What
Washington Mutual ZooTunes ushers in a milestone this summer as it celebrates its 20th anniversary of “fun and funding” at Woodland Park Zoo. The fundraising concerts have grown into the region’s most popular and affordable summer concert series showcasing award-winning performers and a variety of musical genres. This year’s eight-concert series kicks off Sunday, July 6 with:

• July 6, Taj Mahal and the Hula Band with special guest Keola Beamer - $20
• July 16, Rosanne Cash with special guest Iris Dement - $19
• July 23, Suzanne Vega with special guest David Wilcox - $18
• July 30, Aimee Mann with special guest - $19
• August 6, Shawn Colvin with special guest - $19
• August 13, Delbert McClinton with special guest Buddy Miller Band - $18
• August 20, Bela Fleck and the Flecktones - $19
• August 27, Keller Williams with special guest - $14

A major fundraiser for the zoo, Washington Mutual ZooTunes is held outdoors in the zoo’s North Meadow where concert-goers sprawl out with blankets and low-backed patio chairs. With tickets $20 and under, and kids 12 and under free, the festival seating performances offer one of the best concert bargains in the Northwest. Thanks in part to Washington Mutual’s sponsorship, ZooTunes raised over $600,000 last year to support animal care, zoo maintenance and upkeep, education programs for children and adults, and conservation programs that are helping to preserve wildlife species in our state and all over the world.

In addition to Washington Mutual, this year’s ZooTunes is sponsored by: PCC Natural Markets; Seattle Weekly; Shuttle Express; and The Mountain 103.7 FM.

When
The first concert is Sunday, July 6 and continues Wednesdays, July 16 to August 27. Zoo gates open 5:30 p.m. Concerts begin 6:00 p.m. and end no later than 8:30 p.m. Concerts are held rain or shine. There are no ticket refunds.

Where
Woodland Park Zoo, 601 N. 59th St., Seattle. The North Meadow is near the North Gate off N. 59th St. & Phinney Ave. N. Other entries are through the South Gate at N. 50th St. & Fremont Ave. N. and the West Gate at N. 55th St. & Phinney Ave. N. Call Metro at 206.553.3000 for bus service to the zoo. Parking is free, but limited. Free parking is also available at lower Woodland Park.

Tickets
Tickets go on sale beginning May 31 at all PCC Natural Markets: Fremont, Greenlake, Kirkland, Seward Park, View Ridge, West Seattle and Issaquah (with a $2 service fee added). Kids 12 and under are free. Tickets sell out fast, so purchase early! A limited number of tickets are available at Woodland Park Zoo gates during zoo hours. If available, day-of-show tickets are sold at Woodland Park Zoo only.

Info
For more information, call the Washington Mutual ZooTunes Hotline: 206.615.0076. Or visit the ZooTunes section of the zoo's Web site.

Other
Secure bike corrals will be available during Washington Mutual ZooTunes concerts. Biking and riding the bus help minimize traffic congestion and on-street parking in the neighborhoods surrounding the zoo.

Who

• July 6 - Taj Mahal and the Hula Band with special guest Keola Beamer, $20
  Over the past 35 years, Taj Mahal has performed and recorded blues, reggae, zydeco, gospel, calypso, jazz, African folk, and slack-key classics influenced by his years in Hawaii. Recording 36 albums, including the 1997 Señor Blues, he has earned six Grammy nominations. The music of the Caribbean, where his family's from, has influenced him greatly. When he moved to Hawaii in 1981, the Hawaiian slack-key guitar sound sent him spinning and brought him right back to the islands. The result? The Hula Band.
  
  Keola Beamer is one of Hawaii's premier singer-songwriters, arrangers, composers and slack-key guitarists. His well of talent springs from five generations of the island's most illustrious musical lineages. Keola established himself early as a leader of the wave of contemporary Hawaiian music when he wrote the classic “Honolulu City Lights”— which is one of the absolute all-time best selling recordings in the history of Hawaiian music.
  
• July 16 Rosanne Cash with special guest Iris Dement, $19
  Since 1979, this Grammy award winner and gold record producing singer-songwriter has ranked as one of the most important forces in new acoustic folk, pop and country music. From the three number one singles she produced on 1981’s “Seven Year Ache” to her most recent work, “Rules of Travel,” Rosanne Cash writes and performs music from the heart.
  
  Iris Dement has established herself as a straightforward singer-songwriter with the ability to touch the heart and soul of an audience. Her three albums, marked by great songwriting, honest presentation and resonant vocals, have received wide critical acclaim. The song “Our Town” from her 1992 debut, “Infamous Angel,” was used to close the final episode of the television series Northern Exposure. “Let The Mystery Be,” also from that album, was used in the motion picture Little Buddha. Her second album, “My Life,” a Grammy nominee in 1994, was followed by “The Way I Should” in 1996.
  
