The first day of summer is still more than a month away, but for local music lovers, summer’s symbolic beginning comes Tuesday, May 14, when live music returns to Bend’s busy, outdoor venue for big-name artists, Hayden Homes Amphitheater .

May 14 is the earliest start ever for the amphitheater’s summer concert series, which has expanded significantly in recent years after Live Nation, the multinational entertainment company, took over bookings for the venue.

This year, Hayden Homes has 53 shows on the calendar, stretching from electro-rock band LCD Soundsystem next week to country singer Orville Peck on Sept. 24. 

Read more: Who’s playing Hayden Homes Amphitheater in 2024

Looking at a long list of headliners and openers can be dizzying, so we’ve taken most of the venue’s shows, categorized them into “awards” and chosen a “winner” (or highlight) for each one.

What does it all mean? Not much! Just think of it like you’re watching an awards show celebrating the uniquely Bend experience of chilling on a lawn along the Deschutes River, listening to live music as the sun sets over the Cascades. Good times!

The Get There On Time Award

May 25: Reyna Tropical opening for Portugal. The Man

June 16: Molly Tuttle and Golden Highway opening for Old Crow Medicine Show

July 12: Ratboys opening for The Decemberists and The Head And The Heart

Aug. 9: Max McNown opening for Trampled By Turtles

If you’re fretting about the high cost of tickets to a show you want to see, remember this: There are a bunch of great opening acts coming to Hayden Homes this year, and if you make sure to show up on time and see them, you’re getting more bang for your buck! (Also, for some bands, Live Nation is holding a $25 ticket sale through May 14. )

Read more: Hayden Homes Amphitheater in Bend — what to know before you go

For example, you don’t want to miss Molly Tuttle’s blazing bluegrass combo and Chicago pop-rockers Ratboys — two of the best young bands anywhere right now — and it’ll be cool to see Bend’s own Max McNown on the big stage before Trampled By Turtles.

But here, we’re going to highlight Portugal.The Man opener Reyna Tropical, an ultra-cool Latin indie-pop band that, says Pitchfork, “uses Peruvian chicha, Congolese soukous, and Afro-Colombian percussion to explore both personal grief and the abiding melancholy of diaspora.”

The Aging Millennials Need a Babysitter Award

May 14: LCD Soundsystem

June 19: Vampire Weekend

June 24: Cage The Elephant and Young the Giant

Sept. 7: Chromeo and The Midnight

The generation that grew up, musically speaking, in the early 21st century now has young families and some disposable income. As such, their bands are now playing reunion tours and venues with curfews.

These folks are excited to have LCD Soundsystem in town — and that’s a good “get” for Hayden Homes — but the pick of the group here is Vampire Weekend, who remain an excellent, vital pop-rock band 15 years after they burst onto the scene. For proof, check out their new album, “Only God Was Above Us,” one of the year’s best so far.

The This Used To Be Classic Rock Award

June 30: Foreigner and Styx

Sept. 1: Train and REO Speedwagon

Sept. 3: The Doobie Brothers

Aug. 24: The Beach Boys

The Now This Is Also Classic Rock Award

June 14: Third Eye Blind

July 26: Bush, Jerry Cantrell and Candlebox

Aug. 27: Dave Matthews Band

Aug. 29: 311

When “classic rock” launched as a radio format in the 1980s, bands like Foreigner and The Doobie Brothers were all over those playlists, evoking pleasant memories of bygone golden days.

Fast-forward a few decades and now those same stations are playing ‘90s music — once known as “alternative rock” — right alongside those sounds from the ’60s and ’70s. This is all a good reminder that what might feel fresh and new will someday grow old and stale, and that the passage of time waits for no man.

Of note here: The Train and REO Speedwagon show, which expertly bridges the gap between two not-so-different eras of rock ‘n’ roll.

The Something For Everyone Award

Aug. 4: Gipsy Kings

Aug. 13: Megadeth

Sept. 2: Lindsey Stirling

Sept. 20: KIDZ BOP LIVE

To this point, at least, Live Nation is doing a good job of booking a variety of styles of music at the amphitheater; most people should be able to find something they like.

