Summer concert preview: Ranking every 2023 Blossom Music Center show
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Celebrate the 20th anniversary of "Get Rich or Die Tryin'" at Blossom this summer. Photo: Dave Simpson/WireImage
If there's one thing Northeast Ohio music fans can count on each summer, it's a packed schedule at Blossom Music Center.
Why it matters: This year's lineup features an array of modern hitmakers and nostalgia acts totaling 31 shows that could draw more than a half-million people to Cuyahoga Falls.
Driving the news: The season kicks off with former One Direction member Louis Tomlinson's concert tonight and Dierks Bentley on Saturday.
- We ranked all 31 concerts at Blossom, from the must-sees to ones you can skip:
Anticipated returns
1. The Cure (June 11)
2. 50 Cent (Aug. 6)
3. Duran Duran (Sept. 10)
4. Robert Plant & Alison Krauss (June 28)
The intrigue: Nothing builds anticipation like time. Duran Duran last played Northeast Ohio in 2011. Both Plant & Krauss and The Cure (whose Blossom show is sold out) haven't been here since 2008. 50 Cent will perform in the area for the first time since 2005.
Country carousel
5. Shania Twain (June 30)
6. Jason Aldean (July 20)
7. Eric Church (June 24)
8. Dierks Bentley (June 3)
9. Outlaw Music Festival (Aug. 11)
10. Jelly Roll (Sept. 30)
The intrigue: This summer, country fans get everything from Rock & Roll Hall of Famer Willie Nelson's Outlaw Music Festival to country rap star Jelly Roll.
Pop-punk picks
11. Fall Out Boy (July 18)
12. The Offspring with Simple Plan & Sum 41 (Aug. 22)
13. Yellowcard (July 12)
The intrigue: Pop-punk's nostalgia factor remains high with genre kings Fall Out Boy, Yellowcard celebrating the 20th anniversary of "Ocean Avenue" and Sum 41's farewell tour.
'90s throwback
14. Weezer (June 16)
15. TLC & Shaggy (June 21)
16. Barenaked Ladies (July 21)
17. Nickelback (Aug. 9)
18. Matchbox Twenty (June 13)
19. Goo Goo Dolls (Aug. 20)
The intrigue: Elder millennials and Gen-Xers get to relive their 1990s glory days with big hits and plenty of beer.
Young guns
20. Lil Durk (Aug. 16)
21. Louis Tomlinson (June 1)
The intrigue: Tomlinson released his second album in November. Durk dropped his latest effort last week. Both will draw enthusiastic young crowds looking to party.
Proven performers
22. Brandi Carlile (Sept. 16)
23. Tedeschi Trucks Band (July 19)
24. Foreigner (July 24)
The intrigue: Carlile has racked up Grammy Awards in recent years, while Tedeschi Trucks Band ranks as one of the best live acts in the business. Foreigner gives older music fans something to pump their fists to.
The leftovers
25. Disturbed (Aug. 27)
26. The Used & Pierce the Veil (June 17)
27. Mudvayne (Aug. 4)
28. 5 Seconds of Summer (Aug. 25)
29. Big Time Rush (July 17)
30. Pentatonix (Aug. 17)
31. Shinedown (Sept. 6)
The intrigue: Not the most buzzworthy performers on this list, but fans get everything from metal and pop to Pentatonix's sweet a cappella sound.