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The next 96 hours will be the most entertaining of summer 2008. Between tonight and Sunday, rockers, norteño legends, folk heroes and a comedian named Bill will stand on our stages, vying for our attention. As far as we can tell, there's not another weekend that will offer so much in so few hours.

Consider what follows your scorecard to help you decide which show is right for you.

Folk singer Ani DiFranco has a long and pioneering musical history.

And thankfully, she's been willing to share pieces of that with us when she comes through town.

Last week we published our most recent interview, in which DiFranco talked about life with her new daughter, her upcoming album, "Red Letter Year," and global politics, among other things. You can read it here.

To celebrate tonight's show at the Rialto Theatre, here are some highlights of Arizona Daily Star interviews and reviews that reveal a little of her personal and musical evolution:

"They smell money, and they just want a piece. I'm just worried about becoming a part of a multi-national music corporation. That makes for radio mayonnaise and TV comas."

— A 23-year-old DiFranco in a 1994 interview ahead of her concert at the (now defunct) Downtown Performance Center. DiFranco started her own record label, Righteous Babe Records, around 1990. She expounds on her criticisms of the record industry in the song "Napoleon."

"Her scruffy attire included green hair, bandanna, nose ring, baggy tank top, rolled-up pants and combat boots. After starting a half-hour late so she could fix a broken guitar pickup, DiFranco played almost 2 1/2 hours, including a brief intermission, for 225 fans."

— Review of that 1994 Downtown Performance Center performance, said to have been DiFranco's first Tucson concert. By 1994, DiFranco had already released six albums.

"As she'd begin a breath, she seemed hesitant to continue. Then — as if only during that second she realized the dramatic power of such a pause — she would milk from the moment as much tease as possible.

"This also is how DiFranco sings, whether her protagonist is a philosophical lap dancer, a joyful daughter or an angry ex-lover.

"And in doing so last night, she brought about 2,000 fans to their feet with the first song of a 90-minute set in the University of Arizona's posh auditorium."

— Review of DiFranco's 1997 Centennial Hall show. DiFranco released a two-disc live album, "Living in Clip," that year.

"And her energy is infectious. Sunday's audience swayed, swung their arms, swooned and screamed every time DiFranco paused to chat — about everything from a walk in Tucson's desert to her views on how Ronald Reagan helped create the 1980s homeless epidemic."

— Review of DiFranco's nearly sold-out Centennial Hall show in 1998, the same year she released her breakthrough album, "Little Plastic Castle."

"Her music is ever-evolving, from simple folk fare spiked with a very determined political opinion to musical experimentations with sounds and words, including spoken-word recitation to a silent backdrop."

— Preview of DiFranco's sold-out Rialto Theatre show in 2003. She released her 15th album, the Grammy-winning "Evolve."

"I think I'm just somebody who moves quickly," she said. "My limbs move quickly and my heart and my thoughts. So I think I just follow my own needs and my own pace — I have the luxury of that since I work for myself — and so it's just my nature to keep changing."

— DiFranco in a preview of her 2005 Centennial Hall show.

At 15 years and counting, Intocable sits at the head of norteño's table — not quite the godfathers, but certainly the older brothers looked up to by acts that have followed them since the early 1990s.

Their longevity as a regional Mexican band is not surprising. Their enduring popularity, however, is enviable.

Much of the credit belongs to Intocable's distinctive blend of polka rhythms underscored with driving accordion melodies. It's packaged nicely with frontman Ricky Muñoz's soaring pop vocals that seem to transcend language; the group's fan base includes those whose grasp of the Spanish language is questionable.

Intocable's energetic live shows regularly attract sold-out arena crowds throughout Mexico and the United States, including selling out the Houston Astrodome (65,000). Although its international exposure is minimal, the group's popularity and cultural impact on its home turf rivals that of Latin pop stars such as Paulina Rubio, Juanes and Thalía, according to Billboard magazine.

The Texas-born sextet swings into Casino del Sol's AVA on Friday with Latin pop band Horóscopos de Durango, one of the longest continuously recording groups in the regional Mexican genre. The group started in Chicago in 1975 and has continued since with constantly changing lineups.

