Bedlam Theatre’s eagerly anticipated Lowertown location isn’t yet open for business – but soon! According to manager Lucas Koski, a grand opening party is scheduled for this fall, and will be announced soon*. In the meantime, Bedlam is in the middle of a six-week-long, live music series at the newly restored Union Depot across the street. It’s being organized by “the Cities’ neighborhood kids,” a trio of area college students and artists known as Bedlam’s Collective Noise: Mohamed Samatar, Martha Rigby and Maya Vilaplana.

There are just a couple of weeks left in these outdoor summer concerts: this week’s line-up of Twin Cities-based musicians includes hip hop duo Up Rock (“bass heavy, Body Rock hip hop”), the easygoing melodic groove-and-rhyme of deM atlas, and Minneapolis emcee I.B.E. (who just released his debut album, “This, That and the Third,” with producer Benzilla).

The all-in, community-minded ethos and ebullient, youthful energy driving this music series is evident in all of Bedlam’s projects. (Also noteworthy: Bedlam’s ongoing collaboration with AKA: Fathers/Sons, offering interactive performances in the Twin Cities, featuring stories about the intersections between African-American and GLBT communities, fathers, sons and candid conversations about sex and sexual identity.) And at the end of the month is a one-weekend-only performance series that will travel from site to site across the neighborhood, “The Big Lowdown: a Bedlam//Live Action Set Roving, Lowertown, Adventure.”

Photo courtesy of Bedlam Theatre

All this, and they’re not even officially open yet – but I can hardly think of a more effective way to stoke enthusiasm for when they do.

This week’s Bedlam’s Collective Noise concert (the fourth in a series of six shows) is Wednesday, August 14. Performances run from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m., on the East Plaza of the Union Depot, 214 East 4th St., St. Paul. For more information: https://www.facebook.com/events/397988776969393/.

*Corrected 8/14/13: The original text noted that the grand opening celebration would be later this month. Bedlam’s Lowertown manager said that date has been pushed back at this point and will be announced soon.