As an example, this summer’s schedule includes kids singing giant pop hits (KIDZ BOP LIVE), a blend of electronic dance beats and classical music with choreography (Stirling) and a rumba flamenco band (Gipsy Kings).

But for lovers of heavy music, the announcement of a Megadeth show is a big deal, because metal has been pretty scarce at the venue over the years. Finally, a chance to do some real headbanging!

The Guitar Hero (Not The Video Game) Award

July 10: Slash’s S.E.R.P.E.N.T. Festival

July 25: Neil Young and Crazy Horse

July 28: Stray Cats

Aug. 8: St. Vincent

Heads up guitar geeks: This summer’s slate at Hayden Homes offers a handful of opportunities to watch some top-shelf six-string slingers strut their stuff. Slash is famous for his hard rock licks, St. Vincent’s playing oozes experimental cool and Neil is Neil.

But here’s a vote for Briant Setzer of Stray Cats, who is a world-class picker hiding behind the bouffant hairdo and other rockabilly accouterments. He’s gonna rock this town, rock it inside out.

The Good Vibes Only Award

July 18: Stick Figure and SOJA

Aug. 14: Michael Franti & Spearhead and Citizen Cope

Aug. 18: Slightly Stoopid, Dirty Heads and The Elovaters

Aug. 30: Iration and Pepper

This list is an incredible assortment of words that have run in The Bulletin approximately one million times because all of these acts have played in Bend approximately a million times.

And that’s fine! People here love this stuff — mellow, surf-style, sun-baked, tank-topped, positive-vibes reggae-rock — and these bands have figured out that if they tour together in various configurations, they can play amphitheaters every summer until the end of time. It’s tough telling them apart, but my pick is Franti, because he was enjoying a burrito when I interviewed him a decade ago.

The Copy-Paste Country Award

May 18: Riley Green

June 20: Jordan Davis

June 28: Sam Hunt

Aug. 12: Walker Hayes

Hmm … well, I thought telling apart the reggae bands above was tough until I got to this category, which features four fast-rising mainstream country dudes with chiseled good looks, well-kept beards, country chart hits and growing fanbases. The winner of this category is … well, let’s just call it a four-way tie for first.

The ‘Good Country’ Award

May 31: Maren Morris

June 29: Charley Crockett

Aug. 10-11: Tyler Childers

Sept. 24: Orville Peck

Speaking of country music, here’s a quartet of folks doing the twang thang from a different angle. Peck’s music comes from a proudly LGBTQ+ perspective, and Morris is one of the few big-name Nashville acts that vocally supports said perspective. Crockett sounds like a country-soul jukebox from the 1960s, newly plugged in and perfect.

But Childers’ massive appeal is the eye-popping thing here: He is living proof you can sell out two nights (well in advance) at an 8,000-capacity amphitheater hours from any interstate or big city just by singing pure, open-hearted, gospel-influenced mountain music. The man’s got the magic.

The No Noise Complaints Tonight Award

May 28: Sarah McLachlan

July 6: Nickel Creek and Andrew Bird

July 14: The Avett Brothers

Sept. 8: Ray LaMontagne and Gregory Alan Isakov

Some amphitheaters are located on the outskirts of town, away from potential conflicts with neighbors. Hayden Homes, on the other hand, is plunked down in the middle of Bend, and sometimes people don’t like being able to hear live music from their homes. (There are far worse problems, but to each his own.)

The point is, these four shows should make for some mellow evenings along the river, whether we’re talking ‘90s pop singer McLachlan, soft-spoken folkies LaMontagne and Isakov, or the Avetts, an indie-folk string band. (Yes, I know they can rock pretty hard. You don’t need to email me and tell me they can rock pretty hard.)

Even if you’re opposed to the sound of live music wafting through the summer air, though, you should step outside and listen when Nickel Creek takes the stage. They’re a dazzling band that plays bluegrass and Bach with equal aplomb.