Friday's concert begins at 8 p.m. at the AVA, 5655 W. Valencia Road. Tickets are $30-$100 through www.solcasinos.com.

Political activist, rocker, folkie, songwriter and author Steve Earle returns to the Rialto Theatre Friday for a follow-up to his 2006 acoustic concert with then new wife, Allison Moorer.

It's a safe bet Earle won't be shy about his political opinions; he never is. But he also may reveal a bit of his romantic side.

Earle, the tormented, respected, sometimes reviled but never ignored troubadour and rattler of our collective conscience, is mushy in love.

He's in love with his wife of three years, Moorer — a country singer and go-to back-up vocalist for everyone from the Celtic giants The Chieftains to rock-rapper Kid Rock — and he's in love with his adopted city, New York, where he lives in the musically storied Greenwich Village.

The ghosts of his long-moved-on peers engage him from his neighborhood — the street where Bob Dylan huddled against the snowy cold with girlfriend Suze Rotolo in the cover shot for 1962's "The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan," and the corners where many in their youth busked for pennies and pints.

Earle recalls those times in the Village and the music on his latest album, "Washington Square Serenade."

The disc is pure pop, with love songs in the vein of Dylan and The Beatles, with a few signature political rants for good measure, including the anthem "Steve's Hammer," dedicated to Pete Seeger. It's uplifting, which some might argue is a welcome departure, and emphasizes Earle's conviction that music has a role in social justice.

He and Moorer also co-wrote a love song, "Days Aren't Long Enough," which they will surely sing Friday.

Earle wasn't available for an interview, but, in press materials, he said "Serenade" is a true expression of where he is personally.

"I don't think I've ever made an apolitical record. The last two before this ('The Revolution Starts . . . Now' (2004) and 'Jerusalem' (2002)) were overtly political, and unapologetically so. This one is unapologetically personal," he said.

An attractive young woman recently approached Bill Engvall at a club.

He thought she wanted an autograph. His friends thought she was hitting on a celebrity.

"I'm thinking in my head, 'Let her down easy.' She walked over and I said, 'Look, I appreciate you coming over, but I'm married and I'm 50. Why don't I buy your table a round of drinks,' " he recalled. "She goes, 'Oh, we thought you were Suzy's dad. We called him because she's throwing up in the bathroom.' "

That's when it occurred to the comedian, known for his signature "Here's Your Sign" routine, that there were things he could no longer do at age 50.

Like go to nightclubs.

Or jog.

"I didn't realize your body could forget how to run," Engvall said in a lunch break phone interview last week during filming his namesake TBS sitcom. "After jogging a quarter of a mile, I thought if jogging was one of those nature shows on TV, I would be one of those gazelles that's not going to make it back to the herd."

But being 50 — he turns 51 next month — has had its advantages. His daughter Emily is 22, a college graduate and out of the house. His son Travis is 17 and a year from graduating high school — and being out of the house.

"Everybody goes, 'How are you going to handle the empty nest?' Let me see what the downside of this is: I can sleep in. My wife and I can have dinner whenever, where ever we want. And we can walk around the house naked. Hmmm. I don't get the downside," he said, with a teen giddiness to his tone.

Of course, life with his wife would be idyllic if he wasn't so busy. The veteran comedian, who spent his formative kindergarten-through-ninth-grade years in Winslow, spends little time at home.

A recent weekend: He flew to Detroit to be the grand marshall of a NASCAR race, flew home to LA late the next night. Rehearsed the next morning, then was back on a plane that night to film a guest appearance on "The View" in New York. That afternoon, he hopped back on a plane to LA to film three episodes of Country Music Television's "Country-Fried Home Videos."

This Saturday, he plans to fly to Tucson to headline a stand-up show at Desert Diamond Casino. Then it's straight to the airport and a flight home.

"I still love stand-up, and I will always continue to do stand-up. That's why I'm looking forward to this show in Tucson. It's my chance to see the fans."

He also loves his sitcom, a purely G-rated romp with him as a dad with three kids.

"I think that's what makes the show so wonderful. It's very relatable," he said. "The average family can watch this and go, 'Oh, that's our family.' "

His sitcom daughter is not about to move out, but his teenage TV son, like his real-life son, hasn't a clue what life holds for him.

Meanwhile, Engvall's life is something he never could have imagined at that age.

"For a kid who grew up in Winslow and was watching John Wayne movies with my dad at the Tonto Drive-In, this is amazing," he said. "Every morning I get up and I literally think I'm continuing to live this dream. I come to work and there's a stage door with my name on it . . . and I'm on TV. I can go to any town in America and somebody will say, 'You're Bill Engvall.' That's a pretty bizarre thought."

Martina McBride headlined the first KIIM Freedom Festival in 2003.

More than 6,000 fans crowded the infield at Hi Corbett Field on a blistering Saturday that year.

For the next three years, right around the Fourth of July, Tucson's lone country station hosted truly American concerts featuring stars like Neal McCoy, Dwight Yoakam, Sara Evans, Merle Haggard and Clint Black.

Then last year, the festival took an odd turn. Instead of stars, KIIM brought in people impersonating the stars.

That's what's in store Saturday for the sixth annual festival. KIIM is bringing back a cast from the Las Vegas Legends of Country Music. It's a chance to experience folks who slightly resemble and sort of sound like Brooks & Dunn, Garth Brooks, Dolly Parton, Reba McEntire and Tim McGraw.

By all accounts, they're impressive. And if you're a fan of the hits more than the hitmakers, you'll have a ball.

Here's another strong argument to make the drive to the Pima County Fairgrounds: Admission is free if you get your tickets in advance from KIIM.

If you come to the gate empty-handed, admission is $10. Gates open at 4 p.m. For details, call the station at 887-1000.

The fairgrounds are at 11300 S. Houghton Road, off Interstate 10.

If you're wondering how the classic rock act Boston could tour this summer without its original lead singer, fear not.

The band has added two vocalists to replace Brad Delp, who took his life in March 2007.

One is Michael Sweet, the vocalist for '80s metal act Stryper.

The other is Tommy DeCarlo, a fan the band found on MySpace who is taking a break from his job at a Home Depot to tour.

Both performed as part of a Delp tribute concert that persuaded the band to take the act on the road for the first time since 2004.

Boston hits Casino del Sol's AVA Sunday night in a co-headlining jaunt with Styx.

Formed in the mid-'70s, Boston has its share of radio standards, including "More Than a Feeling," "Rock & Roll Band," "Smokin'" and "Foreplay/Long Time."

We caught up with longtime guitarist Gary Pihl at tour rehearsals in Baton Rouge, La.

This is the first tour without Brad Delp. How is that going and what's it like?

"Of course we miss him every day, and there's not one day that doesn't go by where we say, 'Oh, Brad used to say this,' because he was a funny guy. And so, there's always reminiscence of him. So it's certainly bittersweet not to have him here. On the other hand, we almost feel like he's looking down on us."

Yeah, was there ever a moment where you guys felt like calling it quits?

"Well, I don't know how (Boston founder) Tom (Scholz) felt exactly, but I certainly felt like, 'Gosh, what are we going to do? Brad's just irreplaceable. What are we going to do?' So I certainly thought, well, maybe that was it. But so many fans called and e-mailed and wrote us letters and said, 'We loved Brad, but please don't stop the music.'"

It doesn't feel too soon?

"It's certainly been unreal for us, because I was in the act 30 years ago. I'll never get over it. It'll always be too soon. You just don't know someone 30 years and say, 'OK, that's it.' That'll never change. In essence, it didn't matter when or how."

The song "More Than a Feeling" — do you have people now come up to you and tell you they can play that song now better than you on "Guitar Hero"?

"You know, my son has 'Guitar Hero' and he is a bit of a guitar player. And he said, 'You know, Dad, I know how to play this song, but it's a completely different experience to try and play it on 'Guitar Hero.' Sometimes it helps not to know how to play the song, because it's not set up the same as a guitar. So it's not quite the same."