Bigger, better, back

The U.S. Cellular Center was the first Corridor entertainment venue to reopen following the Floods of 2008, when an up-and-coming teenage Taylor Swift tossed out a $100,000 Red Cross lifeline that lasted long after her Aug. 8, 2008, concert ended.

Now just weeks from the fifth anniversary of the flood, the renewed and renovated U.S. Cellular Center arena will reopen again with several events Friday and Saturday.

The ceremonial ribbon cutting takes place at 1 p.m. Friday. At 6 p.m. Friday, local ’80s hair cover band Slap ’n’ Tickle will perform a free concert.

Saturday, Lady Antebellum takes the stage at what has been the site of Eastern Iowa’s biggest indoor concerts, sporting events, graduations, showbiz razzle dazzle and rodeos since it opened in 1979 as the Five Seasons Center at 370 First Ave. NE.

Liberace, Bon Jovi, Van Halen, Beverly Sills, Vince Gill, Prince, Marilyn Manson, “Cats” and Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus have performed there. Now, the center is back once again — bigger and better than ever — with 700 more available seats: 7,700 for reserved seating and 9,000 for general admission shows. It’s all part of an $85 million investment in a new convention center and arena renovation at the downtown complex, which also features $45 million for hotel renovation and $15 million for a new parking ramp and skywalk across First Avenue.

June is shaping up to be just as eclectic and electric as ever in the arena, with more summer shows to be announced shortly.

Lady Antebellum

LADY ANTEBELLUM

The hottest trio in country crossoverdom has not only scored legions of fans through hit after hit and Grammy after Grammy, but also through six trips to the region since playing the State Fair and Dubuque in 2008.

Lucky number seven lands in Cedar Rapids — one of the group’s few remaining gigs before Hillary Scott’s baby girl is expected to arrive in July. For now, Scott, Charles Kelley and Dave Haywood are basking in the “Golden” glow of their fourth album, released May 7. It’s already a hitmaker for the hitmaking machine that is Lady Antebellum, winner of seven Grammy awards and a gazillion others, from The Country Music Association’s New Artist of the Year in 2008 to the Academy of Country Music’s Jim Reeves International Award in 2013.

Lady A has topped country and pop charts with a string of hits, including “I Run to You,” “Need You Now,” “Just a Kiss,” “We Owned the Night” and the latest release, “Downtown.”

The details

Lady Antebellum
7:30 p.m., June 1, 2013; with opening act, The Last Ride
U.S. Cellular Center
Tickets available at Ticketmaster.com, or by calling 1-800-745-3000
Tickets: $36.50 to $150.
Artist’s website: Ladyantebellum.com/home

CIRQUE DU SOLEIL: QUIDAM

The sensory circus that is Cirque du Soleil is making its third trip to Cedar Rapids with “Quidam,” the story of a young girl who escapes reality by entering an imaginary world where 45 performers from 20 countries help her discover and embrace her individuality.

Ten acts — including aerialists, contortionists, clowns, trapeze artists and world-class street performers — combine feats of strength, balance and death-defying derring-do with beauty, artistry and music to make the story spring to life.

The details:

Cirque du Soleil: Quidam
U.S. Cellular Center, Cedar Rapids
Thursday, June 6 at 7:30 p.m. — Friday, June 7 at 3:30 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. — Saturday, June 8 at 3:30 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. — Sunday, June 9 at 1:00 p.m. and 5:00 p.m.
Ticket prices: Adults: $40 to $90 — Children (12 & under): $32 to $72 — Military, Seniors & Students: $36 to $81
Artist’s website: Cirquedusoleil.com/en/shows/quidam/default.aspx

Barry Manilow

BARRY MANILOW

He’s spent five decades writing the songs that make the whole world sing. After spending the winter on Broadway, he’s taking that concert show on the road, landing for a return engagement in Cedar Rapids.

This member of the Songwriters Hall of Fame has not only brought us the jingles that immediately jangle through our heads (“Like a good neighbor, State Farm is there,” “I am stuck on Band-Aids” and “You deserve a break today” for McDonald’s) but songs that sustained us pre- and post disco: “Mandy,” “Looks Like We Made It,” “Can’t Smile Without You” and “I Made it Through the Rain.”

He’s won a Grammy, two Emmys, a Tony and even scored a 1978 Oscar nomination for “Ready to Take a Chance Again” from the film “Foul Play.”

The details

Barry Manilow
Saturday, June 22, 2013 at 7:30 p..m
U.S. Cellular Center
Tickets: $10-140
Artist’s website: Barrymanilow.com

WWE LIVE

“Celtic Warrior” Sheamus, Randy “The Viper” Orton, Jack Swagger, Alberto Del Rio, World’s Largest Athlete BIG SHOW and World’s Strongest Man Mark Henry will be getting their smackdown when WWE Live hits the wrestling ring.

The details: