John Mellencamp – The Midwest rocker stays on message with his heartland-oriented itinerary. You won’t find any wine and cheese, latte-sipping communities among these dates and venues. These are real cities for real Americans, filled with hopes, dreams and good, old-fashioned, Midwestern calendar ethics. If this routing was a painting, the artist would be Norman Rockwell. Is it any wonder the last venue on the itinerary is named Freedom Hall?

Ashlee Simpson – The girl may have taken some knocks over her Saturday Night Live lip-syncing faux pass, but this routing is pure showmanship. Hitting all the key markets such as Boston, New York and Los Angeles, but still including plenty of fly-over cities, Ashlee’s tour itinerary will be considered a benchmark of fine concert industry engineering for those who follow in her dance steps.

Oasis – Short and brief yet covering both sides of the Pond, this concert routing derives beauty from its simplicity. Festivals on the Continent, amphitheatres and arenas in North America and stadiums in Jolly Old England are solid proof that there’s still plenty of fight left in the Brothers Gallagher. Be sure to check out that Chicago, New York, Boston, Philadelphia string of dates in mid June. Pure genius.

U2 – If you like ’em long and Irish, this is the concert schedule for you. With multiple cities where it matters, one night stands for the rest of the world, once again, Bono & Company deliver big time with a collection of dates that defies the imagination. Plus, kids like it too, if only for some of the city / venue tongue twisters. How many times can you say “Stadionie Slaskim in Chorzow” within one minute?

Rod Stewart – How can you not love this routing? Not only do you get dates for the British Isles and North America, but you also get Down Under action as well. Then there’s that co-headline date with Bryan Adams in Perth, Australia, guaranteed to boost that city’s throat lozenge industry. Such a deal! Venue for venue and city for city, Rod delivers. After all, how many people do you know who play Loveland, Colorado, and Belfast, Northern Ireland, during the same month?

Of course, there are other schedules that are perfect for weekend cocooning, such as Mudvayne, Anthrax and Jimmy Buffett. All in all, there are plenty of concert itineraries from which to choose. Pick wisely and carefully, and you and yours will enjoy hours of concert routing fun. Just remember – a few schedules go a long way. Don’t overdue it. Enjoy a safe and sane concert schedule weekend, and we’ll see you back here on Monday. Ciao!