Summer is already winding down, but music fans still have one of the great choices to make: indoors or outdoors. They can head for clubs, concert halls and rock arenas, or they can enjoy one of the seasonal outdoor shows, many of which are free.

We’ll start with an indoor event, singer Pat Benatar and her guitarist-husband Neil Giraldo at the Emerald Queen Casino tonight.

The EQC showroom is a good venue at any time of year, and Benatar’s fans will get excellent lines of sight for the 8 p.m. show featuring one of the pop-rock icons of the ’80s. Benatar started her string of hits in 1980 with “Heartbreaker” and kept on rolling with songs such as “Hit Me with Your Best Shot,” “Shadows of the Night,” “Little Too Late,” “Love is a Battlefield,” “We Belong” and, in 1985, “Invincible.”

Recent reviews say her shows feature most of her hits and that, at 55, she can still hit her trademark high notes. Giraldo, who married the four-time Grammy winner in 1982, is no slouch on guitar, either. While he does a great job cranking out the melody lines in his wife’s pop-rock repertoire, Giraldo stood out in their 1991 blues-oriented album, “True Love,” which included a fun version of B.B. King’s “Payin’ the Cost to Be the Boss.”

While most of the crowd at the casino tonight can be expected to be, ah, of a certain age, a new generation has been introduced to Benatar’s music thanks to the Guitar Hero 3 video game, which features “Hit Me with Your Best Shot.”

Tickets to the show are $35 to $65 at Ticketmaster.

A night with Johnny Mercer: You can bring a picnic basket and a blanket and kick back as Tacoma Musical Playhouse pays tribute to one of America’s great composers tonight through Sunday at the outdoor amphitheater at the Washington State History Museum, 1911 Pacific Ave.

Mercer’s music is an inescapable part of what’s become known as “The Great American Songbook.” With tunes ranging from “Hooray for Hollywood” and “Jeepers Creepers” to “I Remember You,” “Black Magic” and “Moon River,” Mercer’s music has been heard everywhere. Broadway shows, Hollywood musicals and uncounted smoky saloons have been the setting for the more than 1,000 songs he wrote.

The TMP production “Johnny Mercer … Under the Stars” is set for 8:30 p.m. today and Saturday and 8 p.m. Sunday. Tickets are $20, and they’ll probably include a ride “On the Atchinson, Topeka and the Santa Fe.” For information, call 253-565-6867 or visit www.tmp.org.

Rocking at Rainier: The Mount Rainier Rockin’ Country Music Festival will feature local acts such as the Protektors, Megan Law and 8 Second Ride starting at 1 p.m. Saturday. The event will be at the Mineral Lake Event Center, 114 Mineral Road S., Mineral, which bluesman/impresario Randy Oxford says is “a great spot for festivals and events.”

Tickets for Saturday’s concert are $25, with children 12 and younger admitted free; 360-492-5039 or www.minerallakeeventcenter.com.

Hot Toast: The Muckleshoot Casino is taking a chance on the blues with a new Tuesday night Blues Showcase format. This week’s featured band is Rod Cook & Toast, and Randy Oxford is hosting for the South Sound Blues Association. Sounds like a winner.

Tom Petty tribute: The Summer Sounds at the Beach series will feature the Tom Petty tribute band Petty Thief in a free show from 7 to 8 p.m. Tuesday at Steel Lake Park, 2410 S. 312th St., Federal Way. It’s an outdoor concert, but if the weather gets funkier than the music, the show will move to the Federal Way Community Center, 876 S. 333rd St.; 253-835-6905.

Free blues, R&B: You’ll have to wait until Aug. 27, but Olympia’s Music in the Park program will present the entertaining band Becki Sue & Her Big Rockin’ Daddies in a free show from 7 to 8 p.m. at Sylvester Park at Legion and Capitol ways. For information, call 360-357-8948 or visit downtownolympia.com.

HALF NOTES

 • Station 56 presents rock ’n’ roll from Just Dirt tonight and the Lynryrd Skynryd tribute band Whiskey Creek on Saturday.

 • Fans of the blues-rock Tim Hall Band can moor at Johnny’s Dock on Saturday, Dawson’s Bar & Grill on Sunday or the Oaktree on Monday.

 • The Mandolin Café will feature alt-country from David Bavas and the Little Brothers on Saturday and a 3 p.m. jazz session with Kareem Kandi on Sunday.

 • Jazzbones has a benefit for blues singer Candy Kane, who is being treated for cancer, set for 3:30-9 p.m. Sunday. Performing in 45-minute sets will be Son Jack Jr., Alice Stuart, the Red Hot Blues Sisters, Lady “A” and the Baby Blues Funk Band and Becki Sue & Her Big Rockin’ Daddies. The suggested donation is $20; 253-396-9169.

 • The Engine House plans 6 p.m. jazz on Tuesdays through August with Ed Taylor & Taylormade.

rick.nelson@thenewstribune.com