Arkansas Music Pavilion owner Brian Crowne officially announced the initial lineup of the 2010 season at a press conference at George’s today.

The first five shows of the spring season will be Levon Helm & The Cate Brothers, The Georgia Satellites and Blue Oyster Cult, Rock the Runway (a fundraiser for Single Parent Scholarship Fund), Gary Allen, and MC Hammer.

Crowne said that he is not finished booking bands for the coming season, though. “We expect to add 6-8 more shows to the lineup,” he said. “We have a history of dependability, and we don’t want to announce anything until it is final.”

There were really no surprises in the initial announcement. We’ve mentioned most of the bands announced today here on the Flyer over the past couple months.

Still, try to think about MC Hammer coming to Fayetteville without smiling. That’s what I thought.

Here are the dates on the five shows announced today:

April 22: Levon Helm and the Cate Brothers
May 1: Rock the Runway (Benefit for Single Parent Scholarship Fund
May 21-22: Bikes, Blues & Hot Rods Too featuring Georgia Satellites and Blue Oyster Cult
May 27: Gary Allen
June 12: MC Hammer