Remember the days when summer meant figuring out where your favorite rock stars were touring, loading up the car, and heading out on the road with your buddies armed with a few changes of clothes and a thirst for some good tunes? If it’s been a while, take heart: Lots of classic bands are touring this summer, and we’ve planned the perfect itinerary for you to experience it all. You’ll be rocking from Atlanta to Atlantic City, straight through Labor Day weekend. So dig up your spirit of adventure, line up a bunch of places to crash, and round up some friends to share the trip of a lifetime. Road trip, here you come!

Start your sonic bonanza on Sunday, June 29th, when REO Speedwagon is playing at the Chastain Park Amphitheatre in Atlanta. If you’re a Donna Summer fan, stick around until Tuesday, July 1, when she’ll be playing the same venue. Celebrate the 4th in Atlanta at Lenox Square, which boasts the largest fireworks display in the Southeast…then drive north to check out Phil Lesh and Friends at Myrtle Beach’s House of Blues on July 9th.

Venture up to Wilmington for your culture fix and Wrightsville Beach to catch some waves. Don’t stay too long, though, since next you’ll need to drive two hours west to Time Warner Cable Music Pavilion at Walnut Creek (simply ‘Walnut Creek,’ to the initiated). You won’t regret it though, since on July 12th Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, with special guest Steve Winwood, will be taking the stage.

Okay, the show was great, but in the immortal words of Tom Petty, it’s time to move on. Rush is playing at the Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre in Charlotte on July 20th, and you won’t want to miss out.

That’s it for the Tarheel State. Now you have six days to make it to the next stop on the tour: The Eagles’ concert at the Verizon Center in Washington, D.C. on July 26th, 8 p.m. sharp. Once you’re there, take a deep breath: there are a lot of great shows going on in our nation’s capital, and you’ll be sticking around a while. On Tuesday, July 29th, take a quick side trip to Baltimore to see Yes at the Pier Six Concert Pavilion. Then it’s back to D.C. for Neil Diamond at the Verizon Center again on August 5th at 8 PM. With his recently-released album “Home Before Dark,” Diamond has topped the charts for the first time in his considerable career—and you ought to be around to share the moment with him, right?

After D.C., you’re back on the road, on your way to Philadelphia, PA to see Jethro Tull perform at the Mann Music Center on Friday, August 8th. Then pack your bags…it’s off to Morristown, New Jersey to see Herbie Hancock break out his bag of tricks at the Community Theatre at the Mayo Center for Performing Arts on August 14th. We hope you’ve got some good friends in Morristown, because you’ll be spending a few days here before the next show. Luckily for you, Morristown is on one of New Jersey Transit’s commuter lines, with easy service to New York City’s Penn Station. Soak up the city for a few days before heading back to the Community Theatre to see the Beach Boys on August 19th at 8 p.m.

Next, it’s off to check out the Allman Brothers Band at the Susquehanna Bank Center in Camden, NJ on August 23rd. Just three days later, on August 26th, the single power-bill of Journey, Heart and Cheap Trick take center stage. Then go out with a bang at Atlantic City’s Trump Taj Mahal—Foreigner’s playing the Mark Etess Arena on August 30th.

If you’ve got any money left after this epic adventure, hit the casinos and visit some of Atlantic City’s spas and upscale restaurants. Then pack up the car one last time and head back home…just in time to begin planning your Rockin’ Road Trip 2009.