Great Lakes

Ravinia Festival, the Chicago area concert series that claims to be America's longest running music festival, announced its popular music schedule, supplementing the previously released Chicago Symphony Orchestra repertory season schedule.

The most in-demand tickets could be for two performances by Sting backed by the Royal Philharmonic Concert Orchestra as well as shows by Crosby, Stills & Nash, Sheryl Crow, and Carrie Underwood.

But there are a huge number of major stars in every popular music genre, including Backstreet Boys, Big Head Todd And The Monsters, Bobby McFerrin, Buddy Guy, Cheap Trick, Colbie Caillat, Dave Brubeck Quartet, Earth, Wind & Fire, Garrison Keillor, George Benson, Jethro Tull, John Hiatt & The Combo, Nancy Wilson, Nelly Furtado, Peter and Paul, Poi Dog Pondering, Procol Harum, Sheryl Crow, Soulive, Squeeze, Steve Martin and The Steep Canyon Rangers, The B-52s, The Beach Boys, The Bodeans, The Cat Empire, The Four Tops, The Levon Helm Band, The Moody Blues, The Ramsey Lewis Trio, The Swell Season, The Temptations, Train, and Vince Gill.

The producer of one of the most prominent city music festivals, Milwaukee's Summerfest, has put skin on the bones of its previously announced plan to launch an alternative rock festival for June 4-5 on the Summerfest grounds.

Milwaukee World Festival Inc. announced that festival now has a name, Verge Music Festival, a preliminary website, and an initial lineup headed by indie favorite Weezer.

The move gives fans from around the Lake Michigan area an alternative (or a complement) to Chicago's massive Lollapalooza and helps to fill a gap left by the demise of Rothbury across the lake. It also gives Milwaukee World a brand extension for Summerfest, which it claims is the "world's largest music festival and which opens three weeks later on June 24.

The festival will feature three stages of music along with action sports, shopping and other attractions.

Besides Weezer, the initial lineup includes notable acts Three Days Grace, AFI, She & HIm, Rogue Wave, The Raveonettes, Cold War Kids, Eagles of Death Metal and Crash Kings.

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The full outlines of Pitchfork 2010 are beginning to shape up with a dozen new names added to the 11 already named. The most prominent additions are Toronto indie rockers Broken Social Scene; Panda Bear, the solo project by Animal Collective member Noah Lennox; veteran punk blues band The Jon Spencer Blues Explosion; and underground hip-hop artist El-P.

Also newly named were Titus Andronicus, Bear in Heaven, The Smith Westerns, Dàm-Funk, Girls, CAVE and Allá. They join previously announced Pavement, Modest Mouse, LCD Soundsystem, St. Vincent and more for the influential Chicago indie festival, which runs July 16-18 in the city's Union Park.

Visit FP's Pitchfork page for artist breakouts and the festival webpage for all the details. Three day passes are already sold out, so don't hesitate to get single-day tickets if you plan to go.

Kelly Clarkson, The Bangles, The Go-Go’s, Courtyard Hounds (Emily Robison and Martie Maguire of the Dixie Chicks), Martina McBride, Suzanne Vega, Anjulie, Anya Marina, Jesca Hoop, Kate Miller-Heidke, Lucy Schwartz, Miranda Lee Richards, Nikki Jean and The Rescues

The returning Lilith Tour, already boasting an eye-popping, genre-busting lineup of top female artists, added a bakers dozen new acts, including some major names.

Kelly Clarkson, The Bangles, The Go-Gos, Martina McBride, Suzanne Vega and the newly formed Court Yard Hounds with Dixie Chicks sisters Emily Robison and Martie Maguire top the second round list.

Also named wer Anjulie, Anya Marina, Jesca Hoop, Kate Miller-Heidke, Lucy Schwartz, Miranda Lee Richards and Nikki Jean and The Rescues.

The total lineup now numbers 63 and includes other star names like tour founder Sarah McLachlan, Sheryl Crow, Mary J. Blige, Miranda Lambert, Colbie Caillat, Ke$ha, Emmylou Harris, Sugarland and Sara Bareilles.