Grand opening w/ Dinosaur Jr., Soul Asylum, A Giant Dog

Cedar Park strengthens its case as Austin’s best suburb with the recent opening of Lakeline Park – a 200-acre green space with a man-made lake for fishing and kayaking, sports fields, a playground, and a pavilion. That stage, built for community performances, gets a marquee christening with Dinosaur Jr., Soul Asylum, and A Giant Dog.

One of several bands that can be justifiably professed as godfathers of alternative rock, Dinosaur Jr. came into consciousness on Eighties punk stable SST Records before evolving into grunge-era MTV breakouts with hits like “Start Choppin’” and “Feel the Pain,” though 1987 cut “Sludgefeast” appropriately highlights Dino Jr.’s pillars: gloriously heavy guitar, shy vocals, and loud-soft dynamics. After shutting down in 1997, guitarist/singer J Mascis, bassist Lou Barlow, and drummer Murph reconvened in 2005 for one of the sturdiest seconds acts in alt.

The notoriously decibel-pushing trio’s a bold choice for an outdoor show in the ’burbs, but they follow a rare acoustic performance from Soul Asylum, best known for their mid-Nineties super-singles “Runaway Train” and “Misery.” Much of their catalog reflects a strain of rock similar to Minnesotan compatriots the Replacements. Austin favorites A Giant Dog set the stage with heart-on-sleeve punk on the grassy, general admission amphitheatre.