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A megawatt summer

This weekend's Starfest is a nice warmup for a musical season that heats up with performances by Fleetwood Mac, Norah Jones, the White Stripes and more.

Summer's here, and the time is right for concerts and music festivals. Not just any summer musical festivals, either. This is the summer of the mega show, and some real doozies are making their way to our neck of the woods - or at least within road-trip distance.

Things kick off this weekend with Starfest 2003. Although it's not Team Pop's cup o' tea, the lineup of the Dave Matthews Cover Band - yes, a cover band, but allegedly so good, the guys even have Mr. Matthews' blessing - Florida power poppers Sister Hazel, neo-folkie hitmaker Jewel, Von Ray and several other bands has many folks excited. The event happens Sunday in Vinoy Park in St. Petersburg.

Team Pop is worked up about the return of Lollapalooza, the "alternative rock" fest that first made waves in the early 1990s but called it quits in 1997. The closest it comes to us is West Palm Beach.

Organized by former Jane's Addiction frontman Perry Farrell, Lollapalooza is a bunch of traveling bands, tattoo booths and eclectic crowds. (The tour coincides nicely with the reunion of Jane's Addiction, featured on the Lolla bill. The band is scheduled to release a new album in July.)

Lollapalooza's return inspires us to ponder (a) if it will succeed and (b) what makes such a music fest successful. During Lolla's absence, several fests - including the punk-ska strong Vans Warped Tour, which skates into Vinoy Park in July, and the heavy metal happening Ozzfest, which also comes no closer to us than West Palm Beach this summer - continued to lure huge crowds.

Which makes the argument that a fest need not be all things to all people. It just needs to know its audience. (Which is maybe why Moby's way-too-eclectic Area:2 tour last year fizzled; or maybe nobody's that interested in Moby.)

In other words, a festival will work if it suits its niche. If organizers aim to introduce younger, newer bands, they better pack 'em between bands of a similar genre. It's not brain surgery, really. Don't mix bluegrass with ghetto rap.

It makes fans wonder if that's why the Lollapalooza lineup is less scattered than it once was: Jane's Addiction, the Donnas, Audioslave, Incubus, Queens of the Stone Age, all alt-rock bands, and one hip-hop act, Jurassic 5. (Perhaps Farrell and company paid attention to the Vans and Ozzfest while Lolla was on hiatus?)

One thing's for sure: Despite lagging record sales, the concert scene still thrives. Could it be music lovers would rather spend their hard-earned dough on several hours of live musical mayhem than a little plastic disc? (Pay attention, record labels!)

The labels are all whining about their lagging sales, but some argue that things only look dire in comparison with teen pop's heyday, when kids blew their allowances on Britney and 'N Sync.

At last, the teen pop trend is kaput - let's all let out that collective sigh of relief - and sales are slowing.

We'll find out how loyal the TRL crowd is when the Christina Aguilera/Justin Timberlake tour hits the St. Pete Times Forum in July.

Concerts have always attracted folks of all ages, especially older folks. This is one crowd where you don't stand out if you're a dinosaur.

For the past decade, classic rock acts such as Paul McCartney, Elton John and Billy Joel and the almighty Rolling Stones have ruled the live music industry. This summer, oldtimers such as Fleetwood Mac and James Taylor, both at the St. Pete Times Forum in June, will attract fans of all ages. Neil Young and Lucinda Williams play the venue the same month, as does classic rock vet Boston. The Dead - that's the Grateful Dead minus the late Jerry Garcia - bring their buddy Bob Dylan to the St. Pete Times Forum in July.

It's not all classic rock this summer. Blues rock legend Bo Diddley performs with blues singers Koko Taylor and Clarence "Gatemouth" Brown next month at the Tampa Bay Performing Arts Center as part of the Verizon Music Festival. Old punks are thrilled to hear Los Angeles punk veterans X have reunited and will perform at Jannus Landing in St. Petersburg in June. Brit punks the Buzzcocks perform at Twilight in Ybor City in July.

Not that we won't find a bunch of fresh talent heading our way. Grammy darling Norah Jones performs in Coachman Park in June, also part of the Verizon festival. Neo-blues duo - and sharp dressers - the White Stripes bring their garage rock to the University of South Florida in June. Hip-hop genius Prince Paul and alt-rockers Ash will liven up the State Theatre on two dates in June. Also coming to the Tampa Bay area: Jets to Brazil, Alkaline Trio, Brother Ali and Hot Water Music.

