Six Concert

Poor ticket sales led to the cancellation of last night's "A Night on the Town" jazz concert at the Pier Six Concert Pavilion. Approximately 800 tickets for the event, which was to have featured James Ingram, Patti Austin and George Howard, had been sold, according to Pier Six spokesman Kevin Brown. At least 3,000 needed to be sold for the show to break even.The renovated pavilion opened less than two weeks ago with a new capacity of more than 4,300. Concerts by Hall & Oates, John Denver and Howie Mandel/Dennis Miller have drawn well, Mr. Brown said, while one of the two Patti LaBelle concerts last weekend was "disappointing," drawing less than half of capacity.

Today BALTIMORE INTERNATIONAL FESTIVAL : Second day of festivities at the Poly/Western High School field, 140 W. Cold Spring Lane, which hosts a multicultural event with various activities, including performances by Nu World Art Ensemble, an African dance troupe and reggae artist Maxie Priest; demonstrations of capoeria, a Brazilian blend of martial arts and dance; and tae kwon do. Festivalgoers can also choose from an array of ethnic foods. The event runs noon-9 p.m. today. Free. 410-396-3141 or baltimorecity.

DUE to miserable ticket sales during the summer concert season, it appears many acts are reluctant to come out this fall.As for major area arenas, just four acts have been booked to date, and Van Halen, Paula Abdul and Rush are expected to go on the road, but no local dates have been announced.Some clubs have greatly benefited from the soft arena concert season with bigger-name bookings. Cinderella and Kix, which have played at least theater-sized venues, played Hammerjacks during the past week and more big names appear to be on the way.The following sparse concert calendar reflects the fear of the acts and the promoters:Robert PalmerPalmer comes to Pier Six Concert Pavilion tonight.

The Ellicott City Chorale gets its rich sound by combining the voices of teenagers from Mount Hebron High School with those of adults from Bethany United Methodist Church. Now the singers will see what that combination sounds like echoing through some of the largest domed cathedrals in the world - including St. Peter's Basilica at the Vatican - during a 12-day, six-concert tour of Austria and Italy that began yesterday. "Put [the school and church singers] together and you have a solid group," said Patrick Gilbert, 17, of Woodstock.

Just announced Teddy Pendergrass will perform at Pier Six Concert Pavilion Aug. 24. Call 410-481-SEAT. Creed performs at Nissan Pavilion in Bristow, Va., Aug. 30. Tickets go on sale at 10 a.m. Saturday. Call 410-481-SEAT. The Harley-Davidson 100th anniversary "Open Road Tour" makes a stop at Pimlico Race Course Aug. 16-18. Bob Dylan, Southside Johnny, the Neville Brothers and Hootie & The Blowfish are among the scheduled performers. Call 410-481-SEAT. Ticket watch Tickets are still available for: Will Downing, Patti Austin and Gerald Albright at the Lyric Opera House July 20. Call 410-481-SEAT.

Los Lonely Boys / 9:30 Club The three brothers of Los Lonely Boys take the stage at the 9:30 Club in Washington tomorrow at 8 p.m. Nini Camps is also scheduled to perform. The 9:30 Club is at 815 V St. N.W. Tickets, which are $15, are available through 800-955-5566 or www.tickets.com. Hootie and the Blowfish / Pier Six It's been 10 years since Hootie and the Blowfish became ubiquitous with the release of Cracked Rear View, and the band is still going strong. Wednesday, they are slated to perform at Pier Six Concert Pavilion.

The big concert season may be thinner than last year's, but there are still several star acts coming to the area. Here are a few highlights.May rocks to a close tonight with Bonnie Raitt at Merriweather Post Pavilion.June starts with a bang at WHFS' daylong HFStival (Saturday) at RFK Stadium in Washington, headlined by Soul Asylum. Also at RFK, the Grateful Dead and Bob Dylan perform (June 24-25). At Merriweather Post Pavilion, look for Jimmy Buffett and the Coral Reefer Band (June 13-14)

Concert for the BayAn afternoon of live music, animal encounters and environmental activities awaits all at the Pier Six Concert Pavilion Sunday. The whole family may attend the Children's Concert for the Chesapeake Bay, with performances by local children's performer Jim Hossick and the country/folk group the Hard Travelers.Kids of all ages may see owls, snakes and other wild animals from the Scales and Tales program and take a rare peek at the microscopic life of the Chesapeake Bay, courtesy of the new Columbus Center.

