On Monday, Central Oregon’s summer concert season unofficially kicks off with a show by folk singer James Taylor at the region’s busy home for big-name artists, Hayden Homes Amphitheater (344 SW Shevlin Hixon Drive) in Bend.

There are other local venues that bring in major musicians with household names, of course. But none do so at the size and scale of the amphitheater, which has hosted more than 50 concerts per summer since the multinational entertainment company Live Nation took over booking and management a few years ago.

As usual, shows at Hayden Homes — an 8,000-capacity amphitheater located along the Deschutes River in the Old Mill District — will stretch from mid-May to late September, when country-rocker Warren Zeiders headlines for the first time. In between, the venue will average nearly three concerts per week, featuring country singers, blues artists, jam bands, electronic acts, rock combos, pop ensembles and more. You can find the amphitheater’s full lineup at bendconcerts.com.

To help make sense of it all, we’re doing the same thing we did last year: We’ve taken most of the venue’s shows, categorized them into “awards” and chosen a “winner” (or highlight) for each one.

Is this official? Not at all! It’s just a fun way to run through what would otherwise be a long and dizzying list of dates.

The envelope please…

The Don’t Be Late Award

• June 5-6 – Divorce, with Mumford & Sons

• Aug. 12 – Glass Beams, with Rüfüs Du Sol

• Aug. 17 – Shannon and the Clams, with Alabama Shakes

• Aug. 21 – Kaitlin Butts, with Lainey Wilson

One of my favorite aspects of Hayden Homes’ summer lineup is ferreting out the great opening acts. You’re paying to get into the show, right? Might as well get more bang for your buck and show up in time to catch the opener. There are several good ones this year. Divorce is an interesting indie rock band from England that’s super tuneful and a bit twangy. Shannon and the Clams are a ‘60s-inspired garage-punk group that has been around forever. If you like Khruangbin, you probably already know Glass Beams, and if you don’t know Glass Beams, get to know ‘em yesterday. (They could be headlining in a couple of years.)

But for our first made-up award, I’m going with Kaitlin Butts, a top-shelf Texas singer-songwriter with an affinity for the show-stopping, storytelling traditions of country music. She’s like if Miranda Lambert produced a whole Broadway show about love, loss and life in the American West.

The Overnight Stay Award

• May 25-26 – Sting

• Aug. 7-8 – Whiskey Myers and Tedeschi Trucks Band

• Aug. 9-10 – LCD Soundsystem

• Aug. 13-14 – The Lumineers

Each year, a handful of acts play two nights at Hayden Homes, which doesn’t necessarily mean they draw bigger crowds than the one-nighters, but it’s a pretty good indicator of their popularity. This summer, The Lumineers, LCD Soundsystem and the double-bill off Whiskey Myers and Tedeschi Trucks Band are all doing double-headers, but they’ve all played the amphitheater before. So this award goes to a newcomer, Sting, who will bring a trio to play hits from across his decades-long career. Welcome to Bend, Sting!

The Hat Act Award 

• May 29 – Brad Paisley

• June 21 – Jon Pardi

• July 11 – Billy Currington and Kip Moore

• July 30 – Old Dominion

As always, there are a number of mainstream country stars playing the amphitheater this summer, including some scattered around in other categories. But here are four twangy favorites; all will draw big crowds to the venue. The pick here, though, is Brad Paisley, one of the finest country singers and guitar slingers in the genre over the past two decades. This is Paisley’s first visit to Bend, and he has so many hits, this is a can’t miss date on the summer calendar.

More coverage: Hayden Homes Amphitheater: Here’s what you need to know before the show

The Those Boots Look Brand New Award

• July 26 – The Red Clay Strays

• Aug. 2 – Caamp + Futurebirds

• Aug. 15 – Trampled By Turtles and Shakey Graves

• Sept. 18 – Warren Zeiders

If you need more evidence of the rise of non-mainstream country — call it Americana, alt-country, y’allternative … whatever you’d like — here it is. Sure, Chris Stapleton and Tyler Childers and Jason Isbell can headline Hayden Homes Amphitheater, but so can newer acts like Caamp and Warren Zeiders, who may not have the same kind of widespread name recognition, but they certainly have large (and growing) fan bases. Trampled By Turtles are old faves ‘round these parts, but the shocker of the summer so far? Alabama country-soul band The Red Clay Strays selling out the amphitheater in minutes.

The This Used To Be Classic Rock And …

• May 19 – James Taylor

• June 14 – Styx

• June 15 – Peter Frampton

• Sept. 10 – Neil Young and the Chrome Hearts

… Now This Is Also Classic Rock Award

• June 28 – Barenaked Ladies

• July 9 – Collective Soul and Live

• Aug. 19 – Counting Crows

• Aug. 29 – Goo Goo Dolls and Dashboard Confessional

“Classic rock” used to mean bands like Styx and Peter Frampton and James Taylor and Neil Young — the stuff you heard on classic rock radio stations in the passenger seat of your dad’s 1989 Ford Ranger. Well guess what, guy? It’s decades later, and the popular “alternative” music of the ‘90s and ‘00s now plays on those stations, too. Of all the acts listed above, Neil Young is obviously the best, but this award is going to Counting Crows, who stand out among that “Spiderman pointing at Spiderman meme” second group because “A Long December” and “Einstein on the Beach (For an Eggman)” sound as good today as they did 30 years ago.

The Time Marches on Award

• Aug. 11 – Rainbow Kitten Surprise

• Aug. 16 – Glass Animals

• Aug. 22 – Mt. Joy

• Aug. 30 – Japanese Breakfast

Speaking of the “Spiderman pointing at Spiderman” meme, here’s evidence that I am, in fact, old, and the generations after mine have their own music. I know what you’re thinking: “But Japanese Breakfast is terrific!” I know this. I think this, too. But at some point, bands start to blur together a bit for me, especially those who have formed in the past decade or so — and I pay pretty close attention to popular music! To be clear: This is not a criticism of any of these bands — heck, I like Glass Animals’ mega-hit “Heat Waves” — but simply an acknowledgement of the unrelenting march of time, with pop music right alongside it. As it should be. Winner: Japanese Breakfast’s beautifully dreamy indie-pop.

The I Know You Got Soul Award

• June 1 – Leon Bridges

• June 22 – Earth, Wind & Fire

• July 2 – Lake Street Dive

• Aug. 31 – Chicago

Here’s a multi-generational group that shares one major thing in common: A deep commitment to the corner of the musical universe inhabited by funk, soul and R&B music. Leon Bridges and Lake Street Dive are relative young’ns, and both would probably acknowledge the influence of the legendary Chicago and Earth, Wind & Fire on their smooth and highly head-bop-able music. Let’s go with Earth, Wind & Fire, because you just know they’re going to turn that pristine Hayden Homes lawn into a “Boogie Wonderland” in June.

The Something For Everyone Award

• June 7 – Yacht Rock Revue

• June 29 – Pink Martini

• July 23 – Dropkick Murphys and Bad Religion

• July 24 – Maoli

Hayden Homes has its main stylistic lanes, no doubt about it. But each season’s lineup also features a few outliers for the folks who like a little adventure with their rented folding chair. This year, variety comes to the amphitheater in the form of old-school punk rock (Dropkick Murphys and Bad Religion), cosmopolitan big band music (Pink Martini) and a band that has made a career out of playing jokey covers of soft-rock hits from the ‘70s and ‘80s (Yacht Rock Revue). For maximum good-time vibes, though, check out Maoli, who blends pop, reggae, soul, country and Hawaiian music.