The Summer Concert Series at the Frederick Brown Jr. Amphitheater will kick off with Huey Lewis and the News, which is great, but the series quickly slides back into its old ways afterwards with a lot of repeats and retreads.

Big Bad Voodoo Daddy and Kansas have both played “The Fred” before, as have several of the acts in the second half (REO Speedwagon, Rick Springfield and .38 Special) although they have yet to be formally announced.

The lineup at The Villages has two acts that have previously played “The Fred” — Creedence Clearwater Revisited and Frankie Avalon — in what can be described as a very diverse line-up, but also kind of boring.

The lineups at both venues certainly appeal to certain groups, but the problem is that neither one is trying to do anything different and neither one is very appealing to people under the age of 40.

This is a large part of the population, as evidenced by the fact that the county is having to build more elementary schools. Fayette County is not just a retirement community.

A lot of the acts playing this summer are acts that perform on the casino/state fair circuit. Here are some acts that are also on that circuit, are on tour this summer and have never played Fayette County: Bryan Adams, Peter, Paul and Mary, Cowboy Junkies, Joan Jett, Richard Marx, Collective Soul, Hootie and the Blowfish, Arrested Development (based out of Fayette County), Heart, Third Day, LL Cool J, Willie Nelson, Tanya Tucker, Reba McEntire, En Vogue, Babyface, Paula Poundstone, George Carlin, Colin Hay (of Men at Work), Kellie Pickler, Taylor Dayne, Marc Cohn, Bonnie Raitt, Steel Pulse, George Thorogood, Al Green and ZZ Top ... the list can go on and on.

Yes, there is an audience for the seemingly annual shows from REO Speedwagon, etc., but both venues need to think outside the box and try to fit acts from numerous different eras and genres into their lineups.

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