*KANYE WEST will headline a triple bill of contemporary hip-hop musicians on Tuesday, July 10, at Mohegan Sun Arena. Joining West will be Lupe Fiasco and Common, and tickets for this show went on sale earlier this week priced at $46 and $66. Contact the arena’s box office or TicketMaster for tickets or additional information.

*“Summer Fun at Mohegan Sun” will get a whole new treatment this year when THE BEACH BOYS bring a beach party, literally, to Mohegan Sun Arena on Wednesday, August 15.

For this mid-summer concert, the arena will be transformed into an indoor beach complete with sand and Astroturf.

General admission spots on the beach for the Limited Club Kokomo VIP Platinum Package will be available for $100, which includes a reserved spot on the indoor beach, a meet-and-greet with the band, and a bag full of beach-themed items including a beach towel.

For $45, the Limited Club Kokomo VIP Package will also put concertgoers on the beach, along with the beach towel and other items. Seats in the lower and upper bowls of the arena will be available for $25.

Tickets are on sale now – they also went on sale earlier this week – through the arena’s box office and TicketMaster. A portion of the proceeds from the Club Kokomo VIP Packages will go to The Love Foundation.

*Also already on sale (sorry everyone – the press releases about these shows all came in over the weekend, well after last week’s column had been printed) are tickets for STAIND, who will return to Mohegan Sun on Thursday, July 5. Tickets are $37.50 and available from the arena’s box office and TicketMasters.

*Fairfield Theatre Company has added a June 2 show by BRIAN AUGER AND THE OBLIVION EXPRESS to its calendar, and tickets are available now. They are $22 for FTC members, $32 for non-members. Showtime is 7:30.

A few nights later, JEAN-LUC PONTY, a pioneer and master of violin in the arena of jazz and rock, will headline at the same theater. Tickets for that show, on June 7 at 7:30, are $57 for members, $67 for non-members.

*Black-Eyed Sally’s BBQ & Blues Café – one of my all-time favorite places – is getting ready for its 7th Annual Black-Eyed & Blues Festival, which returns to Bushnell Park in Hartford on Thursday, June 7. Starting up at 5:30, this year’s festival will feature performances by RYAN HARTT & THE BLUE HEARTS, SHARRIE WILLIAMS & THE WISE GUYS, RAY SCHINNERY BAND and KAL DAVID & THE REAL DEAL.

Food will be plentiful and provided by sponsor Black-Eyed Sally’s.

*Later next month, OLD CROW MEDICINE SHOW will make a rare Connecticut appearance when the band performs at East Hartford Cultural Center. Showtime is 7:30, and tickets are $18 in advance or $20 at the door.

Seating will be open (doors open at 6). The cultural center is at 50 Chapman Place; call 860-528-1458 or visit EHCCC.com for additional information.

*The summer concert series at Ives Concert Park on the Western Connecticut State University Westside campus, Lake Avenue Extension in Danbury, will begin this weekend with a performance by music icons EARTH, WIND & FIRE. The concert is scheduled to start at 7:30 pm on Saturday, May 26, with gates to the venue opening at 5:30. Tickets, which range from $39 to $95, are on sale at www.wcsu.edu/tickets or by calling 837-8499.

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 25 — Godsmack at The Chevrolet Theatre; Earth, Wind & Fire at Mohegan Sun Arena; Dickey Betts & Great Southern at The Ridgefield Playhouse; Huey Lewis & The News at Foxwoods Casino’s Fox Theatre; Doug Wahlberg Band at The Georgetown Saloon;

May 25 — Earth, Wind & Fire at Ives Concert Park, Danbury; The Savage Brothers Band at Black-Eyed Sally’s;

May 26 — John Voket at Brass House Restaurant, Waterbury; McDonald-Teague Band at Black-Eyed Sally’s; Smokehouse at The Georgetown Saloon; Off The Hook at Redding Roadhouse, Redding;

May 30 — acoustic open mic at Mocha Coffee House, Sandy Hook (weekly event, 8-10:30 pm); “Weird Al” Yankovic at The Palace Theater, Waterbury; Sarah LeMieux at The Georgetown Saloon;

May 31 — Band Together (Jen Durkin, Sarah Brooks, Nicole Pasternak, Christine Tambakis and Tara Engler, with an all-star band) at Fairfield Theatre Company; round three of 2007 CT Blues Society Blues Challenge at Black-Eyed Sally’s.

JUNE 1 — Joan Armatrading at The Ridgefield Playhouse; Sherman Robertson Band at Black-Eyed Sally’s BBQ & Blues Café, Hartford; Todd Wolfe Band at Georgetown Saloon, Redding;

June 2 — Fall Out Boy at Dodge Music Center, Hartford, 44+, The Academy Is, Cobra Starship and Paul Wall opening; Brian Auger & The Oblivion Express at Fairfield Theatre Company, Fairfield; Blues Patrol at Georgetown Saloon;

June 3 — Blues Traveler at The Palace, Waterbury;

June 6 — Joe Bonamassa at The Ridgefield Playhouse, with special guest Crosby Loggins; Jesse Ray Carter at Georgetown Saloon;

June 7 — Blacked-Eyes & Blues Festival at Bushnell Park, Hartford; Jean-Luc Ponty at Fairfield Theatre Company;

June 8 — Alan Jackson and Brooks & Dunn at Dodge Music Center; The Jesse Collin Young Band at Black-Eyed Sally’s; Jay Stollman & The Black Rock All Stars;

June 9 — Hat City Blues Band at Jimmy’s Seaside, Stamford; Eran Troy Danner & Hot Dallas at Black-Eyed Sally’s; Roxy Perry at Georgetown Saloon;

June 10 — Big Bad Voodoo Daddy at The Ridgefield Playhouse; Georgetown Day Special Benefit Jam Concert at Georgetown Saloon, featuring Roxy Perry and friends (4-10 pm).