Concert schedule released

A full slate of nationally known entertainers, including Counting Crows and Ani DiFranco, highlight the fall's Indiana Memorial Union Board-sponsored events. \nTickets for some of the shows go on sale this week, which include popular music and comedy acts.\nThe performers were chosen with the students' interests in mind, said Andy Proctor, Union Board concerts director.\n"All the students pay activity fees," he said. "It's been one of my objectives to have something for everybody."\nThe first event of the fall will be a performance by comedian Dave Chappelle at the IU Auditorium Sept. 27. Chappelle's film credits include the 1998 comedy "Half-Baked," which he wrote, produced and starred in, as well as "The Nutty Professor" (1996) and "You've Got Mail" (1998). \nOn Sept. 29, Latin rock band Ozomatli will come to Alumni Hall for a free concert for IU students. Hailing from Southern California, Ozomatli is coming to Bloomington as part of a fall tour in support of its second album Embrace the Chaos, scheduled for release Sept. 11. Students attending may bring one guest per student ID to the show.\nOctober's events include a return to campus by college mainstay Ani DiFranco. She will play the IU Auditorium Oct. 20, supported by Bitch & Animal, an act on DiFranco's Righteous Babe Records. The folk-rocker last came to Bloomington in 1999. DiFranco has toured continuously since breaking into the coffeehouse circuit in the late 1980s.\n"When I started, I never had a rock star, or even a folk singer dream. Music was just something I did. And really, it still is," she told London-based The Independent in April.\nProctor described DiFranco as a performer "in tune with the college scene."\n"She has a phenomenal show," he said.\nThe comedy of the Second City touring company will come to Alumni Hall Oct. 23. Established in Chicago in the late 1950s, the sketch comedy and improv group has gained a reputation as the training ground for the comedic stars of the future. Its alumni include Joan Rivers, John Belushi and Bill Murray.\nPlatinum-selling rock group Counting Crows will come to the IU Auditorium Oct. 30 as a stop on its fall tour. The group rose to prominence after the release of its best-selling debut album August and Everything After, in 1993. Its most recent release was 1999's This Desert Life.\n"We wanted to have one big show that had mass appeal and was both critically acclaimed and very popular," Proctor said. "We're very excited about being on their fall tour."\nThe final performance of the fall semester will take place at the IU Auditorium Nov. 4. "All Over Blues" features The Muddy Waters Tribute Band and guitarist Chris Thomas King. King has released eight solo albums since 1986's debut "The Beginning," reaching an even-wider audience in his role as Tommy in the 2000 film "O Brother, Where Art Thou?"\nIU's largest student programming board, the UB receives a portion of the IU student activity fee.\n"We basically are charged with bringing entertainment and events to campus that students will enjoy," said Union Board President and senior Vaughn Allen.