. If you ask me, it should have simply hired Tammy Roche, the former CelebrateErie leader, and let her run the show. She would have raised 10 times what they paid her, and we'd have an exciting festival to look forward to, not this lackluster lineup.

Yes, I used to work on the CE music committee. But this isn't sour grapes. Last year's event came off rather well. I figured the city could pull it off again. Guess not.

This is the 40th anniversary of the Summer of Love, which produced some stellar tunes, including the Beatles "Sgt. Pepper" and "All You Need Is Love." Look for an extensive look back at that time in Sunday's Times-News.

Thursday's Block Party was the biggest of the season, by far. Coconut Joe's -- the new outdoor patio that's part of Boardwalk -- wisely put up video screens, so crowds within the venue and outside it on North Park Row could catch the bands. People spilled out everywhere for Jani Lane and Hammerd. Nights like this make summer in Erie a blast.

Where to hang this weekend? Well, you really should catch Big Bad Voodoo Daddy tonight (Friday) at Summer Festival of the Arts. That's a given.

Presque Isle Downs has scheduled a press conference for Monday to announce a concert at the slots' venue sometime in August.

No word yet on who it'll be but MTR Gaming also owns Mountaineer in West Virginia, which presents concerts throughout the year. The only event scheduled at Mountaineer in August is Howie Mandel with John Mendoza. So, it's possible they've bookied Howie twice and will bring him here, but that's just speculation. Mandel's web site does not list an Erie date.

I"m anxious to see who it'll be, and glad to know MTR is following through on its promise to bring national acts to its venue.

Thursday's Block Party with Man's Room Band and Sam Hyman Band by the ballpark was a blast, and also jammed. You give Erie fun music on a nice summer night and make it free, and presto: Erie hops like Vegas. Even away from the show, people were milling up and down State Street, weaving in and out of Nicky's Pub, Docksider, Papa George's and more.

I couldn't help but think how different this is from back in 1984, when I moved here, and downtown offered the Plymouth, the old Docksider, an adult bookstore and little more. People were afraid to hang out downtown. Sometimes it's just good to note how far we've come.

Don't miss comedian Mike Birbiglia, who plays Jr.'s Lat Laugh July 5-7. He's a regular on the"Bob and Tom Show," where he's talked about the Erie Zoo. So, the Zoo's Scott Mitchell will make a special appearance during the weekend, and Birbiglia plans to donate some serious cash to the zoo. Call 461-0911 for details. Former "SNL" star Colin Quinn is the next big name scheduled; he arrives July 19-21.

That's it for me; I'm out of here, on vacation for two glorious week, which will include Cedar Point, a family reunion, and best of all -- the Police. So this means no blogging for awhile. Check Showcase for concert updates.

Later.