*This weekend’s big on-sale will be for MTV Presents Justified and Stripped Tour featuring JUSTIN TIMBERLAKE and CHRISTINA AGUILERA, who will be performing at Hartford Civic Center on Thursday, August 14. Tickets are going on sale this weekend – Saturday, June 14, at 10 am – through all TicketMaster outlets. Prices for this show are $39.50, $52.50 and $62.50.

*My bad: I got so carried away last week with mentioning TIM REYNOLDS’ show at The Colorado Brewery next month that I failed to tell you the date of the show. Reynolds will be in Danbury on July 18, which is a Friday.

*GIA will be part of a Locals Night at Toad’s Place in New Haven this weekend. The band returns to 300 York Street on Saturday for the all ages event that will also feature sets by CO2, Slap That Kid and Route 66.

*HAT CITY BLUES BAND heads to Hartford this weekend to participate in the next round of Connecticut Society Blues Challenge performances at Black-Eyed Sally’s BBQ & Blues Café. The series actually opened on May 18, and continues each Sunday this month. Shows start at 7.

HCBB will be taking on the best of the state in blues bands in a competition that will have finals eventually being held in Memphis. Also on Sunday’s roster are Shorty & The All-Stars, Wanted and Ms Marci.

Bands scheduled for June 22 at The Hoodoo Band, Gina Gunn & The Bullets, and Larry Wiley & The Bluestalkers, and then on June 29 it’s The Brotherhood Blues Band, Ryan Heart & The Blue Hearts, Cobalt Rhythm Kings, and Bluzberry Pi.

*The City of Bridgeport and Terrapin Presents announced this week the inaugural Bridgeport Blues Festival which will be this Labor Day weekend. B.B. KING, JEFF BECK, ROBERT CRAY, CHUCK BERRY and JAMES BROWN will all be playing Seaside Park. While King and Beck are already headlining this year’s B.B. King Blues Festival, they will be joined by New Orleans funksters GALACTIC and MOFRO in addition to the five-time Grammy nominated Cray, et al, for the August 30-31 event.

Also scheduled to appear are roots harmonica legend JAMES COTTON, r&b guitar ace WALTER “WOLFMAN” WASHINGTON, 2002 W.C. Handy Blues Album of the Year winner MARCIA BALL and the gospel trio THE HOLMES BROTHERS.

Tickets are $50/day or $80 for a two-day pass; kids age 12 and under will be admitted free. Tickets are on sale through Terrapin Presents, 866-TERRAPIN (866-837-7274), through www.BridgeportBluesFestival.com, and from Strawberries Music & Video stores throughout New England.

*Tickets for HUEY LEWIS & THE NEWS, who will be at Foxwoods Casino’s Fox Theatre on August 2, go on sale Thursday morning. Tickets are $49.50 and $60.50; details and purchases can be handled at 800-200-2882.

*The Connecticut-based singer-songwriter CHRISTINA ABBOTT will celebrate the release of her new CD with a pair of shows and a local appearance next weekend. The first will be Friday, June 20, at The Studio at Rich Forum, where she has an 8 pm show scheduled. Tickets are $15; contact the SCA box office at 203-325-4466.

For you MTV fans there’s an added bonus for the evening: Joe Patane, from MTV Real World/Miami, will be the evening’s host.

On Saturday Ms Abbott will first be doing an in-store appearance at Gerosa Records in Brookfield. She’s expected to be in town around 2 pm.

Later that evening she’ll have her official CD release party at The Acoustic Café, 2926 Fairfield Avenue in Black Rock. Tickets for that show are $10 and available at 203-335-3655. Showtime is 9 pm and Russell Wolff has an opening set.

*DOUBLEDRIVE, which just played in Hartford last weekend, will be returning to The Webster Theatre before the end of the month to take part in a benefit concert for the victims of the fire at The Station back in February.

Full show details aren’t yet set, but a June 29 show at The Webster is the starting point. doubleDrive will be playing a show that will include sets from national and local acts and is expected to include an all-star jam with members of CINDERELLA and RATT. Equipment and collectible raffles will also be held and will feature items from ZAKK WYLDE, OZZY and NIGHT RANGER’s BRAD GILLIS, POISON, SOIL, DREAM THEATER, and more.

