On July 15, Target Field will host Major League Baseball's All-Star Game. The next month, on August 2, the Minnesota Twins' outdoor field will host a performer who would be on anyone's list of rock 'n' roll all-stars: Sir Paul McCartney. The gig is a long-awaited coup for the venue, certain to excite rock and pop fans who have been waiting for the Twins' home to host a show by a major performer who's—no offense, Kenny Chesney—outside of the country genre. It will be McCartney's first Minnesota show since 2005.

McCartney's appearance will happen 49 years, to the month, after he played the Twins' Met Stadium with the Beatles on August 21, 1965—the Beatles' only Minnesota concert. While they were in town, George Harrison went guitar shopping and picked up the 12-string Rickenbacker he played on the studio recording of "If I Needed Someone." Read more about that historic show in our Then and Now feature about Met Stadium. Since McCartney also played at the Metrodome, this summer's show will make Sir Paul the first artist to play at all three of the Twins' venues.

Always a busy guy, McCartney, 71, has been particularly visible in recent months with the release of his well-regarded 2013 album New as well as a reunion with Ringo Starr for a Grammys appearance and a February TV special commemorating the 50th anniversary of the Beatles' first appearance on The Ed Sullivan Show. The Beatles' triumph in the Current's March Music Madness was yet another testament to the enduring appeal of that legendary group; with a solo career that's landed him in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame on his own merits, McCartney has a deep body of work to draw on in his live appearances. The press release announcing the Target Field show promises "massive screens, lasers, fireworks, unique video content and, of course, the best songs in the world."

Last year, when McCartney released New, he spoke with the Current's Steve Seel and Jill Riley by phone. He joked about the name he shares with our capital city, and then went on to speak warmly of Minnesota audiences.

"St. Paul always catches my eye, so that's a personal thing...but really what I think of [when I think of Minnesota] is all the great concerts and all the great audiences. We've always kind of had a good time. So for me, I'm just imagining an audience bopping, smiling. [...] There's always something a little bit special about being in the middle of the country. I don't know what it is. It's just an energy. I love it. It's hard to explain, but it's always been something that I've enjoyed, and I can't wait to get back there." Hear Paul McCartney's complete interview with Steve and Jill here.

Tickets for the performance will go on sale on April 28 at 10 a.m. Ticket prices have not yet been announced, but the Star Tribune reports that they will range from $36.50 to $250.00 and that Twins season ticket holders will receive presale information later today. Of course, it's too early to speculate about special guests who might join Sir Paul onstage, but McCartney did put the word out when he spoke with Steve and Jill. "Prince, if you're listening now: come on, baby, let's get it on."