Some big names make up the lineup for the Del Mar racetrack's Summer Concert Series (formerly known as the 4 O'Clock Fridays series).

The seven-week series features free concerts after the final horse race of the day on various evenings (six Fridays, two Saturdays, one Sunday and one Wednesday) from July 24 through Sept. 9. Most concerts take place at the Del Mar Fairgrounds' Plaza de Mexico, with a few larger bands playing in the track infield and the season-closing concert in the fairgrounds' Paddock. Concert admission is free with paid racetrack admission.

The series is G. Love & Special Sauce, July 24; The Wailers, July 31; The Airborne Toxic Event, Aug. 7; Common Sense, Aug. 14; the Flaming Lips, Aug. 15; Pinback, Aug. 21; Steel Pulse, Aug. 22; Super Diamond, Aug. 28; Reggae Festival, Sept. 6; and a closing-day party on Sept. 9.

Call 858-755-1141 or visit delmarscene.com.

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Sheryl Lee Ralph has replaced Adriane Lenox in the Old Globe's pre-Broadway tryout of the musical "The First Wives Club," which will open in previews next month.

Lenox (who won the Tony Award for her performance in "Doubt") left the production during the rehearsal process because of health concerns, according to a statement by the Old Globe.

Ralph earned a Tony Award for originating the role of Deena in "Dreamgirls" and originated the role of Muzzy in the La Jolla Playhouse's original production of "Thoroughly Modern Millie." She was also a series regular on the television shows "Moesha" and "Designing Women."

"The First Wives Club" will run July 17 through Aug. 23.

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San Diego County Fair is a great place to see a showcase of award-winning work by local artists, but on Thursday, fairgoers can see artists in action. From 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., the fair will host the 2009 Plein Air Contest. More than 200 artists will set up their easels around the fairgrounds to capture fair scenes in oil, acrylic, watermedia, drawing, pastels and other media. Judges will announce the winners at 5 p.m. Visit sdfair.com.

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Meanwhile, if you visit the fair on Thursday, there's much more to see.

Five North County singers and bands made it through the preliminary round of the San Diego County Fair's Musicpalooza contest last weekend. Eight bands and eight singers will compete Thursday in the semifinal rounds. Bands hit the Grandstand stage at 11 a.m., and singers compete at 7 p.m. on the Showcase stage. The field will be narrowed to five semifinalists in each category for a final showdown July 3.

North County bands still in the running are Talk Like June of Escondido, the New Archaic of Encinitas and Endoxi of Carlsbad; and the North County singers who remain are Danielle Tucker of Ramona and Kate Fuller of Del Mar.

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A free concert by the Marshall Tucker Band, scheduled for next Tuesday on the Paddock stage at the San Diego County Fair, has been canceled. Fair officials said the wife of the band's lead singer, Doug Gray, recently passed away and the band has canceled all engagements through July 1.

The Southern rock band the Outlaws will perform in its place.

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Fans of North County-raised singing sensation Adam Lambert won't have to wait very long for the first album from the "American Idol" runner-up.

Before he went on the Fox television show this year, Lambert recorded more than two albums' worth of material with an L.A. record label, which is now planning to put 11 of the best tracks together for an album it will release this summer called "On With the Show." In a published statement this week, Lambert acknowledged that he did record some songs in 2005 when he was a struggling artist, but that these songs do not reflect the style and sound of the music he is creating today.

Nonetheless, Hi Fi and Wilshire Records will go ahead with the release and fans can listen to the album's debut single, "Want," at www.hifirecordings.com.

Meanwhile, Lambert is in the midst of recording a new CD with 19 Recordings/RCA, the label associated with "American Idol," and that CD should be out in November. He will visit his hometown of San Diego with the "American Idols" Live! tour on July 18 at the San Diego Sports Arena.

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To promote its musical "Hedwig and the Angry Inch," Cygnet Theatre in San Diego will offer half-price admission to all ticket-buyers who show up dressed in drag for a late-night performance on Saturday.

"Hedwig" is a rock musical about a frustrated rock singer struggling to overcome the emotional and physical distress of a botched sex-change operation. Customers are encouraged to dress as Hedwig or as Hedwig's bandmate Yitzhak for the performance at 10 p.m. at 6663 El Cajon Blvd., Suite N, in San Diego. They'll get half-off the regular ticket prices of $32 to $36. Call 619-337-1525.

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Five years after it was born at La Jolla Playhouse and settled into a Tony-winning run on Broadway, the musical "Jersey Boys" is still one of the hardest-to-get tickets in town. Tickets for the Broadway show are sold out several months in advance, so buyers have to either plan way ahead or buy tickets at a steep premium through ticket agencies.

Now, StubHub is launching an online marketplace where "Jersey Boys" fans can buy and sell tickets between each other or buy tickets that aren't available at the box office. It's the first such marketing technique for a Broadway show, and the StubHub site will offer tickets not only to the Broadway production of "Jersey Boys" but also the resident productions now playing in New York, Chicago and Las Vegas.

"Jersey Boys" tell the rags-to-riches musical story of Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons.

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The Reuben H. Fleet Science Center announced this week that its IMAX dome theater will be renamed to honor the request of major donors. On Monday, a ceremony was held to rename the theater in honor of Eugene Heikoff and Marilyn Jacobs Heikoff, the late sister and brother-in-law of local philanthropists Irwin Jacobs and his wife, Joan Jacobs.

Pam Kragen is the arts editor of the North County Times.