Dead & Co., despite their name, never say die — just like the Goonies. One of many reincarnations of the Grateful Dead features Mickey Hart, Bob Weir and Bill Kreutzmann. A surprising addition in the touring band is John Mayer, who’s probably known for his songs “Your Body Is a Wonderland,” “Gravity” and his short stint in a skit on the Chappelle’s Show. Mayer has received some props from blues musician Keb’ Mo’, who tells the Eugene Weekly that it was a “pimp move.” He adds: “Who’d have thought of that … I think it’s an honest move. He’s a real musician. He’s not a joke.” Not to mention the Dead & Co. will be one of the best things to happen to Autzen Stadium since Marcus Mariota. Dead & Co. play Autzen Stadium 7 pm Saturday, June 30. — Henry Houston

The best thing golf ever did was to inspire the creation of disc golf. If you love playing disc golf, you can put it to use for charity by registering for Disc Golf With CASA (Court Appointed Special Advocates). Attendees can play a fun tournament that will benefit the nonprofit that works to provide a voice for abused and neglected children in Lane County by working with the courts and child protective services to find safe, permanent homes. At the tournament, you can compete in tournaments for prizes — and bragging rights. Tournaments are organized by skill level. For an additional $5, you can also throw with a pro, a way to gain a lot of experience while helping kids. The tournament is followed by food, drink and celebration. Registration fees include a swag bag, disc and food and drink that will follow after your game of either 9 or 18 holes.

Check in starts at 9:30 am and the tournament at 10 am. Disc Golf with CASA is Saturday, June 30, at Westmoreland Disc Golf Course, 1680 W. 18th Avenue. $15-$25.  — Henry Houston

Every year, Britt Festival brings in well-known artists, and this year is no different — with a line up that has something for everyone. One highlight is all the works that the Britt Orchestra will showcase, including a celebration of Leonard Bernstein’s 100th birthday. Founded in 1963, the orchestra is led by Music Director Teddy Abrams and consists of 90 musicians who come to Rogue Valley just for the Britt Fest. The festival also attracts rock and pop musicians, such as Ann Wilson of Heart, alternative rock legends Primus with Mastodon and Portugal. The Man. Rising star Father John Misty, who performs July 20, just released his newest — and fourth — album God’s Favorite Customer. Britt Festival, located at 350 First Street, Jacksonville, takes over summer. Performances started June 12 and run until Sept. 14. For complete venue information and artist line up, visit brittfest.org. — Henry Houston

Maybe you’ve seen a huge parade, but what about The Eug Parade? The parade starts with the Pet Promenade — a procession of humans and their pet overlords celebrating their right to be in downtown Eugene — at Monroe Park at 10 am and disperses at Broadway and Charnelton. The human side of the parade will have a theme called “Spinnin’ Our Wheels,” off which entries will base their costumes if they want to take home prizes. However, all entries must be non-motorized and human powered — so if you’re doing something related to Pixar’s Cars franchise, you’ll have to rethink your entry. But creativity has its rewards. “Best of” winners get $100. Parade categories are: marching units, special features, unique non-motorized vehicles, animal units and musical bands. All entries must be received by Friday, July 13.

Not interested in attending the parade? Keep in mind there will be street closures. The Eugene Parade begins at the Park Blocks (8th Avenue and Oak Street) 10am Sunday, July 29. FREE. — Henry Houston

Name a better trio than sun, fair food and live entertainment. The Lane County Fair will certainly bring two of those this year. Fairgoers can expect classic fair foods — barbecue, elephant ears and ice cream — as well as thrill rides and the always-adorable pig races. The 2018 Lane County Fair Concert Series will end each night with entertainment of yesteryear. Night Ranger wrote “(You Can Still) Rock in America” as a reminder that we could still rock during the 1980s. The jury is still out whether we can rock in Trump’s America. Funnyman Bill Engvall, the guy who likes to give people their sign, will bring his well-loved jokes to the stage. The series also includes Melissa Etheridge, High Valley and Trace Adkins. Lane County Fair runs Wednesday, July 18, through Sunday, July 22, at the Lane County Fairgrounds, 796 W. 13th Avenue, atthefair.com, $3-$74. — Henry Houston

The only thing that grows more than Oregon grass is the amount of festival celebration during summer. For just a few dollars at admission, you can have access to a full day of entertainment, unique food and arts and crafts. The 58th Annual Scandinavian Festival in Junction City is a way to introduce people to the cultures of the Northern European people. The festival does so by dedicating each day to a different nationality: Thursday is Norwegian Day, Friday is Swedish Day, Saturday is Danish Day and Sunday is Finnish Day. The festival will feature three stages of entertainment, including folk dancers, demonstrations and music. Best of all, the festival will have food from Scandinavian countries, especially for those who have a hankering for æbleskivers (pancake puffs) or lutfisk. The 58th Annual Scandinavian Festival will be held in downtown Junction City at 6th and Greenwood and runs 10 am to 10 pm Thursday, Aug. 9, through Saturday, Aug. 11, and 10 am to 8pm on Sunday, Aug. 12. — Henry Houston

Picture yourself sitting on a patio listening to some of the finest jazz music in Oregon as the wind sweeps some of the McKenzie River coolness across your face on a warm, summer day. Roaring Rapids Pizza Company is making this a reality with the 2018 Roaring Rapids Pizza Company Summer Music Fest. The summer concert series will invite musicians from the Eugene-Springfield area and Portland to their riverside patio to showcase music in an accessible and relaxed environment. Musical groups Jessie Smith’s Big Band, a collection of Northwest jazz musicians, who play their own big band music led by local alto sax player Jessika Smith. The Portland Jazz Composers Ensemble, consisting of nine seasoned musicians, will take over the patio, as well as Roger Woods’ Octet, which will feature longtime Eugene saxophonist and writer and arranger Roger Woods with seven all-star friends. Roaring Rapids Pizza Company’s Summer Music Fest runs Tuesday, July 10, through Thursday, Aug. 30. Roaring Rapids is located at 4006 Franklin Boulevard. See the full line up at roaringrapidspizza.com. FREE. — Henry Houston

Summer is a wonderful time in Eugene for many reasons. A big one is the abundance of fresh local fruit available. Instead of stealing blackberries off of your neighbors’ bushes, check out local farms in the area offering u-pick opportunities. Along with being able to buy already farmed produce from markets within farms, u-pick let’s you go out into the field and collect your own. Some u-pick options include strawberries, apples and peaches. Some farms also offer u-pick flowers so you can create your own bouquets for loved ones. A few farms in the area offering u-pick are Detering Orchards, in Harrisburg, Ambrosia Farm, in Veneta, and Lone Pine Farms, in Junction City — and a ton more. Make sure to contact farms ahead of time to confirm what u-pick options they are currently offering, as offerings change throughout the season. — Meerah Powell

This year’s Pickathon Music Festival features a diverse lineup that includes Tinariwen, Broken Social Scene, Shakey Graves, Sunflower Bean, Joshua Hedley and Built To Spill. Tinariwen, a band whose homeland, which is located between northeastern Mali and southern Algeria and has become a conflict zone, are on tour supporting their new album, Elwan. Their music combines gritty guitar sounds and polyrhythmic percussive beats. The group says they are guitar poets and soul rebels from the southern Sahara armed with guitars. Now that’s rock ’n’ roll. The festival also features The Blind Boys of Alabama, who have been around since the late 1930s and toured throughout the South during the Jim Crow era. Both of these groups will fill the weekend with rebel and soul music. Pickathon Music Festival runs from Aug. 3-5, in Happy Valley. For ticket and other information, visit pickathon.com — Henry Houston

We owe our obsession with 4th of July celebrations to John Adams, who, in his letters to his wife, excitedly said generations after theirs would celebrate the day. Of course, we’ve ignored most of his other writings, but, hell, you only get to blow stuff up once a year. And the Eugene-Springfield area has you covered. Start the day off with the 2018 Aquafina Butte to Butte. For just $35 (which includes a T-shirt) you can enjoy the freedom of a 6.26-mile closed course that runs from Spencer Butte to Skinner Butte. There’s nothing more American than a rodeo. After your run, ditch those running shoes for some cowboy boots and watch some of the best buck around with a bull at the Eugene Pro Rodeo (90751 Prairie Road), which runs July 3, 4, 6, 7. The rodeo will have some fireworks, but if you want your celebrations to include donations, head over to the Springfield Utility Board’s Light of Liberty Celebration at Island Park (200 W. B Street), a fundraiser for Project Share. The event will have you singing along to “American Woman” since The Guess Who will take the stage with Jimmy Bobby Band opening — and it’s all for just $5 in advance, $8 at the door. The Eugene Symphonic Band will take over the Washburne Park (E. 21st Street and Agate Street) concert series with bring some new and orchestral classics. If you’re more of an art and fireworks kind of person, 2018 Art and Vineyard Festival will take over Alton Baker Park from 4 pm until fireworks light up the sky. The festival is presented by Maude Kerns Art Center and the Active 20-30 Club of Eugene and will run July 6 to July 8. — Henry Houston

