Music Notes First Avenue begins making summer festival plans

Our music scene is a busy place, with lots happening. If you don’t obsessively visit the local blogs, alt-weeklies, and other outlets, you could miss something important! That’s okay—we’re here to help with a weekly roundup of some of the more enticing news happening around town.

• Tired of making those arduous treks in cramped cars and subsisting on nothing but beef jerky just to attend an outdoor music festival like Bonnaroo or Coachella? While no formal plans have been made, First Avenue has started working on a summer festival to be held at Parade Stadium in Parade Park after the Parks And Recreation Board gave the concert the initial go-ahead. While the first year might end up just being back-to-back concerts, organizers hope an early success could push the event toward being more like Pitchfork in future years.

• This Sunday marks the one-year anniversary of the death of Michael Larson, a.k.a. Eyedea, one of the local hip-hop scene’s preeminent talents. To commemorate his death, Larson’s mother has organized a dedication ceremony concert at St. Paul’s Cherokee Park, which will also double as a fundraiser for the park, one of Eyedea’s childhood hangouts. Performers are being kept secret, but considering Eyedea was signed to the Rhymesayers record label, expect plenty of that ilk to be present.

• On a list of inexplicable things about Minnesota, the amount of foam-at-the-mouth hysteria caused by the annual Cities 97 Sampler might be at the top. This year’s disc, which features live performances from the radio station’s Studio C will include tracks from the likes of Adele, Florence And The Machine, Mumford & Sons, Ray LaMontagne, and Cities 97 standby David Gray. The set will be released on Nov. 17 at Target stores and will retail for $25.97, although, as usual, you’ll probably have to camp outside in frigid temperatures to get it. All proceeds go to local charities, which is lovely, but all that trouble for a Sara Bareilles track? We’ll never understand.

• Speaking of big names, the Twin Cities has its fair share of big-name concerts this week. Rising art rocker Zola Jesus takes the stage at the 7th Street Entry tonight, which will also see ambient dream-pop superstar Neon Indian on Thursday night. The First Ave. main stage will host controversial hip-hop collective Odd Future on Wednesday night, while Dum Dum Girls will play the Turf Club the same night for those who might be a bit scared by Tyler, The Creator. If all that sounds a bit too much like Pitchfork for you, Keith Urban and Jake Owen can bring you back down to Earth with their Target Center appearance this coming Saturday.