*MATTHEW MORRISON, known to millions as the eternally optimistic high school teacher and de facto glee club director Will Schuester on Glee, will bring his summer tour to Ives Concert Park in Danbury on July 3.

Tickets for that show are $32 for lawn seating, and $42 to $62 for reserved seating, and go on sale Friday, May 6, at 10 am. Visit www.PremierBoxOffice.com for details, including info on VIP packages.

In tribute to glee clubs across the country, the tour, in conjunction with the VH1 Save The Music Foundation, will offer regional glee clubs the chance to compete for the opening act performance slot. Information about this is available, and entries can be submitted, at www.MatthewMorrison.com/GleeClubContest. 

*Additional shows already added and on sale at the concert park on the westside campus of Western CT State University include MICHAEL FRANTI and GRACE POTTER, June 27; and GUSTER, with Ra Ra Riot opening, on August 3. Visit www.PremierBoxOffice.com for these tickets.

THE J. GEILS BAND is listed by the concert park as having an August 13 show planned, but those tickets are not yet available.

*A collection of 22 blues music acts from around the state will appear in the Connecticut Blues Society’s 16th Annual Band Blues Challenge, commencing May 12 at Black-Eyed Sally’s, 350 Asylum Street in Hartford.

The competition, organized by the non profit Connecticut Blues Society, is the process by which a representative blues band is selected to send to next year’s Blues Foundation’s International Blues Challenge (IBC), which will be held January 31-February 4, 2012, on Beale Street in Memphis, Tenn. Preliminary Band Challenge rounds will take place Thursdays, May 12-26 and June 9, with a finals round June 16.

The May 12 preliminary lineup includes THE PETE SCHEIPS BAND, TC & COMPANY, THE SARAH T BAND, THE MIKE CRANDALL BAND featuring SAM GENTILE and THE SHOO FLY BLUES BAND.

BAD ROOSTER, JOOK JOINT, THE KING PINS, OFF THE RECORD, BLUE COLLAR PROJECT and THE MOJOMATICS will take the stage May 19, followed by THE KRIS HEATON BLUES BAND, PETEY HOP & THE JACK RABBITS, OWN RENDITION, MS. MARCI & THE LOVESICK HOUNDS, THE MOJO BOYS and THE COBALT RHYTHM KINGS on May 26.

The June 9t preliminary will feature EZ STREET, TINTED BLUE, OTIS & THE HURRICANES, THE TOM SANDERS BAND and THE BALKUN BROTHERS BAND.

A panel of judges consisting of blues radio DJs, musicians, music writers, and hardcore fans will award each band a score of one to ten in the categories of Blues Content, Vocals, Talent, Originality, and Stage Presence, the criteria used at The Blues Foundation’s International Blues Talent Competition. Winners of each weekly preliminary event will compete in the Blues Challenge Finals round along with a Wild Card act, the second place act with the best numerical score on June 16.

The band winning the finals competition will receive at least $2,000 to represent Connecticut in the 2012 Blues Foundation’s International Blues Challenge in Memphis. Blues Challenge winners also receive a number of invitations to perform throughout the state during the course of the year.

A band must be an official representative of a blues society to enter the IBC Memphis competition, where the top band wins $1,500, an appearance in the Legendary Blues Cruise, and the opportunity to open for the Blues Awards and to appear at blues festivals across the country. 

*The American Idols Live! 2011 tour — which includes Casey Abrams, Haley Reinhart, Jacob Lusk, James Durbin, Lauren Alaina, Naima Adedapo, Paul McDonald, Pia Toscano, Scotty McCreery, Stefano Langone and Thia Megia — will be at Mohegan Sun Arena on Saturday, September 3. Tickets for that show, $60-$70, will be on sale Friday, May 13, at 10 am, through TicketMaster vendors, and then also available through the casino’s box office (f they don’t sell out) beginning the following morning, also at 10.

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 clubs are for ages 21 and over unless specified.

UPCOMING SHOWS

MAY 6 — Bell Biv DeVoe at Mohegan Sun’s Wolf Den, Uncasville; The Bernadettes at Georgetown Saloon, Redding;

May 7 — The Trolls at The One-Eyed Pig, Newtown; Bon Jovi at Mohegan Sun Arena, Uncasville; Deftones at The Webster, Hartford, Dillinger Escape Plan and Le Butcherettes opening; Vanilla Ice at Mohegan Sun’s Wolf Den; The Blind Boys of Alabama at Fairfield Theatre Company’s StageOne, Fairfield; Future Tense at Georgetown Saloon;

May 12 — Whitesnake at The Webster, Hartford; Rock, Soul & Survivorship: A Band Together Concert at Fairfield Theatre Company, featuring Joe Bouchard, Christine Ohlman, Charlie Karp, et al;

May 13 — Earth, Wind & Fire at Mohegan Sun Arena; MD III at Georgetown Saloon;

May 14 — Daughtry, Colbie Caillat and Grace Potter & The Nocturnals at The Comcast Theatre, Hartford (indoor show); Johnny Feds & Da Bluez Boyz at Georgetown Saloon;

May 18 — Black Label Society at The Dome at Oakdale, Wallingford, All That Remains and Hail The Villain opening;

May 20 — Jason Aldean at The Comcast Theatre, Hartford, Eric Church and The JaneDear Girls opening; John Gorka at Infinity Music Hall, Norfolk; 3 Doors Down at The Comcast Theatre, Hartford, also Seether, Hinder and Pop Evil; Petey Hop at Georgetown Saloon;

May 21 — Doug Wahlberg at The Georgetown Saloon, Redding;

May 22 — David Crosby & Graham Nash at The Palace Theatre, Stamford; Jason Aldean at The Comcast Theatre, Hartford, with Eric Church and JaneDear Girls; Chris Isaak at The MGM Grand at Foxwoods;

May 26 — Chicago at The Palace Theater, Waterbury;

May 27 — Crossfade at Mohegan Sun’s Wolf Den; Johnny Boots at Georgetown Saloon;

May 28 — America at Mohegan Sun’s Wolf Den; BOMB Fest 2011 at The Comcast Theatre, Hartford (continues May 29); Old School Revue at Georgetown Saloon;

May 29 — Paul Simon at The MGM Grand at Foxwoods; BOMB Fest 2011 continues at The Comcast Theatre;

May 30 — New Kids on The Block and Backstreet Boys at Mohegan Sun Arena, with special guest Jordin Sparks.