The city has selected the redeveloper of the Power Plant to bolster the Pier Six Concert Pavilion, a move that is intended to bring in bigger named acts and likely to result in a substantial renovation to the 4,000-seat arena.The selection of the Cordish Co. to operate and manage the canvas-topped entertainment facility comes less than a month after the city's economic development agency tapped the Baltimore real estate company to revive the sagging Brokerage complex at Market Place.As part of its proposal, Cordish and New York concert promoter Metropolitan Entertainment will upgrade and diversify the entertainment; add to the number of shows presented each year; improve the pavilion's signage; offer a wider variety of foods and concessions; and increase the amount of marketing dollars spent on promotions.

Los Lonely Boys / 9:30 Club The three brothers of Los Lonely Boys take the stage at the 9:30 Club in Washington tomorrow at 8 p.m. Nini Camps is also scheduled to perform. The 9:30 Club is at 815 V St. N.W. Tickets, which are $15, are available through 800-955-5566 or www.tickets.com. Hootie and the Blowfish / Pier Six It's been 10 years since Hootie and the Blowfish became ubiquitous with the release of Cracked Rear View, and the band is still going strong. Wednesday, they are slated to perform at Pier Six Concert Pavilion.

Take little bit of the good old stuff, add a dollop of today's teeny pop, a dash of hip-hop, alt-rock and country and shake it all together. That pretty much describes the musical cocktail that's coming to Baltimore-area arenas fall. This month, artists as disparate as Bow Wow, Indigo Girls and Incubus are coming to Baltimore. Christian singer Steven Curtis Chapman, Backstreet brother Aaron Carter and Toby Keith also are on the schedule. October brings golden-oldies Rolling Stones to Landover's FedEx Field, R&B superstar Smokey Robinson to Morgan State University and No Doubt to the Baltimore Arena.

Just announced Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band will play the MCI Center in Washington Aug. 10. Call 410-481-SEAT. Toby Keith brings his "Unleashed" tour to Nissan Pavilion in Bristow, Va., Sept. 14. Also on the bill are Rascal Flatts and Paul Thorn. Tickets go on sale at 10 a.m. Saturday. Call 410-481-SEAT. Jay-Z, 311, Hoobastank, N.E.R.D., Nappy Roots and others take the stage at Nissan Pavilion in Bristow, Va., Aug. 23. Tickets go on sale tomorrow at 11 a.m. Call 410-481-SEAT.

Unlike the classical-music world, where the fall concert schedule is announced and put on sale months in advance, there's generally not a lot of advance notice for autumn pop concerts. Indeed, most of the area's major venues, such as the Baltimore Arena or the MCI Center, look as if they'll be quiet for most of the season. Don't be fooled. There are, indeed, concerts coming. Big ones, too. But not all of them are on sale yet, or have been formally announced. So even though every 'N Sync fan knows the group will be playing the MCI Center in Washington Nov. 11, the official word is that the promoters are still in negotiations with the band.

Concert season at Pier Six: the bands are rocking, Inner Harbor cash registers are ka-chinging and, over in Federal Hill, Dick Leitch is cranking up the lullabies. Leitch says the loud music at the Pier Six Concert Pavilion rattles his rowhouse windows about a half a mile away and keeps his 4-year-old daughter up at night - unless he drowns out the sound with a children's tape. Noise from a concert the Baltimore City Health Department monitored last month exceeded the legal limit, said the department, which sent Pier Six a warning letter last week.

The city has selected the redeveloper of the Power Plant to bolster the Pier Six Concert Pavilion, a move that is intended to bring in bigger named acts and likely to result in a substantial renovation to the 4,000-seat arena.The selection of the Cordish Co. to operate and manage the canvas-topped entertainment facility comes less than a month after the city's economic development agency tapped the Baltimore real estate company to revive the sagging Brokerage complex at Market Place.As part of its proposal, Cordish and New York concert promoter Metropolitan Entertainment will upgrade and diversify the entertainment; add to the number of shows presented each year; improve the pavilion's signage; offer a wider variety of foods and concessions; and increase the amount of marketing dollars spent on promotions.

Concert for the BayAn afternoon of live music, animal encounters and environmental activities awaits all at the Pier Six Concert Pavilion Sunday. The whole family may attend the Children's Concert for the Chesapeake Bay, with performances by local children's performer Jim Hossick and the country/folk group the Hard Travelers.Kids of all ages may see owls, snakes and other wild animals from the Scales and Tales program and take a rare peek at the microscopic life of the Chesapeake Bay, courtesy of the new Columbus Center.