Shore readies for entertaining summer

Kicking off with a bracing blast of mid-'90s rap-metal nostalgia, when Korn headlines the House of Blues next Thursday, the pop music scene at the Jersey Shore will be a busy one this summer.

That will be particularly true in Atlantic City, where casinos hit hard by the recession and competition from Pennsylvania slots parlors are counting on marquee acts to help bring gamblers back to the beach.

The dominant player, as usual, is the Borgata Hotel & Spa, where R&B stars Mary J. Blige and The Dream will sing on June 5 at the Event Center, which also will host Chicago with Earth, Wind and Fire, on June 12 and 13, Il Divo on July 3, an arsenal of Philadelphia International Records all-stars, including the O'Jays and Jerry Butler on July 17, and Depeche Mode with Peter, Bjorn & John on Aug. 1.

At that resort's tinier Music Box, which essentially was turned into a comedy room, there will be Joel McHale (May 23), Wanda Sykes (May 30), and D.L. Hughley (June 19), all coming through. Christopher Guest, Michael McKean, and Harry Shearer - the dudes from Spinal Tap and A Mighty Wind - will do their Unwigged and Unplugged bit on May 24, Memorial Day weekend.

But the Borgata doesn't have all the big cheeses. So far, there are two perennial crowd-pleasers booked at Boardwalk Hall: Fleetwood Mac on June 13 and Jimmy Buffett - recently named by Bob Dylan as one of his favorite songwriters - with his Coral Reefer Band on Aug. 23.

The House of Blues has a full slate, too. There's hard rock from Buck Cherry launching the holiday weekend on May 23, prog rock from Coheed and Cambria on May 28, alt-country with Emmylou Harris, Patty Griffin, Shawn Colvin and Buddy Miller - billed as "Three Girls And Their Buddy" - on May 29, neo-soul with Chrisette Michele on June 6, hip-hop from Busta Rhyme on June 12, and blues from Buddy Guy on June 20, among others.

The Trump Taj Mahal will bring R&B and reality TV powerhouse Keyshia Cole on May 23 with Keri Hilson and Bobby Valentino, and for Deadheads who just can't get enough, Bob Weir & Ratdog will do the Taj on July 11. (And for back-to-back Deadness, the cover band Dark Star Orchestra is in town July 10 at the Hilton, where country populist Gretchen Wilson will play on Aug. 22.