BY FORREST ADAMS

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There’s already a buzz around the city, and it’s not coming from mosquitoes.

Fans of a Twin Cities rocker named Tim Mahoney are already talking about his scheduled performance in Chanhassen’s Summer Concert Series later this summer.

That’s according to John Stutzman, the city’s recreation supervisor.

“I was excited that we could land him,” said Stutzman, who spends the year recruiting performers for the annual shows. “He’s a fairly well-known artist that is very popular here in the Twin Cities. It’s a name that a lot of people will recognize.”

Mahoney, a popular rocker for the past 15 years, plays popular and alternative music. He’s scheduled to be in City Center Park on July 28. This would be his first time to play in the concert series in Chanhassen. Mahoney’s Web site claims he has sold more than 100,000 units of songs he has released (http://www.timmahoney.com/).

Stutzman said his goal each year is to bring new names and new talent to the show.

Another performer that promises big results this summer is Big Walter Smith. Stutzman described him as a “perennial” summer concert favorite. Along with his band, the Groove Merchants, Smith is scheduled to open the concert season on June 16. They play the blues. The 300-pound Smith came “highly recommended,” said Stutzman. His music is so popular in Duluth that the mayor proclaimed Aug. 8, 1997, to be “Big Walter Smith Day” in the city, according to the group’s Website (http://www.bigwaltersmith.com/).

The concert routine this summer will be similar to previous years, in that city staff will sell ice cream and other small concessions, while people from Klein Bank, underwriter of the series, will distribute free water to show-goers and provide free face painting for children, said Stutzman.

The city has a section of its Facebook site set up specifically to display show photos. Stutzman welcomed public show photos that he said may even be used on the Facebook page, in city brochures and in other marketing materials.