Summer Music & Movies: Catching Rays

For nearly thirty years, music- and film-lovers have gathered around a concrete slab in Loring Park to dance in the grass, toss Frisbees, and picnic till dusk, when Walker curators project film classics onto a modest movie screen. This year, the musical lineup emphasizes local acts, like teen idols Melodious Owl (at right, August 1) and big-band punksters Thunder in the Valley (August 8). The film selection focuses on the work of Wisconsin boy-made-good Nicholas Ray, including Rebel Without a Cause (August 1) and The Lusty Men (August 15). Ray, who died in 1979, had a great interest in music, associating with ethnomusicologist Alan Lomax and musicians Leadbelly and Woody Guthrie, so he’d probably love seeing his films paired with a little rock-n-roll. 612-375-7600; www.walkerart.org