Classic rock and contemporary country seem to dominate the concert schedule in the Mahoning Valley.

Both will be on the menu in a busy concert week starting tonight, but music lovers also will have everything from Americana to hip hop to pick from in the next eight days.

While comedian Jim Gaffigan reopened the Covelli Centre to events last month, the downtown Youngstown arena will have its first rock shows since the start of the pandemic with Judas Priest on Friday and Breaking Benjamin on Tuesday.

The Robins Theatre in Warren has a diverse trio of acts with Texas swing / Americana artist Asleep at the Wheel tonight; Justin Hayward, the voice of the Moody Blues, performing on Saturday; and Five for Fighting backed by a string quartet on Sept. 23.

And a warm September is keeping the Youngstown Foundation Amphitheatre busy with the All Star Legends of Hip Hop on Saturday and country singer Brett Young on Sept. 23.

Asleep at the Wheel

Frontman Ray Benson and Asleep at the Wheel have quite the guest list for the “Half a Hundred Years,” the album the band is releasing Oct. 1 to celebrate its golden anniversary. Willie Nelson, George Strait, Emmylou Harris, Lee Ann Womack and Lyle Lovett appear on some of its 19 tracks.

Benson credited Jamey Johnson, who played at Packard Music Hall last weekend, with giving the album its title and title track.

“I went over to the ACL (Austin City Limits) stage to see Jamey Johnson,” Benson stated in a news release. “I told him, ‘Ya know it’s Asleep at the Wheel’s 50th anniversary.’ He looked at me and said, ‘That’s Half a Hundred years!'”

He used the phrase as inspiration for a song about, “The sacrifices you have to make in 50 years on the road and the other positive side of it. The great experiences, the places I’ve been, and all the amazing people I’ve had the opportunity to meet and play music with.”

Since 1970 Asleep at the Wheel has won 10 Grammy Awards and scored country hits with “The Letter That Johnny Walker Read,” “Bump Bounce Boogie” and “House of Blue Lights.”

Akron’s The Shootouts will open the 8 p.m. show, and Benson also will produce The Shootouts’ next album. Tickets range from $25 to $40.

Judas Priest

The British heavy metal icon also is celebrating its golden anniversary. Instead of a new album, Judas Priest will mark the occasion with a 42-CD career retrospective.

Set for release on Oct. 15 is “Judas Priest: 50 Heavy Metal Years of Music,” which lead singer Rob Halford has called, “the ultimate treasure trove defining the band’s unwavering commitment to keeping and defending the heavy metal faith.”

In addition to compiling every official studio and live album in the band’s catalog, the box set include 13 discs of previously unreleased performances. It also features photos taken by Ross Halfin and signed by Halford, Glenn Tipton, Ian Hill, Richie Faulkner and Scott Travis and other memorabilia.

Judas Priest first played the Covelli Centre in 2018, and its return engagement originally was scheduled for September 2020 but was postponed nearly a year because of COVID-19.

The band has had its share of turmoil over the years. Halford left the band for a solo career and was replaced from 1996 until 2002 by Akron’s Tim “Ripper” Owens (whose story inspired the Mark Wahlberg / Jennifer Aniston movie “Rock Star”), and original guitar player K.K. Downing left the band in 2011.

Despite some public acrimony, Hill frequently used the word “family” to describe the band in an interview before that 2018 Youngstown gig.

We’re a bunch of chums, all easy going, all gregarious characters,” he said. “There’s a friendly rivalry, but no cut-throat stuff. It’s more of a family atmosphere than anything else.”

Swedish heavy metal band Sabaton will open for Judas Priest at 7:30 p.m. Friday. Tickets range from $48.75 to $102.75.

All Star Legends of

Hip Hop

Five acts who boast more than 30 rap hits combined (even more when counting guest appearances) will fill the Youngstown Foundation Amphitheatre stage on Saturday.

Juvenile, who tops the bill, had nine top 40 singles on the Billboard rap chart, including the number one single “Slow Motion.” And some of the songs that didn’t crack the rap chart made it on the R&B chart. He also had hits as a featured artist on other acts’ singles and as a member of the Hot Boys.

