Frank Sinatra

Beneath the Big Shell: Hollywood Bowl Summer Reveal

Rocking under the stars is not so far off.

You can keep an eye on a summer countdown app, or continually visit sites touting warm-weather vacations, or go the analog route and hang a paper calendar on your wall (always a lovely idea, especially if it contains photography involving castles, kittens, or some combination of the two).

However you square it, summer can seem way off in the distance, save that one Tuesday in February when the Hollywood Bowl pulls back the curtain for a little look-see at its impressive June-to-September line-up.

That look-see arrived, like a musician keeping time (so much more appropriate than clockwork in this case), on Tuesday, Feb. 10. Hints had been hinted at, as hints often are, but the full complement of performers is up.

Who'll be under the iconic shell playing to the stars above, Highland Avenue, and those in attendance? Ed Sheeran, who recently rocked with ELO at the Grammys, will be there, as will Harry Connick, Jr., Death Cab for Cutie, John Fogerty, Heart, Pink Martini, Michael Franti and Spearhead, and Grace Jones.

There are some cinematic and animated offerings in the bunch -- "Back to the Future" and "E.T.: The Extraterrestrial" will get their soundtrack-splashy due, and "Bugs Bunny at the Symphony" turns 25.

Both Bob Marley and Frank Sinatra will be honored via a bevy of performing performers, the retro-'80s-esque vibes vibe strong with The B-52s and Psychedelic Furs, and Monty Python's "SPAMALOT" is the early August musical selection (one that always garners quite the headlining cast; stay tuned for who will be filling the clanking medieval armor.)

And, as always, "The Sound of Music" sing-a-long will be oh-so-attended, oh-so-sung-a-long to, and oh-so-starry. Can you believe it is coming back around? You probably just stowed your dirndl from last year.

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While tickets for some special shows, like Ed Sheeran, go on sale soon-ish (ish meaning before spring), you can count on the first Saturday in May as the day you can buy your single tickets. (Another time-honored Bowl tradition, the first Saturday in May to complement a Tuesday in February announcement.) 

But if you want to hop into a subscription dealie, you'll hop into your seat ahead of that.

Keep counting the days to summer, and maybe, in addition to your kitten calendar, you can tack-up your Hollywood Bowl concert picks, just to keep the anticipation humming.

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