The Basilica Block Party may have a new location for its 2024 comeback, but its newly announced lineup looks straight out of 2004, if not 1994.

Goo Goo Dolls and Counting Crows headline the two-night festival, which will take place Aug. 2 and 3 at Boom Island Park near downtown Minneapolis.

Tickets go on sale at 10 a.m. March 22 via basilicablockparty.org. Prices start at $159 for two days and $89 for one. “Fanzone” tickets are $299 and $169 and include pit tickets and exclusive bars and bathrooms, while the $599 and $349 VIP packages feature front row access, free food, two drink tickets and access to an air-conditioned tent.

This year’s festival features two stages, down from three at its typical location in a parking lot outside the Basilica of St. Mary that’s unavailable this summer due to an Xcel Energy construction project.

John Rzeznik, left, and Robby Takac of the Goo Goo Dolls perform during MusiCares Person of the Year honoring Jon Bon Jovi on Friday, Feb. 2, 2024, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Chris Pizzello)

First night headliners Goo Goo Dolls emerged from New York in 1986 with a sound clearly influenced by Minneapolis’ own the Replacements. After smoothing out their approach, the group first charted with 1995’s “Name” and earned their biggest hit with the 1998 ballad “Iris.” In the years since, they’ve established themselves as an outdoor summertime draw with shows at the Minnesota State Fair Grandstand, Mystic Lake Casino Amphitheater, Wayzata Beach Bash and the 2013 Basilica Block Party.

Light rockers the Fray, locals Yam Haus and newcomers Dean Lewis and Red Clay Strays are also on the bill for Aug. 2.

San Francisco’s Counting Crows hit the ground running in 1993 when their first two singles, “Mr. Jones” and “Round Here,” landed in the Top 10. They’ve since maintained a steady presence on adult alternative radio with a string of hits including “American Girls,” “Big Yellow Taxi,” “Accidentally in Love,” “You Can’t Count on Me,” “Come Around” and “Elevator Boots.” They previously played the Basilica Block Party in 2004 and 2009.

Christian rockers NeedToBreathe and Judah and the Lion head up the rest of the Aug. 3 lineup, which also includes 2012 “American Idol” champ Phillip Phillips, singer/songwriter Ingrid Andress and Minneapolis newcomers Guytano.

Local stage

The second stage features all local acts. Run Westy Run tops the night one bill, which also includes Black Widows, the Ocean Blue, Whiskey Rock ‘n’ Roll Club, Parishes and Cindy Lawson.

St. Paul and the Minneapolis Funk All Stars — a group packed with Prince-approved musicians like St. Paul Peterson, Jellybean Johnson, Dr. Fink, Kirk Johnson and Elisa Fiorillo — close things out Aug. 3 with help from Nur-D, the Mary Jane Alm Band, She’s Green and the Muatas.

Founded in 1995 as a fundraiser to help pay for structural restoration of the historic downtown Basilica, the Basilica Block Party was canceled in 2020 due to the pandemic. In 2021, the event moved from its typical mid-July dates to September. But the day before the event began, Saturday night headliners the Avett Brothers canceled due to COVID-19 exposure. Ticket sales suffered and the festival drew about half its pre-pandemic attendance. Organizers canceled the festival in 2022 and 2023.

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“Be a good girl, and you won’t get hurt.”

Those are the words a young secretary heard as she was jolted awake in the early morning hours of May 1, 1981, by an intruder who had slipped into her Miami apartment through a balcony door.

He yanked a pillowcase over her head and raped her in the darkness.

Before the summer was over, police would investigate the rapes of four more women by the same assailant in the same apartment complex, called Alisian Lakes.

They were the first of what investigators believe to be more than 40 attacks over five years by the predator who became known as the Pillowcase Rapist — one of Florida’s most prolific serial rapists who led police on a manhunt for nearly four decades.

A new season of the podcast “Felonious Florida: In the Darkness,” released Thursday exclusively on the Wondery podcast network, pieces together for the first time the dozens of rapes that were believed to have been committed across South Florida by the same man, and investigates how he managed to evade capture for years.

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The podcast, produced by the South Florida Sun Sentinel, uncovers new details in the investigation, including a rape that took place years after the previously last-known attack in 1986. The series also reveals how it took both science and luck to finally crack the case.

Listeners will follow detectives, led by then-Sgt. Dave Simmons of the Miami-Dade Police Department, as they investigated the dozens of attacks in Miami-Dade and Broward counties that were believed to have been committed by the same man between 1981 and 1986.

The rapist stalked women — most of them single professionals — and waited until late at night when they were alone in their apartments and townhomes. He usually broke in through a balcony door or window, even scaling buildings to reach units as high as four stories up.

By the end of the spree, the rapist’s attacks were spread out over 500 square miles of South Florida.

Through interviews with victims, investigators and others, the Felonious Florida series examines the multiple suspects Simmons and his investigators looked into, including a disgraced killer cop and a burglar who brutally murdered a young woman in South Miami.

Listen to the new season of Felonious Florida to find out how this extraordinary case unfolded over four decades and came to a remarkable and unexpected conclusion. LISTEN HERE.

Chicago White Sox players participated in an obstacle course with kids at the Boys & Girls Clubs of Chicago during a surprise visit Thursday in Bridgeport.

The Sox experienced several hurdles last season on the way to 101 losses. They’ll attempt to find the path to improvement with pitchers and catchers scheduled to report to spring training Feb. 14.

Manager Pedro Grifol isn’t thinking about the first game of the season or beyond.

“I’m thinking about the first week of spring training and we’ve got to win that first week,” Grifol said at Thursday’s event. “We’ve got to go into spring training and prepare ourselves to win baseball games. We’ll take it five to seven days at a time and we’ll continue to evaluate the week and correct the things we need to correct and go from there.

“There’s a lot of work to be done before that first game. There’s a lot of conversations between our staff and the players and we’ll be ready to play come day one.”

There have been pitching and hitting summits since the final out of the woeful 2023 season.

“Once that last game was over, the calendar changed for us,” Grifol said. “There’s been really good communication. (General manager) Chris (Getz) installed the pillars he wants the organization to abide by. I’ll have my style of play I want to see on the field and the players will be a part of the process.

“There is a lot of things that are different (this spring compared to last). The energy in spring training I thought last year was OK, but it’s hard to evaluate it because we had so many guys who weren’t there (with the World Baseball Classic taking place). But that’s something we’re going to focus on, the details are something we’re going to focus on.”

Grifol knows it has to be more than just talk.

“When I put myself in the eyes of the fans, we’ve got to prove it on the field,” he said. “I can stand here today and say, ‘We’re going to do this or do that.’ That’s not what this is about. This is about us preparing ourselves to play and prove to our fans — they had a difficult year last year — that we’re going to come out and play a different style of baseball.”

Grifol said he’s most excited about getting to spring training “because the energy we have, that our players are showing, the energy that our front office and coaching staff is showing. We have five new coaches on our staff. And plus what we did last year. We’re motivated, we’re excited to come back and prove to this league that we’re capable of doing some good things. I just feel it, there is a good vibe.”

Grifol likes the moves the team has made this offseason and anticipates a lot of competition at camp.

“Last year we went into spring training probably six or seven starters deep, this year you’re probably looking at 15-16 starters,” he said. “Some of these guys are young, some ended the year in Double A, some in Triple A. Just to look at our depth compared to where we were at this time last year is really encouraging for us.”

One of those experienced starters could be Dylan Cease, who has been mentioned in trade speculation throughout the offseason. Grifol said Cease has been “unfazed” by the chatter.

“I talked to him yesterday, it was a great conversation and we talked about him (pitching) opening day,” Grifol said. “And he’s preparing himself for that and he feels great. He’s throwing pens, he doesn’t have any soreness, he’s excited about this club. He’s excited about the guys we’ve acquired, excited about our catching. Brian Bannister is part of the organization (as senior adviser to pitching), he’s excited to get to work with him and (pitching coach) Ethan (Katz).

“He’s unfazed by all these trade talks and all this stuff. If it happens, he understands the business. But like I told him and he told me, right now he’s our opening-day starter and get ready to do that.”

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