Summertime and the bands be touring'

Another summer bored of the humdrum of your dad's lawnmower and the bees buzzing in your ears? Check out some of the hot music tours coming to a city near you this summer. From folk to rap to Lollapalooza, you're sure to find something that beats that pesky lifeguard whistle.

Lollapalooza, which Lollapalooza.com calls "the legendary multi-artist festival that forever changed the face of music," will be on tour this summer after a multi-year hiatus. The tour includes such popular alternative bands as Jane's Addiction, Audioslave, Incubus, and Jurassic 5, as well as some weird bands with cool names like Bellydance Superstars. Another tour chock-full of stars is Rock the Mic, a group of rap artists including Jay-Z, 50 Cent, Busta Rhymes, and Missy Elliot.

If you are up for some of that feel-good summa-time salsa, Santana tours May through the end of September. For all you old time kick-backs, Earth, Wind and Fire starts its tour at the end of May and goes through the end of August, with The Eagles touring from May through July.

Yearning for the classics? OzzFest 2003 kicks off its tour June 28 and screeches across the country until Aug. 28. The tour this summer includes such fine artists as Korn, Marilyn Manson, and Disturbed. Aretha Franklin, who does not belong at Ozzfest but is indeed a classic, goes on tour from June through October, and will be belting her way all across North America. Finally, Fleetwood Mac, another fine classic, will be making an appearance in the "US of A" between May 9 and Aug. 15.

There's a bit of pop in all of us, even at Tufts. So, I will spare you the embarrassment of asking. Yes, Christina Aguilera will be on tour with Justin Timberlake (sorry, Britney); I'm sure you're all quite relieved. And Dave Matthews, anyone? Come on, what's a summer without Dave? You won't have to find out if you buy tickets sometime between June and November.

Did you love Oh Brother, Where Art Thou? Well, Allison Krauss, a prominent country singer who was key in the movie's soundtrack, will be touring with Jerry Douglas and her band, Union Station, from June through early September. She has a sweet, haunting voice and a soulful stage presence, or at least so I hear.

Also, James Taylor is currently touring and will continue to do so through the fall. If you still haven't gotten enough of country-folk, check out the oh-so-anti-war Dixie Chicks, whose World Tour kicks off this month, or the Newport Folk Festival, running Aug. 15, 16 and 17 of this year. Lyle Lovett, Aimee Mann, and Ani DiFranco will be among the performers.

Lastly, if you're one of those straight-up rock kids, REM tours June through October and Pearl Jam tours May through November. And if you like whiny men better than angry ones, Counting Crows will be touring with John Mayer from July through September.

And if none of that appeals to you, there's always the cool, gentle silence that marks the absence of lecturing voices.