The Santa Barbara Bowl dominates the live music scene this summer, with 20 big name shows already announced and another dozen in the works.

The season kicked off April 25 with 1980s teen idols Duran Duran. Tonight at 7 is John Fogerty, the genius behind Creedence Clearwater Revival (he's sure to sing “Proud Mary” as part of this “Revival” tour); Tuesday is punk-pop sensation Avril Lavigne; and Canadian crooner Michael Bublé appears both next Thursday and Friday nights.

Getting tickets to some of these hot summer shows can be hard: James Taylor's Aug. 1 concert sold out in two days; Radiohead's Aug. 28 date sold out in minutes.

Sam Scranton, the Bowl's longtime manager, makes it clear that not every show sells out. “About 50 to 60 percent of the shows do sell out,” he said, “another 25 percent do really well. We're always learning what works best here.”

Not bad for a site that was, in Scranton's words, “an at-risk venue” 20 years ago.

The Bowl was built by Depression-era WPA workers in 1936 for performances celebrating Old Spanish Days. The original wooden rotating stage, wiped out in 1939 flood, was replaced with a concrete stage which, by the 1980s, was deteriorating.

“It was falling apart,” Scranton recalled. “There wasn't much stewardship of the place.”

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Scranton, then a founding Bowl board member, worked with the County to create a master plan and to establish the nonprofit Santa Barbara Bowl Foundation to manage and raise funds to improve the 4,500-plus seat facility. The foundation signed a 45-year lease with the county on July 1, 1994, and fundraising began immediately.

“The time was right to appreciate the place,” Scranton said. “It's been 12 years and we've raised $23 million and spent $22 million, all on-schedule and on-budget.”

The crumbling concrete stage wasn't replaced until summer 2001. Working during the off-season, the Bowl rebuilt the stage and located dressing rooms and much-needed new restrooms under the stage.

Every winter since, workers have made more improvements (the stage pavilion was installed in summer 2007), finishing just in time for the summer concert season.

Recent upgrades allow more elaborate sound and lighting effects. Top-tier artists, such as David Bowie, Gwen Stefani, Stevie Wonder, Pearl Jam and Rod Stewart, have brought their stadium-style shows here.

“The music world thought the Bowl was a nice spot and came in spite of how funky it was,” Scranton said. “Now, every new act starts their show by telling the audience ‘What a great place you have here!'”

He admited that they've accomplished “more than we had a right to think we would in the 1980s. The Bowl is so much easier to love now.”

It certainly is, with shows this summer by John Mellencamp, 311, Robert Plant and Alison Krauss, The Cure, The Black Crowes, The Gipsy Kings, MercyMe, A Prairie Home Companion with Garrison Keillor, Sheryl Crow with Los Lonely Boys, Steve Miller Band with Joe Cocker, and more.

Sign up for announcements of new shows and other Bowl news on its Web page at www.sbbowl.com.

Santa Barbara Bowl 2008 Concert Season

— John Fogerty, 7 p.m., Sunday, May 4

— Canceled: Avril Lavigne, with special guest Boys Like Girls, 7 p.m., Tuesday, May 6

— Michael Bubl/, 7:30 p.m., Thursday, May 8, and 7:30 p.m.; Friday, May 9

— Celtic Woman, A New Journey, 7 p.m., Friday, May 16

— KJEE Summer Round Up, featuring: The Offspring, Pennywise, Everlast, The Whigs & Rebelution 3 p.m., Sunday, May 18

— The Cure, 6 p.m., Thursday, May 29 (Tickets for rescheduled Oct. 11, 2007 show will be honored on this date.)

— Sheryl Crow, with special guest Los Lonely Boys, 7 p.m., Thursday, June 12

— Crosby, Stills & Nash, 7 p.m., Wednesday, June 18

— Robert Plant and Alison Krauss, featuring T Bone Burnett, 7 p.m., Wednesday, June 25

— 311 & Snoop Dogg, with special guest Fiction Plane, 6 p.m., Thursday, June 26

— MercyMe, with guests David Crowder Band & Tenth Avenue North, 6:30 p.m., Friday, July 25

— John Mellencamp, with special guest Lucinda Williams, 7 p.m., Wednesday, July 30; tickets go on sale at 11 a.m. May 10

— James Taylor, 7 p.m. Aug.1

— Steve Miller Band, with special guest Joe Cocker,6:30 p.m. Thursday, Aug.7

— A Prairie Home Companion with Garrison Keillor, with special guest Suzy Bogguss, 7 p.m., Saturday, Aug.16

— Gipsy Kings, 7 p.m., Sunday, Aug. 17

— Radiohead , with special guest Liars, at 6:30 p.m., Thursday, Aug. 28

— Willie Nelson, 7 p.m., Saturday, Sept. 6

— The Black Crowes, with special guests G. Love & Special Sauce and Howlin' Rain, 5:30 p.m., Friday, Sept. 19; tickets go on sale at 11 a.m. May 31

Insider tips:

Parking and Tickets

Arrive early,” Scranton said. “Don't expect to arrive at 6:45 p.m. for a 7 p.m. show and find parking,” he laughed. “But if you come at 6:15 p.m., you can easily park and enjoy a walk up the Glen, through our outdoor ‘lobby.'” A new decorative stone and steel gate, built last winter, now adorns the Glen entrance. Future improvements focus on this area and include a brook, an updated reception area, new box office and VIP parking area.

How to buy our tickets for hot shows: “Be in line early at the Bowl Box Office the day the concert goes on sale,” said Marketing Director Eric Shiflett. “We are able to manage our ticket supply to make sure that anyone that gets here early and waits in line gets tickets to the show.”