Roll on over Stagecoach Festival, because no one knows more about stagecoaches than Oregon. This year, Bi-Mart Willamette Country Music Festival features Kid Rock among more than 30 other country artists. Kid Rock is no stranger to controversy. He (kind of) ran a campaign for political office in Michigan and made a joke about body slamming Democrats when he got inducted to the World Wrestling Entertainment Hall of Fame earlier this year. Regardless, his songs “American Bad Ass,” “Cowboy” and “Bawitdaba” will pair well with Natural Light and Budweiser beers. Bi-Mart Willamette Country Music Festival is a four-day festival in Brownsville that also features Alabama, Lady Antebellum and Eric Church. Besides full days of country music, it’s a chance to bust out your favorite camping gear and keep a sober party going — quietly, per Linn County’s after midnight “quiet hours” policy. Bi-Mart Willamette Country is held at Brownsville runs Aug. 14 to 19. For more information, head over to willamettecountrymusicfestival.com. — Henry Houston

Music festivals often require a lot of running around to catch the bands you want to see, finding time to go to the bathroom and sitting through bands you don’t really care about. Beloved Festival is different. It’s a four-day experience that brings sacredness back into music. Organizers of the festival take a lot of care in curating the line up. In the past, musical artists have varied on the global spectrum from Portland Taiko to West African desert blues to Yemeni indie rock. And the artists perform on just one stage to ensure audience can remained focused on the music and have a unifying experience. Other activities include dancing, art, workshops, yoga and expanding your mind. Beloved Music Festival is located at Tidewater Falls in an Oregon coastal forest venue and the festival runs from Thursday, Aug. 9 to Sunday, Aug. 12. — Henry Houston

If you love music festivals but detest all the camping in middle-of-nowhere places, Bumbershoot has you covered. Bumbershoot’s name is a reference to Seattle’s weather, as well as being a one-stop, multi-arts festival. This year, the three-day festival includes, among many other artists, J. Cole, The Chainsmokers, Phoenix and Blondie, making this year’s line-up a deviation from other festivals. In addition to music, comedians and podcasters will take the stage. Visual arts events include a laser show at the Laser Dome of the Pacific Science Center. The dome theater, 80 feet in diameter, is the largest and longest-operating laser theater in the world, and laser artists will take over the theater — sparing event-goers any clichéd music. Festival attendees can also taste some of the finest culinary creations in the Seattle area.

The festival takes over the Seattle Center, originally created for the 1962 World’s Fair, Friday, Aug. 31, through Sunday, Sept. 2, at 305 Harrison Street, Seattle. For more information or to purchase tickets, visit bumbershoot.com  — Henry Houston

While at the zoo, the only music-related exhibit you’d expect to see is a deaf leopard. But Oregon Zoo is once again mixing things up by bringing their concert series. The Roots are one of the featured artists of the series. Somehow, the band make it possible to not just be the house band for Jimmy Fallon’s Tonight Show but also release original music. They haven’t released anything recently, but they might have something up their sleeves. They play the zoo 7 pm Saturday, July 21. The series also includes Violent Femmes, Belle and Sebastian, Billy Idol among others. Ticket prices vary, visit oregonzoo.com for more information. — Henry Houston

The 4 Peaks Music Festival started with the intention of putting on a small music festival in someone’s backyard and later morphed into a 40-acre party with live music, arts and camping in Central Oregon. It also provides its own Kidlandia so kids can keep themselves entertained. The festival has aritsts such as: Poor Man’s Whiskey, North Mississippi Allstars, Greensky Bluegrass and The New Mastersounds. The festival also features Oregon native Nahko (Medicine for the People), which will truly be medicine for the ears. Nahko was disillusioned by the world around him but inspired by Americana musicians and, like Bob Dylan, armed himself with three chords and the truth. The 4 Peaks Music Festival, located at 21085 Knott Road, Bend, and starts 5 pm Thursday, June 21, and runs to 4 pm Sunday, June 24. For ticket and more information, visit 4peaksmusic.com. — Henry Houston

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