Summer is a great season for music.

Once the weather warms, people will have countless opportunities to see live music in the region.

In local bars, parks, theaters and fairgrounds, the music will be turned up all summer. Here are just a few of the best places to see live music this summer. Keep an ear and an eye to the Austin Daily Herald for many more upcoming concerts.

Paramount Theatre: 125 Fourth Ave. NE, Austin. Cost: Varied per show

A slice of the Twin Cities will be coming to the Paramount Theatre June 4.

The Current Road Trip is coming to Austin, and Twin Cities rock group Tapes ‘n Tapes will headline the show.

“This is a way that we can give thanks to them for being such a great support,” said MPR’s Tara Schlosser.

This will be The Current’s third road trip to small towns around Minnesota, the previous three being Jeremy Messersmith in Duluth, Roma di Luna in Mankato and Dessa in Rochester. The series is a thank you by Minnesota Public Radio to loyal listeners around the state.

The Austin concert will be filmed and posted on www.thecurrent.org.

Paramount General Manager Scott Anderson said it’s cool to have the great radio station come down to little Austin as a destination.

“I’m really excited about it,” Anderson said.

“They’re way good,” he added. “It’ll be really fun.”

The road trip is the kick off to a jam-packed summer at the Paramount Theatre featuring polka, rock ‘n’ roll, a salute to the 1960s and more.

“We’ve got some great rock ‘n’ roll coming,” Anderson said.

• June 4: Tapes ‘n Tapes (The Current’s Road Show)

• June 9: Home Free (an a cappella group)

• June 15: Suminar  (a folk and dance group that does Indonesian music and dance; free show sponsored by Austin Public Library)

• July 8: A polka fest with at least three bands

• July 16: Throw the Fight, Bad City, Heaven’s Gate, and Senseless Beauty (four metal bands by concert promoter)

• July 20:  Dallas Clark (a teenage country singer)

• July 21: Songs of Hope (summer camp based out of St. Paul of about 30 children who perform and host workshops)

• July 22: Los Outlaws

• July 23: Austin Grand Ol Oprey Show.

• July 26: Tonic Sol Fa (an a capella group)

• July 30: Age of Aquarius (songs from the summer of love performed by the DC Drifters and friends)

Aug. 5: Sean Benz (Johnny Cash impersonator)

• Aug. 22: The Lettermen

• Aug. 27: Doug Wood and the Wild Spirit Band (hosted by Jay C. Hormel Nature Center as the closing to bagpipe walk at the nature center. All the money will go to the cancer society)

Delmar Ramaker
Memorial Concert for a Cure

Date: Aug. 27 Jeff and Georgia Ramaker’s Farm, Lyle (subject to change)
Cost: $20 in advance, $25 the day of. All proceeds for Lyle Area Cancer Auction.

A number of bands will croon for a cure in Lyle this summer.

Jeff and Georgia Ramaker will host the Delmar Ramaker Memorial Concert for the Cure Aug. 27. Six Mile Grove and Bob Wooten, Johnny Cash’s former guitarist, will headline the show and additional acts are likely to be announced.

“They put on a great show,” Jeff said.

The concert was started in honor of Jeff’s brother, who died of colon cancer in 1998.

A concert was held last year at the VFW with Gwen Sebastian and another show was held at the Ramaker farm with Leland Martin as a way to build a fund balance for the event. The Ramaker’s hope to grow the event into an annual weekend concert with camping and more bands.

“It was pretty successful for what we had,” Jeff said.

Sponsorship dollars will be key to this year’s show, but Jeff said they’re looking to raise money for the concert to sustain itself, with the proceeds going to the Lyle Area Cancer Auction.

“That’s our ultimate goal: To make it self-sufficient and not rely on sponsorship dollars,” he said.

The Ramaker’s are still looking for additional sponsors and performers. Those interested can call Jeff and Georgia at 507-325-1284

Freeborn County Fair

Dates: Aug. 2-7
Cost: $9 admission to fair; free grandstand is first come, first serve; reserve tickets $25

Rock ‘n’ roll legends are coming.

The Freeborn County Fair’s grandstand has become the envy of many small-town fairs. This year won’t disappoint. The Beach Boys are the headlining act at the Freeborn County Fair this August. The Rock ‘N’ Roll Hall of Famers will perform Wednesday, Aug. 3.

The grandstand is free, but general admission to the fair will be $9. Unreserved seats in the grandstand on a first-come, first-serve basis.

“It’s a good deal at $9,” Woitas said. “To see The Beach Boys, typically you’re going to pay $70 if not more.”

Lineup:

• Aug. 2: Jerrod Neimann, up-and-coming country artist who was nominated for the Country Music Association’s “New Artist of the Year” in 2010.

• Aug. 3: The Beach Boys, elected to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1988.

• Aug. 4: Larry Gatlin & the Gatlin Brothers, who had a No. 1 hit with “All the Gold in California.”

• Aug. 5: Joe Nichols, a country music act with 14 top 40 hits on the Billboard Hot Country Songs charts.

• Aug. 6: Finger Eleven, an alternative rock band.

Riverside Concerts in Rochester - Photo provided

Riverside Concerts

Location: Rochester Mayo Park, behind Mayo Civic Center.
Dates: Sunday’s July 10 – Aug. 21.
Cost: Free

Riverside Concerts are looking to bring in big names to celebrate the concert series’ 20th anniversary.

“It being the 20th anniversary, we’ve tried to pull out all the stops,” said Christ Alcott, assistant general manager.

A typical year for the Riverside Concerts consists of seven shows with the final performer being a nationally known name. In the past, groups like the Guess Who, Herman’s Hermits, Kansas and 38 Special have headlined the series.

But in honor of the anniversary, Alcott said all seven shows will consist of nationally known acts.

The concert lineup will be released June 16.

Despite what promises to be an exciting summer in Rochester, the anniversary is not likely to start a precedent for the future.

“It’s not something that we would do every year,” Alcott said.

They’ll still have the big finale with a few known names here and there.

The concert series has been more than a series of concerts in Rochester.

“It’s more of a social event,” he said. “The music is secondary.”

The concert series has proved a good tourism draw for the city.

“It’s been a feather that’s been talking about in the cap of Rochester,” he said.

Riverside Concerts doesn’t limit music to the seven Sunday shows. The Buckinghams will perform during a celebration to release the concert series lineup at 6:30 p.m., Thursday June 16. Three other free concerts will follow featuring music from around the world on Thursdays on Aug. 11 to 25.

Eleven at Seven Concert Series

Location: Central Park, Owatonna.
Dates: 7 p.m. Thursdays, June 2 – Aug. 11
Cost: Free

Rochester isn’t the only area community offering free entertainment this summer.

Owatonna will bring back a free concert series in the community’s central park this summer.

“It just is a nice draw for an evening with family,” Kaye Fransen, who works in client services at the Owatonna Chamber of Commerce.

While the concerts may not attract big names like Rochester, Fransen described the concerts as nice, clean entertainment for an entire family to enjoy.

Concerts

• June 9, 23; July 7, 28: Owatonna Community Band

• June 2: Sunday Punch Ladies (A barbershop quartet)

• June 16: Floral Sofa (contemporary folk)

• June 30: Mischief and Mayhem (classic rock, pop and country)

• July 14: Tuition Daddies (jazz standards and popular music)

• July 21: Cabin of Love from 6-7, Tim Lemmems from 7-8

• Aug. 4: Mark Cameron Band (blues, rock and acoustics)

• Aug. 11: Dunnell Lenort (country oldies and gospel)