Gates open at 5 p.m.

Cellular South Stage

6:10 p.m., Plain White T’s: Suburban Chicago outfit Plain White T’s has been slowly climbing its way through the pop-punk ranks. Released last year, the group’s fourth album, Every Second Counts, might be its best, offering a heavy dose of eighth-note riffage and sharp melodies.

7:40 p.m., Sum 41: It’s been nearly three years since multi-platinum Canadian pop-punk outfit Sum 41 has released a new record. Led by singer Deryck Whibley — who, along with his wife, Avril Lavigne, are the reigning king and queen of the Hot Topic set — the group will be offering a preview of material off the forthcoming fifth album. The self-produced Underclass Hero is due in July, and the record will be the band’s first without guitarist Dave Baksh, who left the group last year.

9:15 p.m., Red Jumpsuit Apparatus: Florida post-hardcore group Red Jumpsuit Apparatus has had a rapid rise since forming in 2003. Generating heavy buzz after a series of memorable performances on the Van’s Warped Tour last year, the band’s 2006 debut for Virgin Records, Don’t You Fake It, achieved gold status before the end of the year.

10:55 p.m., Iggy & The Stooges: Perhaps the most-anticipated set of the festival, proto-punk kingpins Iggy Pop and The Stooges return to Memphis for the first time since opening for the New York Dolls (also recently reunited) in 1973. The full-scale resumption of the Stooges career — sidetracked by a 30-plus year hiatus — has certainly been a surprise. Although critics have been less than kind to the group’s recently released studio effort The Weirdness, the band’s live shows are still the stuff of legend. Not to be missed.

Budweiser Stage

6 p.m., The Derek Trucks Band: Named one of the “New Guitar Gods” by Rolling Stone magazine earlier this year (and pegged as the “Jam King”) Derek Trucks has been in the spotlight since emerging as a 9-year-old child prodigy. He formed the Derek Trucks Band in 1994, and his playing and audience both have grown as he’s matured. His work has been recognized throughout the guitar world — no less than Eric Clapton tapped Trucks to be his guitar foil on several recent tours.

7:30 p.m., Jerry Lee Lewis: Music Festival perennial and Memphis legend “The Killer,” Jerry Lee Lewis, returns for what’s sure to be another scintillating glimpse of the master. Lewis has been back in the national spotlight this past year with the release of his critically-acclaimed and star-studded duets record, Last Man Standing, and a recent companion DVD.

9 p.m., Gov’t Mule: Originally born as an Allman Brothers side project back in 1994, the Warren Haynes/Matt Abts-led Gov’t Mule has become a Southern rock/jam band institution in its own right. The group, which revamped its lineup after the death of founding member Allen Woody in 2000, released its tenth album, High & Mighty, last summer.

10:55 p.m., Allman Brothers Band: Rock and Roll Hall of Famers, the Allman Brothers Band has weathered all sorts of death, tragedy and turmoil over the course of its nearly 40-year career. They remain a vital musical force, having nabbed Grammy nominations in 2003/2004 and, thanks to relentless touring and performing, continue to be embraced by successive generations of new fans, including the denizens of the contemporary jam band scene.

AutoZone Stage

6 p.m., North Mississippi Allstars: Regional heroes North Mississippi Allstars are among those kicking off this year’s music festival. And there’s no act better at getting a festival crowd to its feet than this crew of roots eclectics, led by the Dickinson brothers Luther and Cody. The group, which helped score the soundtrack to “Black Snake Moan,” is working on a follow-up to the 2005 album, Electric Blue Watermelon.

8 p.m., Chevelle: Illinois band Chevelle has carved a loyal fanbase since breaking out nationally in 2002. Led by brothers Pete and Sam Loeffler, the group’s fourth album, Vena Sera, released last month, quietly debuted at No. 12 on the Billboard charts. And Chevelle’s winning blend of hard rock and alternative-styled metal continues to be a popular live draw.

9:40 p.m., Social Distortion: Longtime Southern California combo Social Distortion has seemingly been around forever. The group first emerged in 1978 out of the same Orange County punk scene that spawned bands like the Adolescents and China White. Though there were times when it looked dicey — including a temporary breakup in the mid-’80s — frontman Mike Ness has survived the roller-coaster ride of drug addiction and revolving door of line-up changes to keep the group intact. They haven’t been in the studio since 2004, but Social Distortion looks to be busy on several fronts this year with a greatest hits collection and a new album reportedly in the works.

11:20 p.m., Three 6 Mafia: It’s been particularly hard out here for Three 6 Mafia of late, with the group having to dodge the slings and arrows of cultural critics who take issue with the standard fodder of rap lyrics. But there’s no reason to think that the Academy Award-winning outfit’s fifth consecutive Beale Street music festival appearance will be any less exciting or audience appropriate than its previous shows. (The group will be performing its usual “clean” set). Three 6, who are currently starring in their own MTV reality series, are set to release their much anticipated album, Last 2 Walk, later this month.

TN Lottery Blues Tent

6 p.m., Popa Chubby: Rotund Bronx-born Ted Horowitz might look a most unlikely bluesman, but for more than a decade he’s been one of the contemporary scene’s most boundary-pushing practitioners, mixing disparate elements like sitar and rap into his heavy sound.

7:30 p.m., Hubert Sumlin and Willie “Big Eyes” Smith: Two Chicago legends pair up for what’s sure to be a memorable musical summit, as Howlin’ Wolf guitarist Hubert Sumlin and Muddy Waters drummer Willie “Big Eyes” Smith take the stage for a set of Chess-styled electric blues.

8:55 p.m., Richard Johnston: Mississippi troubadour Richard Johnston has been lauded for his efforts in carrying on the Hill Country blues tradition. A mainstay of the late Junior Kimbrough’s band and a regular on Beale Street, Johnston was the subject of an award-winning PBS documentary in 2005. His sets draw on a potent mix of original compositions and nuggets from Kimbrough and Jessie Mae Hemphill, among others.

11 p.m., Koko Taylor: The “Queen of the Blues” Koko Taylor is coming back home. Born just outside of Memphis in 1935, Taylor first gained fame after moving to Chicago in 1954. In the past half century, she’s starred for the Chess label and since 1975, Alligator Records. Taylor will be playing a mix of classics and material from her brand new collection, Old School.

– Bob Mehr: 529-2517