Tickets for this season of ZooTunes at Woodland Park Zoo go on sale for zoo members on Thursday. Online sales to the general public begin Friday.

Here’s the schedule:

• Wed., June 22 – Taj Mahal / Joan Osborne ($26)
• Sun., June 26 – Marc Cohn / Mary Chapin Carpenter ($24)
• Wed., June 29 – Lucinda Williams ($22)
• Thurs., June 30 - The Robert Cray Band ($24)
• Wed., July 6 - AfroCubism ($22)
• Wed. – Thurs., July 20 & 21 - Indigo Girls with Mount Moriah ($26)
• Fri., July 29 – Brandi Carlile ($36)
• Wed., Aug 10 – k.d. lang and The Siss Boom Bang ($35)
• Sun., Aug 14 – The Go-Go’s Ladies Gone Wild Tour ($24)
• Wed., Aug 17 - Carolina Chocolate Drops with special guests ($19)
• Sun., Aug 21 – Aimee Mann with The Weepies ($19)

The Go-Gos perform Aug. 14.

Zoo gates open at 5 p.m.; concerts begin at 6 p.m. and are held rain or shine (no ticket refunds).

Tickets go on sale beginning May 6 at 8:00 a.m. online at www.zoo.org/zootunes. A $2 processing fee is added to all online ticket purchases. A limited number of tickets are available for purchase at Woodland Park Zoo gates during zoo hours: 9:30 a.m. – 6:00 p.m. daily. Ticket prices at all outlets will include a $1 facility fee to fund maintenance of the zoo’s concert facilities. One child 12 and under per paid ticket is admitted free. Tickets sell out fast, so purchase early!

For the first time, Woodland Park Zoo members will have the opportunity to purchase ZooTunes tickets before the general public. The ZooTunes member pre-sale begins online only on May 5 at 8:00 a.m. Members will receive an exclusive pre-sale link by email and can purchase up to eight pre-sale tickets per show. Pre-sale is available to active members and to new members who have registered online or at zoo entrances by midnight on Saturday, April 30. To become a zoo member, visit www.zoo.org/join.

Several years ago, Sandel Park held a summer evening concert series, every Sunday in August. Musicians were paid mainly by passing the hat through the audience. It was a lovely way to gather with neighbors, bring a picnic, and enjoy local musical groups.

But the shoe-string budget led to the concerts’ hiatus after four years, says Julie Howe Gwinn, one of the organizers.

The main reason we stopped holding the concerts is that our “sound guys”/owners/operators of all the sound equipment , my neighbors Tim and Phil Hanseroth, signed a record deal along with their lead singer Brandi Carlile, and took off to tour the world….and they are still going strong! (Their third album came out in October if you havent heard it yet.)

So we were left without the free use of equipment and expertise that enabled us to put on the concerts inexpensively and simply. So I thought I would throw this out into the world… Is anyone interested in helping get the concerts rolling again? We need someone with sound equipment and the committment to run it at each concert at no cost.

If you are interested or you know someone who has equipment and may be interested, shoot me an email cjgwinn@msn.com.

Last week we told you about the upcoming season of Ridge Romp, the children’s entertainment series at the Phinney Center. At that time, they had half the season’s performers set, but now they’ve got the full list.

The cost is $3 per person (child or adult). PNA members also can buy family passes at the first show for $35 for the whole season (six shows). All shows start at 10:30 a.m. in the PNA Community Hall (in the brick building); doors open at 10 a.m. Here are the show’s descriptions, courtesy of the Ridge Romp volunteer organizers:

Sat. Oct. 3: The Not-Its! – “Meet The Not-Its! – Seattle’s newest, most rockin’ band making music for children. With the success of their debut album, We Are The Not-Its! released June 2009, it’s clear they are on a mission to make kids dance, with up-tempo, power-pop hits families will love. Featuring the vocals of Sarah Shannon (of lauded ‘90s indie-pop band Velocity Girl), The Not-Its! combine crunchy guitars with smooth, four-part harmonies, all nestled within ‘fantastic danceable pop gems about gettin’ fancy, birthday parties, bath time and intergalactic play dates.’”

Sat., Nov. 28: Alleyoop – “Alleyoop’s concert is a big hit with children of all ages, but most especially for children ages 3 to 9 years old. His original musical games, get the children involved. This is audience participation to the max. The children become the show! He plays guitars, ukuleles, and mountain dulcimer. He brings his pal, Billy Bear the Silly Bear, for a humorous interlude.”

Sat., Jan. 2, 2010: Caspar Babypants – “Chris Ballew, lead singer of The Presidents of the United States of America, lends his wacky chops to Caspar Babypants. ‘It’s not much of a stretch from The Presidents,’ says Ballew. ‘I’m still singing songs about bugs and animals. I’m still drawing upon the same influences — old folk music and blues.’”

Sat., Feb. 6, 2010: Valentine’s Performing Pigs - “The Pigs are returning to Ridge Romp. This is a not to be missed show of amazing (real!) performing pot belly pigs! Fun for the entire family!”

Sat., March 6, 2010: Johnny Bregar – “Rootsy, jazzy, bluesy tunes that are simple and real; arrangements of childhood standards and sweetly humorous original songs. Music for kids that parents will love!”

Sat., April 3, 2010: Charles the Clown – “Watch as Charles transforms into a clown before your very eyes! The show is filled with silly “mistakes” as Charles attempts to transform his persona.”

Empty Sea Studios on Phinney Ridge has been offering a variety of acoustic music since opening this spring, and now it wants children to get in on the action.

Their new KidsAcoustic concert series begins Sunday, Sept. 20, with teacher and early string performer Shulamit Kleinerman and Empty Sea owner and multi-instrumentalist Michael Connolly. The series is billed as “Old Music for Young Ears.”

Some kinds of music are inherently age-inclusive. KidsAcoustic presents real music that parents can enjoy for its own sake, while the lively tunes and wonderful instruments draw kids in naturally. For each concert, teacher and early string performer Shulamit Kleinerman joins forces with a duo partner from a folk or early music tradition. A personable forty-five minute program is followed by a hands-on opportunity for all the kids to try out our menagerie of instruments. Appropriate for preschool and elementary-school-aged children and their families.

Connolly will play his mandolin, guitar, Irish flute, concertina, uilleann pipes, and even the harp and fiddle he built himself. Shula will play her violin, vielle, and viola da gamba.

The show begins at 11 a.m. Cost is $9 for each child or adult. Babes in arms are welcome for free. (Space is limited, so you’re encouraged to buy tickets in advance.)

Folk legend Peggy Seeger, sister to also famous Pete and Mike, will perform at the Phinney Neighborhood Center at 7:30 p.m. on Sept. 26. It’s the first fall concert of the Seattle Folklore Society’s “Saturdays on Phinney Ridge” series.

Peggy was born into a very notable folk music family: Her mother was the composer and folklorist Ruth Crawford Seeger, her father Charles Louis Seeger, a pioneer of ethnomusicology. Her half-brother is Pete Seeger, and her brother Mike Seeger. Between the ages of 12 & 35, Peggy learned to play piano, guitar, 5-string banjo, autoharp, Appalachian dulcimer and English concertina. In 1959, after a time working as a touring musician, she settled in London with Ewan MacColl. The MacColl/Seeger duo were at the forefront of the British folksong revival for the ensuing three decades. The MacColl-Seeger work was seminal – its high point was the development of the revolutionary Radio Ballad form, a tapestry of field recordings of speech and sound effects melded with new songs in the folk idiom and complementary instrumental accompaniments.

Peggy Seeger created 22 solo discs and has taken part in more than 100 recordings with other performers. Her best-known songs are “The Ballad of Springhill” and “I’m Gonna Be An Engineer.”

The Seattle Labor Chorus will perform a short opening set. Tickets are $15 ($13 seniors/students, $7 youth 17 & under) through Brown Paper Tickets, or call 1-800-838-3006.

Woodland Park Zoo is offering a new Parents’ Night Out childcare service at select ZooTunes concerts this summer. Childcare is provided for kids ages 4-11 inside Zoomazium. Supervised activities include games, puppet shows, and a live animal encounter, plus pizza.

Parents’ Night Out is offered at the first four ZooTunes concerts of the season: The B-52s (6/17 – sold out); Mavis Staples with special guest Allen Toussaint (6/24); and Three Girls and Their Buddy featuring Emmylou Harris, Patty Griffin, Shawn Colvin and Buddy Miller (7/1 and 7/2).

Drop-off is from 5-6:30 p.m. in the ARC building adjacent to the West Entrance at N. 55th St. and Phinney Ave. N. Pizza dinner is served at 5:40 p.m., and childcare continues through pick-up at the end of each concert. Cost is $25 per child, and $20 for each additional child in the same family.

Pre-registration is strongly encouraged, but drop-ins are welcome through 6:30 p.m. on the night of the event. Registration forms are online.

Woodland Park Zoo today announced the lineup for its popular Zoo Tunes concert series.

(Photo by WPZ’s Ryan Hawk.)

Wed., June 17 – The B-52s ($27)

Wed., June 24 - Mavis Staples with special guest Allen Toussaint ($19)

Wed. & Thurs., July 1 & 2 – Three Girls and their Buddy featuring Emmylou Harris, Patty Griffin, Shawn Colvin & Buddy Miller ($36)

Wed., July 15 – Ladysmith Black Mambazo ($19)

Sun., July 19 – Los Lobos ($22)

Wed., July 22 – Cowboy Junkies / Son Volt ($22)

Sun., July 26 - Indigo Girls ($24)

Thurs., July 30 - Jewel ($28)

Thurs., Aug. 13 - Joan Baez ($22)

Sun., Aug. 16 – Nanci Griffith ($19)

Wed., Aug. 19 - Susan Tedeschi with J.J. Grey & Mofro ($22)

Wed., Aug. 26 – Amos Lee ($22)

Tickets go on sale May 4 at 8 a.m. at all Metropolitan Market locations: Sand Point, Queen Anne, West Seattle, Uptown, Dash Point and Proctor. A $2 service fee is added to the ticket price. One child 12 and under per paid ticket is admitted free. A limited number of tickets will be available at zoo gates and at www.BrownPaperTickets.com.

Zoo gates to the North Meadow open at 5 p.m. and concerts start at 6 p.m. Concerts are held rain or shine and are festival seating only. Only blankets and low-backed folding chairs allowed (maximum height of 24 inches). Bring your picnic dinner but no alcohol.

The Seattle Folklore Society kicks off their fall concert series Saturday with Dan Lyons and follows up with a long list of shows at the Phinney Neighborhood Association’s brick building, mostly on Saturday nights. See our events calendarfor more concert listings. If you have other Phinney/Greenwood events you’d like us to add, send it to us at tips@phinneywood.com.