Live and loud: a quick guide to the summer's hottest music tours--gay, lesbian, and otherwise.

Grab the glitter sunblock--'tis the season for outdoor concerts and Bic-flicking arena shows. Watch for the Flashdance-era flashback tours--think Prince and Annie Lennox and the strobe-filled dramatics of Madonna and Britney. Don't forget the folk festivals and their gaggle of gaytarists--among the strummers crisscrossing the country are the Indigo Girls and Melissa Ferrick. Summer will also offer the chance to experience lesser-known--though no less worthy--acts such as singer-songwriters Mark Weigle and Garnin Benfield as well as the New York Dolls-style glam trash of the Scissor Sisters. But before you slip on the sarong, here's the skinny on this summer's concerts:

GARRIN BENFIELD

Admired for the unaffected ring of his prose and crisp guitar delivery, Benfield's roots rock is a must-hear respite from the middling folk-circuit crooners.

MELISSA FERRICK

The craggy-voiced folkster, adored for her intimate performances, tells The Advocate she will treat fans to a Q&A session in addition to playing tunes from her most recent CD, The Other Side.

JANIS IAN 

The out legend says she loves outdoor festivals because "it's very freeing to have a 60-foot stage to strut around on." Expect a mix of old and new songs plus "some hefty guitar work."

INDIGO GIRLS

Having performed together for 24 years, Amy Ray and Emily Saliers will forever live in infamy as the first ladies of lesbian folk-rock. Nowadays their shows sound more like choirs due to their fervent lyrics-belting audiences.

JUDAS PRIEST

Everybody's favorite gay metalmeister, Rob Halford, has reunited with his old band and is touring to support theft" boxed set, Metalogy, aptly encased in leather-and-studs packaging.

ANNIE LENNOX

The '80s new-wave icon is the opening act for Sling's Sacred Love tour, where she will likely play favorites from solo efforts and Eurythmics material, in advance of her best-of album due out in the fall.

LOLLAPALOOZA 2004

Perry Farrell's musical baby is back with wildly varying performers, among them Sonic Youth, Morrissey, and electro-funk disco feminists Le Tigre. JD Samson, Le Tigre's out drummer, says the band will sample songs from a forthcoming record, out in September. Samson also pledges "super-cool costumes and brand new choreography."

MADONNA

The ever-morphing musical diva has appropriately titled her latest road trip the "re-Invention" tour. Lucky ticket holders can expect a career retrospective of sorts. Attendees from bygone years complained of not enough of the classics; the increasingly British chanteuse has apparently taken heed.

MAGNETIC FIELDS

Fans have waited five years for uber-song scribe Stephin Merritt and his band to release their latest CD, i--a skeletal, acoustic effort that is sure to unfold gorgeously, it" hauntingly, onstage.

PRINCE

Like Madonna, he's rolling out the pop hits in Musicology, his first live run in six years. Word has it that this tour will be the last time he plays Iris hits onstage, so put on the Apollonia-inspired bustier mid head over.

QUEER AS FOLK: FUTURE BABYLON TOUR

Ever wish you were on the floor at the famed Babylon club, where the boys lock eyes longingly? The makers of this tour are promising to simulate flint exact decor, along with dance performances and DJs spinning music from the TV series.

SCISSOR SISTERS

The Brit-based disco-rock quintet, featuring four guys and female singer Ana Matronic, releases a self-titled CD in ,July. Says Matronic of her band's upcoming U.S. shown: "People should prepare to feel the flames of hell lick at their feet when the world's largest gay marriage rolls into town. We promise to corrupt every, mind and shake every booty!"

SLEATER-KINNEY

The riot grrrl goddaughters are currently penning tunes for a new CD, which stager-guitarist Carrie Brownstein says they intend to perfect by playing live. "These are uncomfortable times we are living in," she cautions, "so we're not writing pop songs. The new ones are angular and soulful and a little scarier, but you can dance to them."

BRITNEY SPEARS

The Madonna progeny is hawking equal parts smoke and skin on this tour. Expect dizzying screen images and sweaty gyrating, occasionally backed by live vocals--but that's beside the point.

MARK WEIGLE

The folk-rocker received accolades for his most recent CD, Different and the Same, which showcased his ability to reinvent country hits and pop chestnuts by infusing the songs with a decidedly homo sensibility.

Tucker has also written for the New York Press and Time Out New York.