*Connecticut funk-rock favorites, BOMB SQUAD AND JEN DURKIN, will be hitting the road this summer with 420 Funk Mob, an all star cast of Parliament Funkadelic touring members.

The tour will reach Boston on June 16, playing that night at Middle East, and then hit Hartford the following night. Saturday, June 17, the band will headline at The Webster Theater. Tickets are $13 in advance, $15 at the door, and the show is open to all ages. *THE PRETENDERS will be on the road this summer, supporting their new album Loose Screw and playing plenty of older material as well. The band will be at The Palace Theater in Waterbury on Friday, July 28, and tickets for that show will be going on sale Friday, June 2. An opening act has yet to be announced.

Tickets are $42.25 and $52.25, and will be available through PalaceTheaterCT.org, charge-by-phone at 203-755-4700, or from the theater’s box office at 100 East Main Street in Waterbury.

*JOHN VOKET continues his one-man Paint The Town PurpleFest campaign this month, performing his fourth and final show in the Relay For Life fundraiser series at Mocha Coffee House on Saturday, June 10.

John will actually be playing three gigs that night, and adventurous listeners can not only follow his trail but could theoretically combine dinner, live entertainment and support for those who are participating in the overnight event that will be the 2006 Newtown Relay For Life event into one evening of fun.

John will start his performances at the Sandy Hook LobsterFest on Saturday, playing from 3 to 5:30 in the music tent. He’ll move over to Mocha for a 7:30 to 9:30 show, and then head over to the high school for a midnight performance as part of the talent show at the Relay.

Proceeds from each show at Mocha in March, April and May have raised a combined total of just under $500, and John will add whatever contributions come his way next weekend to the Relay efforts.

John will also, by the way, be at the LobsterFest on Friday, performing from 5 to 7 pm and then keeping music going between the sets played by the band Keltic Kick.

*A few shows were announced by Mohegan Sun Arena in the past week.

MARIAH CAREY will bring her The Adventures of Mimi: The Voice, The Hits, The Tour to Uncasville on Friday, August 25. Tickets are $95, $135 and $150, and will be on sale as of 10 am this morning (Friday, June 2), through TicketMaster vendors.

As mentioned a few weeks ago, CROSBY, STILLS, NASH AND YOUNG have regrouped for a summer tour that will also stop at Mohegan Sun on Tuesday, August 15. Tickets for that show go on sale tomorrow morning through TicketMaster (remaining tickets will then be available through the arena’s box office as well), priced at $96, $146 and $201. The prices were originally posted as $1 lower in each price range, but a second announcement from the arena late last week increased the prices to their current levels and mentioned that $1 from each ticket will be donated to charity. It did not specify which charity would benefit.

Rock legend ERIC CLAPTON will also be at Mohegan Sun Arena, playing two shows in the fall. On-sale date for the October 6 and 7 shows have yet to be announced, however.

*LUCY KAPLANSKY will open this month’s performance calendar at The Acoustic Café in Bridgeport. The fabulous singer-songwriter returns to the café tonight for a 9 pm acoustic show. Tickets are $20.

Modern rockers GROUP THERAPY continues the fun this weekend with a show on Saturday night, also starting at 9. Tickets for that are $10.

BRIAN KINGSTON, whose lyrically-driven pop-rock album is split event between guitar and piano tracks and whose influences include Ben Folds, David Gray, John Mayer and Jason Mraz, will headline on June 7.

STEPHEN KELLOGG AND THE SIXERS have a pair of shows at The Café next weekend, headlining Saturday and Sunday, June 10-11. King For A Day will open the first show, and The Brightwings will open on Sunday.

*The Dodge Music Center and The Chevrolet Theatre will have a few more shows going on sale this weekend. Tickets for these shows will be available through LiveNation.com or the box office at the Chevrolet Theatre in Wallingford. The Dodge’s box office is not yet open for the season.

On sale Saturday at 10 am will be TOBY KEITH, with special guest Joe Nichols, who will be at Dodge Music Center on Sunday, August 20 (tickets are $33.25 for the lawn or $67.25 for the pavilion); and also for QUEENSRYCHE, who will bring their Operation Mindcrime II tour to the Chevrolet Theatre on Friday, November 10. Those tickets are all priced at $38.

Going on sale at noon will be tickets for Family Values 2006, which will roll into Dodge Music Center on Sunday, September 3, featuring KORN, THE DEFTONES, STONE SOUR, FLYLEAF, DIRENGREY and others. Tickets are $9.99 for the lawn, and range from $19.50 to $49.50 for reserved seats.

*The July 25 date for the American Idols Live tour at The Arena at Harbor Yard sold out quickly. So the tour will now continue on its merry way across the country and then do another batch of shows, bringing the total for this year’s tour to 60 shows.

A second Bridgeport show has been added and already put on sale – tickets are $39.75, $49.75 and $72.50 for a September 23 show at The Arena. There is an eight-ticket limit, and tickets are available from the arena’s box office as well as all TicketMaster vendors.

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 SHOWS

JUNE 2 — Dickey Betts and Great Southern at The Ridgefield Playhouse (also playing June 3); Brooks & Dunn at Mohegan Sun Arena, Uncasville, Sugarland opening (make-up date, sold out); The Radiators at The Webster Theater, Hartford, Johnny Law and Thunderegg opening; Dick Dale at Toad’s Place, New Haven, The Vultures and 9th Wave opening; Lucy Kaplansky at The Acoustic Café, Bridgeport (Block Rock section);

June 3 — Dickey Betts and Great Southern at The Ridgefield Playhouse; Linda Ronstadt at The Chevrolet Theatre, Wallingford, America opening; Badfish at Toad’s Place, Sound System, All In Blind and Slack Tragic opening (all ages); Group Therapy at The Acoustic Café;

June 4 — Rob Thomas and Jewel (separate sets) at Mohegan Sun Arena;

June 6 — Collective Soul at The Webster Theater;

June 7 — Brain Kingston at The Acoustic Café;

June 9 — Rakim at Toad’s Place, DJ Kid Capri and Styles P opening (all ages);

June 10 — John Voket at Mocha Coffee House, Sandy Hook; The Machine at Toad’s Place (all ages); Stephen Kellogg and The Sixers at The Acoustic Café, King For A Day opening;

June 11 — Stephen Kellogg and The Sixers at The Acoustic Café, Brightwings opening;

June 12 — Bindlestiff Family Cirkus at Toad’s Place, Magic Hat Variety Show opening (all ages); Brain Littrell at The Webster Theater.

June 15 — Rick Wakeman at Ridgefield Playhouse with guest vocalist Ashley Holt; Zen Tricksters at The Acoustic Café;

June 16 — Shawn Colvin at Toad’s Place (all ages); Grapes of Vaudevillian Fantasy at The Acoustic Café, Doug and LeAnn opening.