Earthfest

PLANET FUN: Practice your eco-friendly habits at Radio 92.9 EarthFest by sampling earth-friendly food products, throwing your trash in the special recycling containers, and enjoying music and kids activities (these last two help the planet too). The musical lineup will include Third Eye Blind, The Spin Doctors, Switchfoot, and Eve 6. May 19 at 10:30 a.m. (Kid's Planet stage; 11:30 a.m. main stage). Free. DCR Hatch Memorial Shell along the Esplanade, Boston.

PICK OF THE DAY On the avenue This Tony-winning show is a great way to introduce your teens to a Broadway musical. "Avenue Q" has the right amount of adult language, songs like "It Sucks to Be Me," dialogue about what to do after college, and life in general. And the puppets are adorable. 8 p.m. (through June 24). $25-$60, $5 senior discount. The Lyric Stage Company of Boston, 140 Clarendon St., Boston. 617-585-5678. www.lyricstage.com FRIDAY It's all Greek The Boston Modern Orchestra Project ...

By Matt Byrne, Town Correspondent The Medford Whole Foods will take part in the Radio 92.9 EarthFest to be held Saturday at the DCR Hatch Shell in Boston, and will be featured among an array of vendors that will offer earth-friendly products. The free festival will feature performances by Third Eye Blind, Switchfoot, Eve 6, and the Spin Doctors. Scatted throughout the Hatch Shell area will be exhibits and environmental displays to raise awareness about making a difference in Mother Earth.

By Matt Byrne, Town Correspondent The Medford Whole Foods will take part in the Radio 92.9 EarthFest to be held Saturday at the DCR Hatch Shell in Boston, and will be featured among an array of vendors that will offer earth-friendly products. The free festival will feature performances by Third Eye Blind, Switchfoot, Eve 6, and the Spin Doctors. Scatted throughout the Hatch Shell area will be exhibits and environmental displays to raise awareness about making a difference in Mother Earth.

When people throw a party in your honor it's customary to show up looking your best. On that front Mother Nature wowed a crowd of thousands at the Radio 92.9 EarthFest on Saturday at the Hatch Shell with a stellar performance. The musical acts were pretty good too. With sets from '90s artists Shawn Mullins, Seven Mary Three, the Lemonheads, and Soul Asylum, the bill played out like a nostalgia-minded blast from the recent past. Mullins stripped down for a solo acoustic set that allowed his narrative folk pop songs to unfurl.

It was a perfect aligning of the planets that Cake, a band as green as they are snarky, headlined the 15th annual EarthFest sponsored by Radio 92.9 (formerly WBOS-FM), Saturday at the Hatch Shell. Not only has the veteran Sacramento band been a staunch champion of environmental awareness - after all, how many rock groups give away trees on stage? - but it's one that has pledged to record its next album entirely with solar power. Cake's headlining slot also happened to reflect (along with the other main stage performers such as Cracker)

PICK OF THE DAY On the avenue This Tony-winning show is a great way to introduce your teens to a Broadway musical. "Avenue Q" has the right amount of adult language, songs like "It Sucks to Be Me," dialogue about what to do after college, and life in general. And the puppets are adorable. 8 p.m. (through June 24). $25-$60, $5 senior discount. The Lyric Stage Company of Boston, 140 Clarendon St., Boston. 617-585-5678. www.lyricstage.com FRIDAY It's all Greek The ...

May 10 | Regina Spektor at the Orpheum Theatre. www.livenation.com Author Augusten Burroughs at the Coolidge Corner Theatre in Brookline. www.brooklinebooksmith.com May 13 | Melissa Manchester at Scullers Jazz Club. www.scullersjazz.com May 15 and 16 | Keith Lockhart and the Boston Pops welcome Ann Hampton Callaway to pay tribute to Barbra Streisand at Symphony Hall. www.bostonpops.org May 16 | Nantucket Wine Festival opens at the White Elephant Hotel and other Nantucket venues.

WHO: Kristen Ervick, 26, Cambridge WHEN: Two weeks in July WHERE: Winslow, Ariz. WHY: To attend an Earthwatch Institute Hopi Ancestors Expedition doing archeological work at the Chevelon Ruin. LESSON PLAN: "I'd known about Earthwatch for years. They had a booth at Earthfest and I decided to sign up for a teaching fellowship," said Ervick, a history teacher at Randolph High School, whose trip was sponsored by the Sheehan Family Foundation.

