Grateful Dead bassist Phil Lesh revisits the Dead repertoire with a rotating cast of musicians that he bills as Phil Lesh and Friends tonight at 10 p.m. at the Briggs & Stratton Big Backyard.
The Roots are the only major rap act to play Summerfest’s whitewashed line-up this year, but at least they’re an uncompromising one. Once a gateway group for casual hip-hop fans, who were comforted by the band’s live jazz and rock instrumentation, The Roots have emerged particularly on recent albums as a take-no-prisoners force, throwing down terse, minor-key rap baked in political and racial discontentment. Their live shows are usually still festival affairs, but their loaded new disc, Rising Down, is their most militant yet. A non-traditional fourth of July booking, to say the least, The Roots headline the Miller Lite Oasis at 10 p.m.
Sublime sycophants Slightly Stoopid, whose jammy, dubby, sample-laden reggae-punk caught the ear of Sublime’s Bradley Nowell, who signed the group while they were still in high school, play a 10 p.m. set at the Potawatomi Bingo Casino Stage and Pavilion.