Last year, the U.S. concert industry scored big-time, taking in more than $2.1-billion. Promoters are hoping to continue the trend this summer with sure sellers such as Pearl Jam, which performed in Tampa in April, pop princess Mariah Carey, who visits in September, and the always raucous Aerosmith, which plays West Palm Beach in a double bill with Kiss, also in September.

Here's what else is heading our way this summer, and what musical fare is worth traveling to check out, with Team Pop's recommendations:

B-52's, May 31, Vinoy Park, St. Petersburg.

Prince Paul, June 4, State Theatre, St. Petersburg.

X, June 7, Jannus Landing, St. Petersburg.

Fleetwood Mac, June 8, St. Pete Times Forum, Tampa.

Neil Young and Crazy Horse with Lucinda Williams. June 9, St. Pete Times Forum, Tampa.

Norah Jones, June 11, Coachman Park, Clearwater.

The White Stripes, June 18, USF Recreation Center, Tampa.

The Buzzcocks, Twilight, Ybor City, Tampa. July 18.

Vans Warped Tour, July 25, Vinoy Park, St. Petersburg.

The Dead and Bob Dylan, July 30, St. Pete Times Forum, Tampa.

Chicago, May 30, Vinoy Park, St. Petersburg.

Neville Brothers, June 1, Vinoy Park, St. Petersburg.

James Taylor, June 5, St. Pete Times Forum, Tampa.

Bo Diddley with Koko Taylor and Clarence "Gatemouth" Brown, June 12, Tampa Bay Performing Arts Center, Tampa.

Rippingtons, June 13, Mahaffey Theater, St. Petersburg.

Joe Cocker with Roger McGuinn, June 14, Mahaffey Theater, St. Petersburg.

Jungle Brothers, June 23, Orpheum, Ybor City.

Boston, June 24, St. Pete Times Forum, Tampa.

Queensryche, June 29, Tampa Bay Performing Arts Center, Tampa.

Matchbox Twenty with Sugar Ray and American Hi Fi, July 3, St. Pete Times Forum, Tampa.

Joan Armatrading, July 5, Tampa Bay Performing Arts Center, Tampa.

Christina Aguilera and Justin Timberlake, July 14, St. Pete Times Forum, Tampa.

Brooks & Dunn Wild West Show and Neon Circus, July 26, St. Pete Times Forum, Tampa.

American Idols Live, Aug. 13, St. Pete Times Forum, Tampa.

Ringo Starr, Aug. 16, Mahaffey Theater, St. Petersburg.

Counting Crows, Sept. 6, USF Sun Dome, Tampa.

Mariah Carey, Sept. 6, St. Pete Times Forum, Tampa.

Beck, May 31, Hard Rock Live, Orlando. June 1, Mizner Park Amphitheater, Boca Raton.

Peter Gabriel, June 14, Sound Advice Amphitheater, West Palm Beach.

Summer Sanitarium Tour with Limp Biskit, Linkin Park, others, July 13, Citrus Bowl, Orlando.

National Black Arts Festival, July 18-27, Atlanta, A multidisciplinary festival featuring jazz and hip-hop music, poetry, and "Poetic Opera," a work by hip-hop poet Carl Hancock Rux. Phish, July 26, Atlanta.

Lollapalooza, Aug. 5, Featuring Jane's Addiction, Audioslave, Incubus, Queens of the Stone Age, Jurassic 5, the Donnas and more. 2 p.m. Coral Sky Amphitheatre, West Palm Beach.

Aerosmith/Kiss, Sept. 12, Sound Advice Amphitheater, West Palm Beach.

LET'S ALL GO ON A FIELD TRIP TO THIS ONE (like, on a bus, driven, say, by Richard Pryor, sort of like that 1981 movie Bustin' Loose!):

All Tomorrow's Parties Festival, June 19-22, Los Angeles (curated by Matt Groening, creator of The Simpsons), features the reunion of Captain Beefheart's Magic Band (minus the captain, Don Van Vliet), Wire, the Boredoms, Coldcut, Johnny Dowd, the Melvins, Mission of Burma, Kool Keith, Fantomas, Melt-Banana, Yo La Tengo, Le Tigre and the Fall.