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1. HELP WARPED REDISCOVER ITS ROOTS
Heading into the 17th year of the Vans Warped Tour, founder Kevin Lyman knew he had to do something. Ticket sales were down in 2010, and it wasn’t just the overall health of the concert industry. Warped needed tweaked. So Lyman got back to basics, rediscovering Warped’s roots by lining up a variety of sounds. My personal shocker? That Lucero is on this tour. I never would have figured a band like that would be on Warped. Ticket details about Friday's gig at the Idaho Center are here.

2. BURN RUBBER TO EAGLE
Forty years. That’s what the Nightfire Nationals are celebrating. You been out there yet? It’s time. The heat, the smell of burning rubber, the ear-splitting roar of the engines ... the people watching? It’s not something you forget. (I met John “Brute” Force at Firebird Raceway once. Yeah!) Smoke will fill the air Friday through Sunday. Details here.

3. PRETEND YOU’RE A WINE SNOB IN TRAINING
The Basque Block in Downtown Boise will be packed Friday with vino fans at WineFest, which will feature hundreds of local, regional, domestic and international wines, as well as a few from Spain and the Basque country. The idea is that you taste and buy. Also on the schedule: a silent auction, the Oinkari Basque Dancers and food from Basque block restaurants. It all benefits the Basque Museum and Cultural Center. More details here.

4. SHOUT AT THE DEVIL
Or at least talk dirty to me. Back in the 1980s, a joint tour between Motley Crue and Poison would have been unthinkable. Headbanging Crue fans — enamored by the band’s glam-fueled, goofball Satanic imagery — sneered at the lipstick pop-metal of Poison. But times change. Everybody’s inhaled mass quantities of AquaNet over the past two or three decades and have mellowed. Fans are in their 40s now and crave — as Poison sings — “Nothin’ but a Good Time.” You could do worse on a Saturday night. Snag tickets here.

5. TAKE A CHANCE
They look like Abba. They sound like Abba. They’re the only Abba tribute in the world allowed to use Abba’s original costume designs. And, well, did I mention they’re from Sweden? And that kids 10 and younger get in free on the lawn? No question about it, Arrival From Sweden will provide the soundtrack to an outdoor party Saturday night at Eagle River Pavilion with Abba hits such as “Take a Chance,” “Dancing Queen” and “S.O.S.” Tickets right here, Mamma Mia.