Sweet summer shows: From John Mayer to 'Weird Al,' it's going down in the Metro D

Christy L. Breithaupt / Special to The Detroit News

Celebrate your independence this week by exercising your right to rock. Traditionally, the Fourth of July weekend has provided a ton of live music acts -- from John Mayer to the Beach Boys, the Wailers to Bob Dylan -- for Metro Detroiters to choose from, and this year is no exception.

"The Fourth of July weekend is another day that people don't have to get up and go to work and school, and those are the days people go to concerts," says Jeff Corey, director of public relations for Palace Sports & Entertainment. "The great thing about it is that there are so few of those nights in the summer that when there's a holiday involved that gives us one more date."

So grab your cellphone and call your friends, we offer you a run-down on the week's hottest concerts.

John Mayer with Ben Folds
7:30 tonight
The Palace of Auburn Hills
5 Championship Drive, Auburn Hills

Kicking off the weekend is dreamboat singer/songwriter Mayer. With his trademark shaggy hair and laid-back vocals, Mayer has wormed his way into the hearts of the masses. The Grammy Award-winning guitar hero makes fans swoon with songs such as "Waiting on the World to Change," "Gravity" and "Daughters."

On 'Continuum' (2006)
"This record is mood and soul music and blues music; these things don't go anywhere for me. So hopefully, there's a little bit of that mentality, a little bit of that essence that will staple the songs into whatever time I find myself in."

Wanted man
John Mayer has collaborated with Eric Clapton, B.B. King, Buddy Guy and Herbie Hancock, as well as Kanye West, the Dixie Chicks and Alicia Keys.

Toby Keithwith Miranda Lambert
7:30 tonight and Friday
DTE Energy Music Theatre
7774 Sashabaw Road, Clarkston

Superstar and Country Music Award-winner Keith will provide concertgoers with a hefty dose of rollicking country fun. The country music singer is just as known for rowdy bar tunes such as "I Love This Bar," as he is for his fiercely patriotic (and occasionally inflammatory) compositions such as "Courtesy of the Red, White and Blue (The Angry American)."

High note
Keith has opened his own restaurant (the I Love This Bar and Grill), starred in the movie "Broken Bridges" and is writing a screenplay for "Beer for My Horses."

Just crazy
Opening for Keith is the gutsy rollicking Miranda Lambert, who will sing from her latest CD, "Crazy Ex-Girlfriend." On her blog, she says: "We love being able to play new songs in the shows, especially now that y'all can sing along."

Play along
Lambert says: "Calling All Crazy Ex-Girlfriends (and guys with Crazy Ex's)! We have started a 'Crazy Ex Girlfriend Confessions Tent' that will be on tour with us outside the venues before the doors open. The tent looks awesome! Crysta will be there with a video camera filming the best stories from all you girls (and guys, too, I guess). The winner will be put on our Web site for all to see!"

Comerica CityFest 2007
11:45 a.m.-9 p.m. today through Saturday; 11:45 a.m.-7 p.m. Sunday
West Grand Boulevard, between Woodward Avenue and the Lodge Freeway, New Center area, Detroit
Visit www.newcenter.com/cityfest

There's loads of fun to be had here, but just make sure you don't miss The Wailers (the band that once backed up Bob Marley) and "Weird Al" Yankovic. Friday brings light jazzman Brian Culbertson , The Displays and rapper Lupe Fiasco. On Saturday, you can hear the sweet sounds of songbird Deniece Williams and the indie stylings of Yo La Tengo. Sunday showcases blues legend Bobby "Blue" Bland and rockers Cheap Trick.

City notes

• "Weird Al" has won three Grammy Awards.
• Lupe Fiasco's real name is Wasalu Muhammad Jaco.
• Yo La Tengo members Georgia Hubley and Ira Kaplan are married.

Tim McGraw and Faith Hill
8 p.m. Wednesday
The Palace of Auburn Hills
5 Championship Drive, Auburn Hills

McGraw and Hill's highly choreographed concert will include such No. 1 hits as "Live Like You Were Dying," "Breathe," "Don't Take the Girl" and "Cry." The two made a pact never to spend more than three days apart, but they are not carbon copies of each other.

"I'm more of a '70s rock 'n' roll kind of a guy; she's more of an R&B kind of girl," McGraw has said in interviews. Countrywise, she likes George Jones, and he likes Merle Haggard. They both like Santana.

Looking at their differences, "I'd be more of a pessimist, and she'd be more of an optimist," he says. "I'd probably be riskier; she'd be more cautious." She is definitely the neatnick in the family. "She has some kind of cleaning disease," he jokes.

By the numbers
38 -- The age of the husband and wife duo
4, 7 and 8 -- The ages of their three daughters
8 -- The number of Grammys they have collectively
65 million -- Number of sales between them

Live, Collective Soul with Big Head Todd & The Monsters
7 p.m. Sunday
DTE Energy Music Theatre
7774 Sashabaw Road, Clarkston

The members of alternative rock band Live have been playing together since middle school, and their tight sound shows it. While the band has released numerous albums, none compared to the popularity of 1994's "Throwing Copper," which featured the singles "I Alone" and "Lightning Crashes."

Collective Soul has been on hiatus for the last few years, but at one time the band had numerous hits in circulation, including "Gel," "Shine" and "The World I Know."

What's in a name?
Prior to pulling the current name out of a hat, Live was known as Public Affection.

Beach Boys with Bruce Johnston and special guest John Stamos
7:30 p.m. Sunday
Freedom Hill Amphitheatre
14900 Metropolitan Parkway, Sterling Heights

The legendary Beach Boys will be setting up to teach you a thing or two about music history. Mike Love, the lead voice on so many Beach Boys hits, performs with Bruce Johnston and the Beach Boys (with special guest John Stamos) at Freedom Hill on Sunday. This nearly unrivaled band has been popular since its introduction as a surf-rock band in the '60s. Songs like "Help Me, Rhonda," "In My Room" and "California Girls" are still favorites today.

With a new collection, "The Warmth of the Sun," out on Capitol; a big exhibit, "Catch a Wave: The Beach Boys, the Early Years," at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame; and mellowing relations between the various far-flung members, the band has a lot to feel good about this summer.

Didja know?

• The band started out as the Pendletons, named for the Pendleton woolen shirts popular back then. (source: TV.com)
• The Beach Boys appeared on TV's "T.J. Hooker" in 1982 and made several appearances on "Full House," in which John Stamos starred.
• Mike Love has worn hats in public since the 1970s and has been a follower of Transcendental Meditation since the 1960s.

Bob Dylan
7 p.m. Wednesday
Freedom Hill Amphitheatre
14900 Metropolitan Parkway, Sterling Heights

To many music fans, the great Bob Dylan (born Robert Allen Zimmerman) is considered a deity, and it's easy to see why. He rose to fame in the '60s when his songs "Blowin' in the Wind" and "The Times They Are a-Changin'" spoke to those embroiled in a battle for civil rights and troubled by the Vietnam War.

Dylan has performed with everyone from the Grateful Dead to Jack White and has won an abundance of awards, including a Grammy, a Golden Globe and an Oscar. In addition to being a Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee, he also received France's Commandeur dans l'Ordre des Arts et des Lettres.

A picture's worth

Dylan really got people talking when he appeared in a television advertisement for Victoria's Secret in 2004. You can see it on YouTube at www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vq7W7icd-Fc

Christy Breithaupt is a Chicago-based freelance writer