Ky-Mani Marley headlines the 14th annual Bayfront Reggae & World Music Festival in Duluth.

It’s a narrow season — mid June to mid September — but music promoters in the region do their best to fill the open air with tunes while weather permits. This year’s shaping up to be as jam-packed with giggage as ever, with more than 130 outdoor shows in the region.

The busiest stages are still at Bayfront Park and Big Top Chautauqua, but a wide array of performances dot the map at parks, plazas and campgrounds throughout northeast Minnesota and northwest Wisconsin. Examples include Bayside Sounds, Chester Creek Concert Series, Lucius Woods Summer Concerts, Hot Summer Nights Concert Series, Concerts on the Pier and City Sounds on the Library Plaza.

There are also numerous one-off weekend shows like Rock Fest in Cadotte, Hodag Country Music Festival in Rhinelander and the Radio Waves Music Festival in Grand Marais.

Below is Perfect Duluth Day’s annual peek at some anticipated highlights.

June 21-22
Lake Ave Live 2019
Lake Avenue Restaurant and Bar
The yearly regional-music two-nighter in the DeWitt-Seitz Marketplace parking lot in Canal Park returns with performances by the 4onthefloor, the Black-eyed Snakes and more.

June 22
George Thorogood and the Destroyers
Grand Casino Hinckley Amphitheater
This guy is bad. Like, so bad he plays a bunch of songs about it. Caution is advised.

June 26
Lake Street Dive
Big Top Chautauqua
The jazzy, poppy combo plays the Big Top.

July 5
Texasota Independence Jam
Island Lake Park
Emily Haavik and the 35s perform alongside several others, including the Hill Country Hustlers sharing headlining duties with Duluth’s rock/country/soul project Steven James and the Revival.

July 5
Bayfront Country Jam
Bayfront Festival Park
Topics to be discussed: boots, trucks, beer and global geopolitics.* (*global geopolitics discussion not guaranteed.)

July 6
Trampled by Turtles
Bayfront Festival Park
The homegrown bluegrass heroes return with several other acts.

July 7
311 and Dirty Heads
Bayfront Festival Park
Chill! The “Down” boys come to town. Gates open at 4:20, brah. (For real.)

July 9
Rodrigo y Gabriela
Big Top Chautauqua
The acoustic shred duo performs.

July 10
Sarah Krueger
Glensheen Mansion
The singer-songwriter performs as part of Glensheen’s “Concerts on the Pier” series.

July 14
Steve Miller Band and Marty Stuart
Bayfront Festival Park
Joker, smoker and midnight toker Miller (aka “Maurice”) headlines.

July 20
Bayfront Reggae and World Music Festival
Bayfront Festival Park
The 14th annual fest lineup includes Ky-Mani Marley, Demarco, Kabaka Pyramid, Olatunji, Samantha Moon, Woodblind and DJ Sound of Funjun.

July 27
Brother Ali
Earth Rider Brewery
The Minneapolis rapper brings his science to Superior.

Aug. 2
O.A.R.
Bayfront Festival Park
The pop quintet performs in support of its ninth album, The Mighty.

Aug. 16
Wild Waters Music Fest
Bayfront Festival Park
Atmosphere, Low, Doomtree, Cloud Cult and more perform in a show organized by Save the Boundary Waters.

Aug. 29 and 30
Brandi Carlile
Big Top Chautauqua
The three-time Grammy winner returns to Bayfield for back-to-back nights under the big top. She’s touring in support of her sixth studio album, 2018’s By the Way, I Forgive You.