Kicking off with a bracing blast of mid-'90s rap-metal nostalgia, when Korn headlines the House of Blues next Thursday, the pop music scene at the Jersey Shore will be a busy one this summer.

That will be particularly true in Atlantic City, where casinos hit hard by the recession and competition from Pennsylvania slots parlors are counting on marquee acts to help bring gamblers back to the beach.

The dominant player, as usual, is the Borgata Hotel & Spa, where R&B stars Mary J. Blige and The Dream will sing on June 5 at the Event Center, which also will host Chicago with Earth, Wind and Fire, on June 12 and 13, Il Divo on July 3, an arsenal of Philadelphia International Records all-stars, including the O'Jays and Jerry Butler on July 17, and Depeche Mode with Peter, Bjorn & John on Aug. 1.

At that resort's tinier Music Box, which essentially was turned into a comedy room, there will be Joel McHale (May 23), Wanda Sykes (May 30), and D.L. Hughley (June 19), all coming through. Christopher Guest, Michael McKean, and Harry Shearer - the dudes from Spinal Tap and A Mighty Wind - will do their Unwigged and Unplugged bit on May 24, Memorial Day weekend.

But the Borgata doesn't have all the big cheeses. So far, there are two perennial crowd-pleasers booked at Boardwalk Hall: Fleetwood Mac on June 13 and Jimmy Buffett - recently named by Bob Dylan as one of his favorite songwriters - with his Coral Reefer Band on Aug. 23.

The House of Blues has a full slate, too. There's hard rock from Buck Cherry launching the holiday weekend on May 23, prog rock from Coheed and Cambria on May 28, alt-country with Emmylou Harris, Patty Griffin, Shawn Colvin and Buddy Miller - billed as "Three Girls And Their Buddy" - on May 29, neo-soul with Chrisette Michele on June 6, hip-hop from Busta Rhyme on June 12, and blues from Buddy Guy on June 20, among others.

The Trump Taj Mahal will bring R&B and reality TV powerhouse Keyshia Cole on May 23 with Keri Hilson and Bobby Valentino, and for Deadheads who just can't get enough, Bob Weir & Ratdog will do the Taj on July 11. (And for back-to-back Deadness, the cover band Dark Star Orchestra is in town July 10 at the Hilton, where country populist Gretchen Wilson will play on Aug. 22.

Country guitar wiz Vince Gill will be at Caesars on June 13. The '80s throwback Regeneration Tour, with Heaven 17, ABC and Wang Chung, will be at Resorts on June 20, and country duo Big & Rich will play there Sept. 5. And on May 23, The Pool at Harrah's will bring in the considerable assets of reality star Kim Kardashian along with the DJ ?uestlove of the Roots.

Beyond Atlantic City

All the action isn't happening in A.C. The Ocean City Music Pier will host former Allman Brother Dickey Betts & Great Southern on July 13 and metal-edged Dokken on Aug. 17.

If you want to get wet, but not go all the way down the Shore, there will be a series of five musical pool parties at the Flying W Airport Resort in Medford, N.J., with the first one on June 27. Acts aren't announced yet, but check for details at www.flyingwpoolparties.com.

And if your summer vacation takes you to the Delaware beaches, the place to be is the Bottle & Cork in Dewey Beach, which features a long list of cool acts, starting with the Bangles on May 22 and including Old 97's on June 25, George Clinton & Parliament Funkadelic on July 23, and the Avett Brothers on Aug. 4.

Contact music critic Dan DeLuca

at 215-854-5628 or ddeluca@

phillynews.com. Read his blog at www.philly.com/philly/blogs/inthemix.