Music, a wise woman once said, makes the people come together. This summer's slate of tuneful tours will be no exception, with the people coming together for a varied and exciting season that includes everything from sublime pairs (Dido and Travis, U2 and PJ Harvey) to ridiculous hair (Poison, Great White) to ''does anyone care?'' (Styx, Bad Company, and Billy Squier). Unfortunately, the wise woman in question hasn't announced one stinking thing about her sure-to-be spectacular world tour, so you'll just have to take Madonna's word that it'll be worth the wait. But that's okay -- we've got plenty of info about the rest of the summer's hottest music events: package tours, single-act shows, and new albums. One thing we can tell you is, ain't none of it free.
MTV'S TRL TOUR
LINEUP Destiny's Child, Nelly, Eve, Dream, and 3LW; Jessica Simpson will join the tour for the first 12 dates.
LOWDOWN Spans the narrow breadth of chart-topping pop and brings the generic sweets to a town near you. Heavy doses of hip-hop and R&B add a bit of edge, but just a bit -- after all, it's only Nelly.
WHY THEY THINK YOU SHOULD GO ''For one, you're putting food on my table,'' says Total Request Live fave Nelly. ''Plus, if you're a guy, you gotta come -- you got five girl acts and me. Destiny's Child is hot. Eve is hot. Dream: hot. 3LW, they're little, but they're hot.''
WHY WE THINK YOU SHOULD GO To indulge the guilty pleasure of candy-coated pop radio. Also, with Eve and Destiny's Child, the bill includes more talent than you might expect from anything associated with Carson Daly.
WHY IT'S COOLER THAN THE MADONNA TOUR Fifteen years ago, Madonna would've been on this tour. But that was 15 years ago. ''We have a young show,'' says Nelly. ''Lotsa big acts, plus a lot of new people getting in the spotlight.''
DATES Popsqueaks will have to wait until July 18 for opening day in Albany, N.Y. The party bids aloha with two shows in Honolulu on Sept. 21 and 23.
MORE TOUR INFO www.mtv.com
AREA:ONE
LINEUP Moby, OutKast, New Order, the Roots, Nelly Furtado, Incubus, Paul Oakenfold LOWDOWN Easily the most diverse and exciting package tour since the demise of Lollapalooza, Area: One boasts some of hip-hop's and electronica's most accomplished acts.
WHY THEY THINK YOU SHOULD GO ''I'm not a very good salesman, but from my perspective it sort of speaks for itself,'' says tour organizer Moby. ''Every artist and DJ on the tour is remarkable. It's a really interesting and eclectic bunch of people.''
WHY WE THINK YOU SHOULD GO From our perspective, it sort of speaks for itself as well. Any two of these artists would make for a good show.
WHY IT'S COOLER THAN THE MADONNA TOUR ''I love Madonna and I know that she puts on a really good show, but that's one act,'' says Moby. ''We're offering 14. It's like if someone gives you the choice between visiting one block of New York on your vacation or actually seeing the whole city -- of course you'd want to see the whole city. I almost don't think that there would be a choice.''
DATES Area one for Area: One -- Atlanta, on July 11. The tour wraps up in L.A. on Aug. 5.
MORE TOUR INFO www.areafestival.com
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