In NJ This Weekend: Weezer, Ke$ha, and More at The Bamboozle; Fountains of Wayne in Hoboken

There's some great live music in North Jersey this weekend, and some of it's even free. First off is the not-free event, the annual NJ edition of The Bamboozle festival in the Meadowlands Sports Complex in East Rutherford.

The Bamboozle takes place Saturday and Sunday, May 1st and 2nd, and they've got a great lineup of acts on both days. The May 1st show features Paramore, Drake, Something Corporate, Ke$ha, Angels & Airwaves, The Maine, and more. The May 2nd lineup has Weezer, MGMT, Ke$ha, OK Go, Matt & Kim, and Girl Talk, among many others. You can buy NJ Bamboozle tickets here.

You can get a FREE Spin 2010 Bamboozle mixtape download, with 13 songs by Bamboozle artists including Saves the Day, Say Anything, and Wale.

Set times and a map for The Bamboozle in NJ are posted here. 

A few miles away, the May edition of the Hoboken Arts & Music Festival takes place on Sunday with a strong headliner in Fountains of Wayne (which features at least two NJ natives, as far as I know). Also on the bill is a favorite singer-songwriter of mine, Freedy Johnston, who is originally from Kansas but lived in Hoboken for a time and has played at Maxwell's in town many times.

Freedy Johnston goes on at 3 p.m.; the Fountains of Wayne set is scheduled for 4:30. There are local acts performing as well. (Schedules and links to artists for the Hoboken Arts & Music Festival.)

New York Area Concerts: Bamboozle, Pete Seeger Tribute, Dark Was the Night

It's a busy concert weekend in the New York area, and three multi-artist events look to be very promising.

The Bamboozle festival continues Saturday and Sunday at the New Jersey Meadowlands in East Rutherford. On Saturday Fall Out Boy is the headliner, with Third Eye Blind, the Get Up Kids, Asher Roth, and many more acts on the bill. Sunday boasts headliners No Doubt; also slated for the final day are acts including Taking Back Sunday, Rise Against the Used, Face to Face, and Sum 41.

For set times, tickets, and more visit the Bamboozle Web site above or check them out on Twitter: @thebamboozle.

Sunday features two benefit shows. Over at Radio City Music Hall is Dark Was the Night, the latest show to benefit the Red Hot organization (and the live companion to the recent CD of the same name). On the bill are David Byrne, Dirty Projectors, Feist, Dave Sitek, Bon Iver, My Brightest Diamond, The National, Sharon Jones & The Dap Kings, and more. Get more info and Dark Was the Night Concert tickets at the Radio City box office Web site.

Madison Square Garden is probably the only venue big enough to hold all the stars, big and small, who'll be performing at the Pete Seeger 90th birthday celebration on Sunday. The music legend has influenced countless performers over the decades, and many of them will be singing and playing at Sunday's show: Bruce Springsteen, Arlo Guthrie, Bela Fleck, Joan Baez, Emmylou Harris, Kris Kristofferson, Ladysmith Black Mambazo, Tom Morello (of Rage Against the Machine), Richie Havens, and the Preservation Hall Jazz Band.

Get Pete Seeger birthday celebration tickets here at the MSG box office. Proceeds benefit Clearwater, the environmental organization Seeger founded 40 years ago.