*Coming up this weekend is a show by LIZ McNICHOLL & FRIENDS, who return to Colin’s Pub on Friday night. Showtime is 9:30 pm, and you can arrive early enough to have dinner before the show if you so choose. The restaurant, on Commerce Drive in Fairfield, can be reached by calling 203-366-5916 for reservations, directions, or other details.

McNicholl’s band includes guitarist Chuck O’Donnell, Fred McKay on bass, and fiddler Morgan Eve Swain.

*The Arena at Harbor Yard in Bridgeport will be one of five stops for Sir ELTON JOHN this spring.

Tickets for an April 27 concert are going on sale Saturday at 10 am. Prices range from $65.50 to $95.50 and tickets will be available at the Arena at Harbor Yard box office and at all TicketMaster outlets (in Filene’s stores, online at www.TicketMaster.com, or over the phone at 203-368-1000.)

A wristband lottery will begin at the arena’s box office Saturday at 7 am. Wristbands will be distributed between 7 and 9, and please note that a wristband does not guarantee tickets for the show (remember what happened when CHER tickets went on sale at the same venue – and very quickly sold out – a few years ago, and many in line were upset because they did not fully understand the wristband policy. There is an eight-ticket limit per person.

*Also going on sale this weekend are tickets for BRITNEY SPEARS’ first return to the state since her December 2001 show at Hartford Civic Center.

This time around the former Mrs Jason Alexander will be at the Meadows Music Theatre on Tuesday, June 22. On-sale is set for 10 am Saturday, and wristbands will be given around beginning at 8:30 at the Oakdale in Wallingford. The box office at The Meadows isn’t yet open for the season, so head to Wallingford if you want to get tickets in person.

Tickets, priced at $25 for the lawn and $55 and $75 for the pavilion area, will also be available through tickets.com outlets.

*One of the premiere Celtic bands in the world will be playing a pre-St Patrick’s Day show in Fairfield. ALTAN will be at the Quick Center at Fairfield University on Sunday, March 14, at 3 pm. Tickets are $30 for the concert, which will be the band’s only in-state appearance this season.

A few days earlier THE CHIEFTAINS return to the state, this time to The Bushnell in Hartford. Tickets for the March 11 show range from $25 to $45; call 860-987-5900 for details.

*The Aldrich Museum of Contemporary Art may still be closed to the public while undergoing renovations but that isn’t stopping the museum’s staff from continuing its Stage A Performance series. Performers continue to play in Ridgefield, just around the corner at The Ridgefield Playhouse.

Singer-songwriter RICHARD THOMPSON will take the stage at 80 East Ridge Avenue on March 19. All seats for that show are $35; call the museum for details or reservations, 203-438-4519.

The next performer in the Stage A series is the jazz performer CASSANDRA WILSON, who will be at the playhouse on March 24.

*The Acoustic Café’s calendar this month includes two new shows that should each draw good crowds.

NERISSA & KATRYNA NIELD will headline the Black Rock/Bridgeport venue on March 26. The following night SLOAN WAINWRIGHT will be onstage, with special guest Cadence Carroll.

Until next week I’ll be seeing you… on the road.

Questions and comments should be sent to Shannon Hicks c/o The Newtown Bee, 5 Church Hill Road, Newtown, CT 06470, or shannon@thebee.com, or call the office at 426-3141.

Shows listed at club locations are for ages 21 and over unless specified.

UPCOMING CONCERTS

MARCH 5 — Liz McNicholl & Friends at Colin’s Pub, Fairfield; James Cotton at Black Rock Arts Center, Bridgeport; The Higher at The Empress Ballroom, Danbury (all ages); The Bomb Squad at Tuxedo Junction, Danbury; Off The Hook at Carl Anthony’s, Monroe; The Saucers, Nervous System and Dharmat at The Acoustic Café, Bridgeport;

March 6 — Rod Stewart at Mohegan Sun Arena, Uncasville; Dickey Betts & The Great Southern at The Ridgefield Playhouse for Movies & Performing Arts; Paul Rishell-Annie Raines Duo and Dan Stevens at Black Rock Art Center, Bridgeport; The Debbie Davies Band at Acoustic Café, Bridgeport (Black Rock section); 100 Demons CD Release Party at The Empress Ballroom, with Vietnom, Out To Win and Flatline also performing (all ages); Mest at The Webster Theatre, Hartford, Fall Out Boy, Matchbox Romance and Dynamite Boy opening (all ages); Hipnotic at Tuxedo Junction.

March 10 — Hanson at The Webster Theatre;

March 11 — The Chieftains at The Bushnell, Hartford;

March 12 — Dark Star Orchestra at Toad’s Place, New Haven (all ages);

March 13 — Off The Hook at The GW Tavern, Washington Depot; Hat City Blues Band at Bohemian Pizza & Ditto Bar, Litchfield;

March 14 — Altan at The Quick Center at Fairfield University (3 pm show); Annual Sno Cone Tour at The Webster Theatre featuring Trapt, Finger Eleven, Smile Empty Soul and Strata opening.