It may not be free, but the city of Raleigh's new Bud Light Cityfest is pretty close. The five-show series at the Downtown Raleigh Amphitheater will kick off next month and run into October, with each show costing $5 -- a price that includes any and all extra service charges. Based on the first two acts, it looks like the lineups will be along the lines of the old Raleigh Downtown Live free-show series. Dates and acts are still coming together, and so far they've announced two of the five headliners:

Aug. 27 -- Ed Kowalczyk (formerly of Live)
Oct. 1 -- Rusted Root

This weekend marks the unofficial start of outdoor music season around these parts, with Shakori Hills and Das Shed both hosting major events. There are lots of new wrinkles this year, including a new venue and the loss of an old favorite. For particulars and schedules, see the story in Friday's paper.

Most years, the Raleigh Downtown Live free-concert series already has a fair chunk of its schedule set by now -- dates, and at least some of the headliners. But there's been no news this year because, for all intents and purposes, there won't be a RDL series in 2010. Call it a victim of progress.

Since 2005, RDL has presented about a half-dozen free day-long concerts per summer, happening every other Saturday at Moore Square. While the lineups were mostly second- or third-tier acts long past their hitmaking prime (Candlebox, anybody?), each season offered up the occasional Joan Jett, Violent Femmes or other nod to credibility. At the very least, RDL was a cheap way to see a whole bunch of music.

Flash forward to 2010, however, and the city is building a new 5,000-capacity downtown amphitheater just west of the Raleigh Convention Center. With Live Nation commited to booking 15 to 20 shows there this year, the Saturday dates RDL used to take up are suddently much more valuable.

So look for ticketed concerts at the new amphitheater to occupy those Saturday dates RDL used to occupy. Deep South Entertainment, the company that booked and produced RDL shows for the city, has some other free shows in the works (including The NC Ag Jam on June 19 in Moore Square, with country acts). There will also be a series of free mid-week evening concerts downtown, with local and regional acts -- think the old "Alive After Five" series.

Raleigh Downtown Live has certainly taken its lumps in recent years for how many retreads and burnouts play the series. But they just confirmed a terrific headliner for July 11 -- the ageless Joan Jett, in her first Triangle performance since the 2006 Vans Warped tour. Yes, her commercial peak was three decades ago. But she still brings it.

also, if you've got a local act in mind to open this or any other RDL show, vote here.

More acts are popping up on the Raleigh Downtown Live schedule, most notably the Charlie Daniels Band (featuring Wilmington native Daniels) on July 25. Gee, how many times you think he'll play his biggest hit?

Also new to the schedule is another alt-rock band that peaked in the mid-'90s, Filter on June 13; alongside the similarly vibed Candlebox, still down for the season-opening show on May 30.

Well, how about that. Not only does the Raleigh Downtown Live free-concert series already have its 2009 dates on the books, but the first act is lined up. That will be Seattle grunge band Candlebox (a triple-platinum act back in 1993) on May 30.

Raleigh Downtown Live wrapped up its 2008 season on Saturday, with an announced crowd of 16,400 (!) at Moore Square for Puddle of Mudd. The free seven-show series drew a reported total of 71,050 people. And lo and behold, RDL producer Deep South Entertainment has already set dates for 2009 (which didn't happen this year until February). So if you want to mark your calendar:

May 30
June 13
June 27
July 11
July 25
Aug. 8
Aug. 22

Maybe that new downtown amphitheater will be ready to go by then?