All money collected during the event will be forwarded to The Rhode Island Foundation, to be distributed to Rhode Island charities for the victims.

Details are forthcoming.

Other shows coming up at The Webster include WAKEFIELD and THE MOVIE LIFE, June 14, headlining a benefit to fight Lou Gehrig’s Disease; June 28, O-TOWN; July 12, GREY CELL GREEN; and July 21, PUDDLE OF MUDD.

*ORRIN BOLTON has a concert at The Annex in New Haven next Friday night. I wouldn’t usually do more than put this show into the calendar except that opening the concert will be ROUGH MIXX, a classic rock band whose line-up includes Newtown schools graduate RON CHASSE. Friends and former schoolmates may want to catch up with Ron… doors open at 7:30, tickets are $20, and The Annex is at 554 Woodward Avenue in New Haven.

Bolton will be featuring new material being recorded for his second album (The Promise) along with stuff from his first CD (Freedom); Rough Mixx will reportedly be featuring material from the CD Departure, which was released in 1998 on Wright Records.

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

 

 

 

 

JUNE 13 — Off The Hook at The Rathskeller, Southbury; Brothers Past at The Colorado Brewery, Danbury (18+ show); Martin Sexton at Toad’s Place, New Haven (all ages); Stray Allusions at The Webster Theatre, Hartford; Jimmy Thackery & The Drivers at Black-Eyed Sally’s BBQ & Blues Café, Hartford; Larry Coryell Trio (featuring Mark Egan & Paul Wertico) at Towne Crier Café, Pawling, N.Y.;

June 14 — Off The Hook at 707 On Main, Monroe; Wayne Keenan at The Acoustic Café, Bridgeport, with guest vocalist Vesta Williams; Darik & The Funbags at Tuxedo Junction, Danbury; Furthermore at The Colorado Brewery (18+ show); Locals Night at Toad’s Place, featuring Gia, CO2, Slap That Kid and Route 66 (all ages); Big Al & The Heavyweights at Black-Eyed Sally’s BBQ & Blues Café; Wakefield and The Movie Life at The Webster Theatre, Hartford, Doozer and Gover Dill opening; Professor Louie & The Crowmatix at Towne Crier Café;

June 15 — CT Blues Society Blues Challenge at Black-Eyed Sally’s BBQ & Blues Café featuring Hat City Blues Band, Shorty & The All-Stars, Wanted and Ms Marci;

June 16 — Van Morrison at Oakdale Theatre, Wallingford, Solomon Burke opening;

June 17 — Santana with Angelique Kidjo at Meadows Museum Center; Chicago at Mohegan Sun Arena, Uncasville;

June 18 — LL Cool J at Foxwoods’ Fox Theatre, Mashantucket (rescheduled from May, tickets from original show date will be honored); John Valby at Tuxedo Junction; Powerman 5000 at The Webster Theatre, Shinedown opening (all ages);

June 19 — Rebirth at The Colorado Brewery (18+ show); Sonny Boy at Black-Eyed Sally’s BBQ & Blues Café;

June 20 — Off The Hook at Carl Anthony’s, Monroe; Julia DeMato & New York Soul at The Colorado Brewery (18+ show); Charlie Daniels Band at Mohegan Sun’s Wolf Den; John Valby at Toad’s Place; Christina Abbott at The Studio at Stamford Center for the Arts; Debbie Davies Band at Black-Eyed Sally’s BBQ & Blues Café, Hartford; Orrin Bolton at The Annex, New Haven, Rough Mixx opening; Amy Fradon at Towne Crier Café;

June 21 — The Dead with Steve Winwood at Meadows Music Centre; Willie Nelson at Ives Concert Park, Danbury; Christina Abbott at The Acoustic Café, Russell Wolff opening (official CD release party for Abbott); Side Show and Hot Lunch at Tuxedo Junction; Reckoning at The Colorado Brewery (18+ show); Talib Kweli at Toad’s Place (all ages); Bill Perry Band at Black-Eyed Sally’s BBQ & Blues Café;

June 22 — CT Blues Society Blues Challenge at Black-Eyed Sally’s BBQ & Blues Café featuring The Hoodoo Band, Gina Gunn & The Bullets, and Larry Wiley & The Bluestalkers.