Buzz Blog

The Red Butte Garden summer concert lineup boasts 21 shows, and as per usual, there’s a little something for everybody.---

Among those 21 shows, music fans will find something old (Steve Miller Band and Peter Frampton, making their first Red Butte visits), something new (Fleet Foxes, Sharon Jones & the Dap Kings), something familiar (regular visitors Lyle Lovett, Bela Fleck) and something a little out of the ordinary (the ultra-suave Pink Martini, the unabashed party-starters Michael Franti & Spearhead).

The 21 shows follows up a similar-sized slate last summer, the first such ambitious bout of booking for Red Butte. Chris Mautz, who books the talent for the series, said it’s been a natural evolution for the Garden stage, which has grown from just a half-dozen shows or so in the late ‘90s to the current series’ size.

“It’s been an authentic and real evolution of the series, and it’s kind of grown really naturally,” Mautz said. “We haven’t tried to force anything. We’ve responded to, and sometimes created, opportunities to have these shows.

“It’s diverse, eclectic and relevant, and that’s helped people want to come to these shows. And we’ve continued to add different audiences along the way.”

I’m particularly excited about the Fleet Foxes (who last played Red Butte opening for Wilco), Sharon Jones & The Dap Kings (who killed at the Twilight Concert Series last summer), Josh Ritter (who should be a mega-star) and k.d. lang (who, if you’ve never seen her, puts on a killer show. That voice is unreal).

Below is the complete lineup. Full season ticket packages are available beginning April 11 at 9 a.m. Individual show tickets for garden members go on sale April 18 at 9 a.m. And tickets go on sale for the general public May 2 at 9 a.m. Visit the Red Butte Garden Website for details on how to become a member and ticket sales.

The 2011 Red Butte Garden Summer Concert Season

The Moody Blues (Sunday, May 29)

Big Head Todd & the Monsters w/Toots & the Maytals (Sunday, June 12)

Cake (Thursday, June 16)

Buddy Guy w/Mavis Staples (Friday, June 17)

Ani DiFranco w/ Greg Brown (Sunday, June 19)

Sheryl Crow (Friday, June 24)

Pink Martini (Wednesday, July 6)

Michael Franti & Spearhead (Thursday, July 14)

Sharon Jones & the Dap-Kings (Sunday, July 17)

Josh Ritter & the Royal City Band w/The Devil Makes Three, Blind Pilot (Tuesday, July 19)

Fleet Foxes (pictured) (Friday, July 22)

Steve Miller Band (Sunday, July 24)

Bruce Hornsby & The Noisemakers w/Bela Fleck & the Flecktones (Wednesday, July 27)

Lyle Lovett and His Large Band (Sunday, July 31)

k.d. lang and the Siss Boom Bang (Tuesday, August 2)

G. Love & Special Sauce w/Trombone Shorty & Orleans Avenue (Thursday, August 11)

Jonny Lang w/JJ Grey & Mofro (Sunday, August 14)

Gipsy Kings featuring Nicolas Reyes and Tonino Baliardo (Tuesday, August 16)

Peter Frampton (Wednesday, August 17)

Return to Forever IV (Chick Correa, Stanley Clarke, Lenny White, Franke Gambale, Jean-Luc Ponty) w/Zappa Plays Zappa (Sunday, August 28)

Alison Krauss & Union Station featuring Jerry Douglas (Sunday, Sept. 4)