Scarface also had nine top 40 rap singles, including five that cracked the top 10 — “Mr. Scarface,” “Let Me Roll,” “Hand of the Dead Body,” “I Seen a Man Die” and “Smile”

Mystikal had hits with “Danger (Been So Long),” “Shake Ya A–,” “Bouncin’ Back (Bumpin’ Me Against the Wall)” and “Y’All Ain’t Ready Yet” before he career was derailed by a sexual battery conviction in 2004.

Twista’s 10 top 40 rap singles include the back-to-back chart toppers “Slow Jamz” and “Overnight Celebrity” as well as “Girl Tonite,” “Wetter” and “So Sexy.”

Trina’s four top 40 rap singles are “B R Right,” “Single Again” and “Million Dollar Girl” with “Here We Go” making it to number three on the chart.

Tickets for the 7 p.m. show range from $58 to $102.

Justin Hayward

As a member of The Moody Blues, Hayward is a Rock & Roll Hall of Fame inductee and a Vocal Group Hall of Fame inductee.

While he won’t be joined by his Moody bandmates on Saturday, fans of that band can expect many of the old hits in Hayward’s solo set. According to to the website setlist.fm, Hayward’s recent show at City Winery in Chicago included early favorites (“Tuesday Afternoon,” “Nights in White Satin”) as well as songs from the band’s commercial resurgence in the 1980s (“Your Wildest Dreams,” “I Know You’re Out There Somewhere”).

In a 2020 interview with the website Den of Geek, Hayward talks about why he still loves performing “Nights in White Satin” more than 50 years after its release.

“It’s a song that’s a joy to play and to sing, and it belongs to the audience in a way,” he said. “They bring something to it. You can do it in a sound check and it’s OK, but it has a completely different feeling. But when there is an audience there, they bring something to the songs, and particularly that one, that is a kind of magic in the room. It’s a very old thing, but it’s like a drug; once you’ve experienced that, it’s something you never want to give up.”

Mike Dawes will open the 8 p.m. Saturday concert. Tickets range from $35 to $75.

Breaking Benjamin

Like Shinedown, which filled the grandstand at the Canfield Fairgrounds this month, Breaking Benjamin has been one of the dominant acts on mainstream rock radio in the 21st century.

Led by Benjamin Burnley, the only original member, Breaking Benjamin has release three platinum-selling and two gold-selling albums in the last 20 years, and its radio hits include “Breath,” “I Will Not Bow,” “Failure,” “Angels Fall,” “Never Again,” “Torn in Two,” “Red Cold River,” “So Cold” and “Sooner or Later.”

The band resumed touring earlier this month, and all of those songs have been in the setlist for the initial dates.

Opening act Papa Roach last week released “Kill the Noise,” the second single from its upcoming album. In the press release for the song, lead singer Jacoby Shaddix said, “It’s easy to get caught up in some of that static inside your mind — we all tangle with that demon. For us, ‘Kill The Noise’ brings some straight-up heavy music catharsis, a reminder to find that moment of peace from the noise.”

Memphis May Fire also is on the bill for the 7 p.m. show. Tickets range from $39.50 to $79.50.

Brett Young

The California country singer has had no trouble conquering the Billboard country charts with six number one singles since the release of his self-titled 2016 debut — “In Case You Didn’t Know,” “Like I Loved You,” “Mercy,” “Here Tonight,” “Catch” and “Lady.”

Now he’s taking aim at the book charts. Last month Young released “Love You, Little Lady,” a children’s book inspired by his daughter and his number one single “Lady.”

Young told E! News that becoming a father changed his perspective by, “Seeing the world through a 1-year-old’s eyes and watching the joy they get from the things I didn’t even realize I was taking for granted.”

“Lady” was the lead single from his June 2021 album “Weekends Look a Little Different These Days,” and Young recently released stripped-down versions of those songs under the title “Weekends Look a Little Acoustic These Days.”

Ryan Hurd and Filmore will open the 7:30 p.m. show. Tickets range from $35 to $59.75.