• July 23 Suzanne Vega with special guest David Wilcox, $18
  It was the “Suzanne Vega” album and classic early singles like “Marlene on the Wall,” “Left Of Center” and “Small Blue Thing” that truly broke new ground and whose influence could later be traced to the work of singers like Tracy Chapman and Alanis Morissette. Performing on the live circuit, Vega continues to comfortably fill large arenas. Her worldwide number one hits “Luka” and “Tom’s Diner” consolidated Vega’s reputation as a singer-songwriter with both her peers and legions of devoted followers.
  
  David Wilcox - By combining the honesty of folk music with a rock/pop sound, David Wilcox has created a sound that reflects the themes he chooses to write on, including loneliness, unrequited love, marriage and the birth of a child. Wilcox frequently draws comparisons to James Taylor, but with a softer and warmer voice.
  
• July 30 Aimee Mann with special guest, $19
  Sonically complex and lyrically intimate, “Lost In Space,” Aimee Mann’s fourth solo release, marks yet another advance in a career studded with hit singles and critical accolades. From her work in the ‘80s with the MTV favorite Til Tuesday through her acclaimed solo discs “Whatever” and “I’m With Stupid” in the ‘90s, Aimee Mann has always been at the forefront of contemporary songwriters. The close of the millennium brought her greatest success, with the simultaneous releases of “Bachelor No. 2” and the soundtrack to the film Magnolia, which garnered nominations for an Oscar, a Golden Globe and three Grammys.
  
• August 6 Shawn Colvin with special guest, $19
  “Whole New You” is an apt title for Shawn Colvin’s first album of original material since she walked away with two of the top Grammys in 1998 for “Sunny Came Home.” “Whole New You” extends the sophisticated blend of folk and pop that made her last album, “A Few Small Repairs” such a standout upon its release, including more non-traditional instruments such as the bass clarinet, melodica and electronic drums.
  
• August 13 Delbert McClinton with special guest Buddy Miller Band, $18
  Delbert McClinton won a Grammy in 2001 for effort, “Nothing Personal,” and follows that acclaimed album up with his latest work “Room to Breathe.” His music blends his Texas roots with roadhouse rock, juke-joint blues, Memphis soul and country. His harp work on Bruce Channel's hit, "Hey Baby," helped launch his career. He was even more successful in the ‘70s when he teamed up with Glen Clark and formed Delbert & Glen. Also in the ‘70s, McClinton's songs were covered by country acts such as Waylon Jennings and Emmylou Harris. The Blues Brothers used his "B-Movie Box Car Blues" on their first album and in their hit movie. He has released distinctive solo efforts and guested on albums with everyone from Roy Buchanan to Bonnie Raitt.
  
  Buddy Miller - Blending soulful Americana with blues-tinted country and dusty rock and roll, Buddy Miller makes records that defy easy categories. As a guitarist, his contributions to both Steve Earle’s “El Corazon” tour and Emmylou Harris’ Spyboy band were incomparable, as was his sure-handed studio pickwork for everyone from Lucinda Williams and Patty Griffin to Australian rockers Midnight Oil and R&B soul sister, N’dea Davenport. It is as an artist in his own right, however, that Miller distills his eclectic bent and in-demand versatility as a singer/writer/stringbender to its essence. His previous three solo albums are each superbly rendered song cycles that sound as cohesive in spirit as they are wide-ranging in genre. Now comes “Midnight and Lonesome,” and Miller has yet again raised the bar.
  
• August 20 Béla Fleck and the Flecktones, $19
  Often considered the premiere banjo player in the world, Béla Fleck is the only musician to be nominated for Grammys in jazz, bluegrass, pop, country, spoken word, Christian, composition and world music categories. He formed the Flecktones in 1989, which debuted in 1990 by playing a “blu-bop” mix of jazz and bluegrass. The group soon became a commercial success and critically acclaimed band. “Outbound,” Béla Fleck & the Flecktones’ seventh album, features an all-star cast of guest artists including vocalists Shawn Colvin and Jon Anderson (of Yes).
  
• August 27 Keller Williams with special guest, $14
  Keller Williams is a man of many words, although you wouldn't guess it judging by his catalogue of one-word album titles. From “Freek” to “Buzz” to “Spun” to “Breathe” to “Loop” to his most impressive disc, 2002’s “Laugh,” Keller has carved out his own little niche in the music world. He's a wildly creative singer-songwriter that has nearly mastered the art of attack-heavy percussive acoustic guitar. It is a style influenced in part by legends such as Leo Kottke and Michael Hedges, but with the use of sampling or looping, Williams has taken his career in a new direction.