"On days like this, you separate the music fans from the wimps," exclaimed Five for Fighting's John Ondrasik while surveying the drenched but cheerful crowd at the 12th Annual WBOS EarthFest at the DCR Hatch Shell Saturday afternoon. The day's mood was dampened by the rain, which alternated between sprinkles and downpours. And the festival spirit was lessened somewhat by a more uniform lineup than usual. It was heavy on male-fronted adult-contemporary alternative-rock bands such as Carbon Leaf and Low Millions, and light on stars, which in past years have included Sheryl Crow...

PLANET FUN: Practice your eco-friendly habits at Radio 92.9 EarthFest by sampling earth-friendly food products, throwing your trash in the special recycling containers, and enjoying music and kids activities (these last two help the planet too). The musical lineup will include Third Eye Blind, The Spin Doctors, Switchfoot, and Eve 6. May 19 at 10:30 a.m. (Kid's Planet stage; 11:30 a.m. main stage). Free. DCR Hatch Memorial Shell along the Esplanade, Boston.

May 10 | Regina Spektor at the Orpheum Theatre. www.livenation.com Author Augusten Burroughs at the Coolidge Corner Theatre in Brookline. www.brooklinebooksmith.com May 13 | Melissa Manchester at Scullers Jazz Club. www.scullersjazz.com May 15 and 16 | Keith Lockhart and the Boston Pops welcome Ann Hampton Callaway to pay tribute to Barbra Streisand at Symphony Hall. www.bostonpops.org May 16 | Nantucket Wine Festival opens at the White Elephant Hotel and other Nantucket venues.

When people throw a party in your honor it's customary to show up looking your best. On that front Mother Nature wowed a crowd of thousands at the Radio 92.9 EarthFest on Saturday at the Hatch Shell with a stellar performance. The musical acts were pretty good too. With sets from '90s artists Shawn Mullins, Seven Mary Three, the Lemonheads, and Soul Asylum, the bill played out like a nostalgia-minded blast from the recent past. Mullins stripped down for a solo acoustic set that allowed his narrative folk pop songs to unfurl.

It was a perfect aligning of the planets that Cake, a band as green as they are snarky, headlined the 15th annual EarthFest sponsored by Radio 92.9 (formerly WBOS-FM), Saturday at the Hatch Shell. Not only has the veteran Sacramento band been a staunch champion of environmental awareness - after all, how many rock groups give away trees on stage? - but it's one that has pledged to record its next album entirely with solar power. Cake's headlining slot also happened to reflect (along with the other main stage performers such as Cracker)

"On days like this, you separate the music fans from the wimps," exclaimed Five for Fighting's John Ondrasik while surveying the drenched but cheerful crowd at the 12th Annual WBOS EarthFest at the DCR Hatch Shell Saturday afternoon. The day's mood was dampened by the rain, which alternated between sprinkles and downpours. And the festival spirit was lessened somewhat by a more uniform lineup than usual. It was heavy on male-fronted adult-contemporary alternative-rock bands such as Carbon Leaf and Low Millions, and light on stars, which in past years have included...

WHO: Kristen Ervick, 26, Cambridge WHEN: Two weeks in July WHERE: Winslow, Ariz. WHY: To attend an Earthwatch Institute Hopi Ancestors Expedition doing archeological work at the Chevelon Ruin. LESSON PLAN: "I'd known about Earthwatch for years. They had a booth at Earthfest and I decided to sign up for a teaching fellowship," said Ervick, a history teacher at Randolph High School, whose trip was sponsored by the Sheehan Family Foundation.

Tribute to MJ MICHAEL JACKSON: THE IMMORTAL WORLD TOUR BY CIRQUE DU SOLEIL While this is a theatrical performance and not a concert, how some of Jackson's collaborators and the creative folks at Cirque have chosen to interpret his music will likely be of interest to his fans. If this show is anything like the whimsical, poignant, and eye-popping Beatles show "LOVE" in Las Vegas, it should be quite the spectacle. May 17, 8 p.m. DCU Center. Tickets: $50-$175. 800-754-3000, www.ticketmaster.com SARAH RODMAN POP & ROCK KISS CONCERT 2012 The annual top 40 hit parade...

VANESSA TRIEN AND THE JUMPING MONKEYS The Boston singer-songwriter will entertain with tunes from her two kid-bewitching albums "Carnival Day" and "Hot Air Balloon. "10:30 a.m., April 14. $10. Regent Theatre. 781-646-4849, www.regenttheatre.com BILL HARLEY The Grammy award-winning performer and storyteller will spin his clever tunes and tales at a benefit for the Montachusett Interfaith Hospitality Network. 3 p.m. April 22. Adults: $10. Students: $5. Weston Auditorium, Fitchburg State College.