Red Butte concert lineup brings back the '80s and more to Salt Lake City

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Red Butte Garden is offering several blasts from the past in its 2016 summer concert series.

A slate of 30 concerts, announced Wednesday, includes such '80s and '90s acts as Tears for Fears (July 6), Barenaked Ladies with OMD and Howard Jones (July 13), "Weird Al" Yankovic (Aug. 5), Culture Club (Aug. 8), Pat Benatar and Neil Giraldo with Melissa Etheridge (Aug. 17), Wilco (Aug. 30), Blondie (Sept. 7), and Goo Goo Dolls with Collective Soul (Sept. 14).

For fans whose memories stretch back even further, to the '60s and '70s, the lineup includes The Monkees (June 16), Boz Scaggs (July 19), Willie Nelson & Family (July 28), Jackson Browne (Aug. 24) and Bonnie Raitt (Sept. 11).

It's not all nostalgia acts, though. The lineup includes newer artists such as indie-folk bands The Lumineers (May 25) and Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros (June 20), blues-rock guitarist Gary Clark Jr. (July 31) and country singer Kacey Musgraves (Sept. 8).

Two August shows tie for the cheapest ticket on this year's slate: the Utah Symphony on Aug. 11 and the rock/soul/jazz/pop band Lake Street Dive on Aug. 14, each for $32 (for Red Butte members) and $39 (for nonmembers). The most expensive is for Boy George's Culture Club, which will fetch $88 and $95, respectively. The gap in prices between member tickets is $5; tickets are additional $2 more for nonmembers on the day of the show.

Garden officials say many acts request to play Red Butte as a tour stopover between California and Colorado. Because of that — and because of the garden's popularity as a wedding and event venue — none of the 30 shows happens on a Saturday night.

"It's important to us to curate a series with a wide range of genres and artists," said Red Butte's concert promoter, Chris Mautz.

Through the years, the venue's reputation and the enthusiastic crowds have made performing at Red Butte as memorable for the artist as the fans. "We are bringing back some great performing artists who really wanted to return because they love the vibe and setting," Mautz said. "It's nice when Bonnie Raitt has Red Butte Garden as a place she wants to come."

That's not to say that Red Butte doesn't think out of the box, like booking Yankovic. "He's a one of a kind," Mautz said. "And that's never a bad thing."

Tickets go on sale to Red Butte Garden members online via Ticketfly on April 25 at 7 p.m. Tickets to the general public go on sale May 2 at 9 a.m. (Tickets for The Lumineers show went on sale in February and sold out quickly.)

Ticket buyers must register on Ticketfly before making purchases. There are limits on the number of tickets available per show, based on membership level. Garden officials watch out for mass purchases to cut down on scalpers.

Mautz said that a handful of shows will sell out quickly, but "the idea that everything is sold out on the first day is not accurate," he said. "There are tickets available to a lot of our shows."

Here is a full schedule, with bands and ticket prices* for Red Butte Garden members and for nonmembers:

Wednesday, May 25 • The Lumineers, indie-folk band (previously announced) • sold out

Wednesday, June 1 • Buddy Guy and Jonny Lang, blues guitarists • $53/$58

Thursday, June 16 • The Monkees, '60s pop band • $47/$52

Monday, June 20 • The Magnetic Zeros (formerly Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros), indie-folk band, with Preservation Hall Jazz Band • $40/$45

Wednesday, June 29 • Ben Harper & the Innocent Criminals, blues/folk/reggae band (previously announced) • $55/$60

Wednesday, July 6 • Tears for Fears, angsty '80s pop-rock band • $67/$72

Friday, July 8 • case / lang / veirs, collaboration of folk artists Neko Case, k.d. lang and Laura Veirs • $54/59

Wednesday, July 13 • Barenaked Ladies, humorous '90s pop-rock band, with OMD and Howard Jones • $67/$72

Thursday, July 14 • JJ Grey & Mofro, Southern rock/soul/funk/blues jam band, and Josh Ritter, Americana guitarist/singer/songwriter • $39/$44

Tuesday, July 19 • Boz Scaggs, '70s rock/blues singer/songwriter • $45/$50

Tuesday, July 26 • The Avett Brothers, folk-rock band • $50/$55

Thursday, July 28 • Willie Nelson & Family, country legend • $78/$83

Sunday, July 31 • Gary Clark Jr., rock/blues guitarist • $45/$50

Friday, Aug. 5 • "Weird Al" Yankovic, comedy musician (previously announced) • $45/$50

Sunday, Aug. 7 • Tedeschi Trucks Band, blues/rock band, with Los Lobos, Mexican-infused rock band, and North Mississippi Allstars, Southern rock/blues band • $67/$72

Monday, Aug. 8 • Culture Club, '80s New Wave pop band • $88/$93

Tuesday, Aug. 9 • Michael Franti & Spearhead, hip-hop/funk band • $47/$52

Thursday, Aug. 11 • Utah Symphony • $32/$37/$15 (children)

Sunday, Aug. 14 • Lake Street Dive, rock/soul/jazz/pop band, with Gregory Alan Isakov, indie-folk singer-songwriter • $32/$37

Monday, Aug. 15 • Ryan Adams, folk/rock singer-songwriter • $40/$45

Wednesday, Aug. 17 • Pat Benatar & Neil Giraldo, '80s rockers, and Melissa Etheridge, folk/rocker • $68/$73

Thursday, Aug. 18 • Grace Potter, pop/rock singer-guitarist • $46/$51

Wednesday, Aug. 24 • Jackson Browne, '70s pop/rock singer-songwriter • $60/$65

Tuesday, Aug. 30 • Wilco, alt-rock band • $48/$53

Wednesday, Sept. 7 • Blondie, pioneering New Wave band • $65/$70

Thursday, Sept. 8 • Kacey Musgraves, country singer-songwriter • $38/$43

Sunday, Sept. 11 • Bonnie Raitt, blues singer (previously announced), with Richard Thompson Trio, folk-rock guitarist • $66/71

Tuesday, Sept. 13 • NEEDTOBREATHE, Christian pop/rock band (previously announced) • $40/$45

Wednesday, Sept. 14 • Goo Goo Dolls, '90s alt-rock band, with Collective Soul, post-grunge band, and Tribe Society, alt-rock band • $75/$80

Thursday, Sept. 15 • Jason Isbell, Americana/Southern rock singer-guitarist • $35/$40 —

Red Butte Garden's 2016 concert lineup