Celebrating its 75th year as the county’s largest outdoor amphitheater, the Santa Barbara Bowl will kick off the 2011 season with performances from Janet Jackson this Saturday and Sunday.

Nestled in the hills of Santa Barbara, the scenic venue overlooks the entire city and is capable of holding over 4,500 concert-goers for a number of popular performances every summer. This season’s lineup includes Neil Young with Buffalo Springfield and Gillian Welch, Eddie Vedder, the Zac Brown Band, Steely Dan, Peter Frampton, Peter Gabriel with the New Blood, Katy Perry, George Lopez and Robert Plant and the Band of Joy.

Following Janet Jackson this weekend, English folk-rock band Mumford & Sons will play the Bowl the weekend of the 18th. According to the SB Bowl Foundation, additional performances will be added to the season’s schedule periodically.

Past performances at the outdoor arena in recent years have included Radiohead, The Cure, Depeche Mode, No Doubt, Nine Inch Nails and Bob Dylan.

The amphitheater was designed in 1936 to host annual performances for the county-wide celebration of Fiesta. In fact, according to the SB Bowl Foundation, this time 75 years ago, “One hundred horses with costumed riders carrying torches” would be “descending from the Riviera into this beautiful amphitheater.”

Currently, the Bowl is underway on a $2.5 million infrastructure upgrade that will include an entirely new plaza above the Bowl by 2013.

For more information or to purchase tickets contact (805) 962-7411 or visit sbbowl.com.