This weekend's Columbus Symphony Orchestra Picnic with the Pops Concerts featuring The Ohio State University Marching Band (read The Beat's take here0 mark the final shows in a 28-year run for the CSO)'s annual outdoor summer concerts on the lawn at Chemical Abstracts Service.

Next summer, Picnic moves downtown to the new Columbus Commons.

“The Columbus Symphony has been honored and privileged to present 28 summers of Picnic with the Pops at Chemical Abstracts Service, and because of their invaluable and unwavering support, it has become an icon of summer in Columbus,” stated Martin Inglis, CSO Board Chair. “We look forward to the huge and exciting undertaking of moving to Columbus Commons and creating a fun and accessible opportunity for symphonic music in downtown Columbus.”

“CAS has been proud to be the CSO’s summer home for nearly three decades,” said CAS President Bob Massie. “I would like to thank a generation of CAS colleagues, CSO staff, musicians, and countless volunteers, as well as tens of thousands of patrons for creating so many exceptional memories on our campus. We wish the Symphony all the best in their new downtown location.”

In case you missed it, read an earlier entry we made following a conversation with CAPA's Bill Conner on the CSO's move to the Commons next summer here.

The Beat shared with you a bit of our conversation with Goo Goo Dolls bassist Robby Takac in our print piece. The conversation, while discussing the band's longevity, also touched a but on the march of time on the rest of his life.

Takac is now a full-time resident of Buffalo again. (The band started there in 1986 and are proud natives.) We asked him about living there and catching him on a break in the band's touring schedule.

"It was time for me to come back and plant some tomatoes I'll never get to eat, cut the grass and trim the hedges so they don't look like Sideshow Bob," he said. "I used to not mind when the neighbors raised an eyebrow, but I'm more sensitive now."

Takac discussed the decision to move "home" from a personal perspective.

"I moved to L.A. in the mid 90s and all I could think was the people sure do act weird. One day it started to seem normal," he joked. "We were living in L.A. and Buffalo, but my wife had only lived in three places - Tokyo, L.A. and Buffalo. When she could understand (living in Buffalo), the benefits of the community, we decided it was time."

Together, Takac and his wife, Miyoko, manage seminal Japanese punk band Shonen Knife, of whom he said "No band makes me happier." That band is marking its 30th anniversary this year.

Takac also founded and oversees the Music is Art nonprofit.

Shadowbox Live is moving back downtown and they are already stirring up the neighborhood.

The first big fun is Back to the Brew, a happy hour music and food event to be held Wednesday on the patio at 500 S. Front St. Click the link for details.

Shadowbox is currently running "Best of Shadowbox Live" and will open its new Brewery District home with "Legacy" starting Aug. 19.

And the troupe's musical productions continue when it opens "Rocky Horror Picture Show" in September.

In our print piece with sax-man Dave Koz, who headlines this weekend's Jazz & Rib Fest, we mentioned the musician's congenial nature during our chat.

At one point in time, as we were posing a question, we mentioned we worked at a record store at the time his debut CD was released, and that we "sold the crap out of it."

Before responding to the question, he said, "Thanks for selling the crap out of my CD, by the way."

Dunno - we just found it funny.

The Lancaster Festival has learned that Pickerington native Joe Moriarty, a world-class Irish dancer who has danced the lead in Riverdance (including for the tour's visit to Columbus earlier this year), will be the lead dancer for the Saturday, July 23, performance of Celtic Fire at the festival.

The Lancaster Festival is a multi-disciplinary and multi-genre music and arts festival held over 10 days in Lancaster. Check the above link for more information.