*Acoustic guitarist MARC HUBERMAN has a few shows coming up, including a fundraiser next weekend at The Sculpture Barn in New Fairfield. More on that in a minute. First there are a pair of shows this weekend, starting with a show tomorrow (Saturday, Oct 18) at Donna Marie’s Cucina Italiana in Georgetown. Showtime is 8 pm.

Then on Sunday the Newtown resident will be offering a brunch performance at La Zingara Ristorante, a restaurant within Barnum Square in Bethel, also starting at 8.

Next weekend Marc will the be part of a special event that will raise funds for a young man while raising awareness of a debilitating disease.

At the age of three, young Wyatt Keeley of New Fairfield was diagnosed with Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy. His parents, Wayne and Joanne Keeley, then of Yonkers, N.Y., felt blind-sided: Duchenne is an always terminal, muscle-wasting disease which affects approximately one in 3,500 male children. The family (which also includes two other children) soon learned that Wyatt would first lose his ability to enjoy simple physical pursuits, eventually become confined to a wheelchair, and finally lose the battle somewhere in his late teens.  

The Wyatt Foundation is a non-profit organization formed by Wyatt’s family and friends to raise awareness, to provide support and resources, and to assist in the global effort of finding a cure for Duchenne.

On Saturday, October 25, from 7 to 10 pm, the foundation will make its inaugural foray into the community with a gala evening of immersion into arts, entertainment, fine food and wine, and a silent auction. “That’s Entertainment!” will feature performances by actor of stage and screen, SAMUEL WRIGHT, known for the unmistakable voice of Sebastian the Crab in Disney’s The Little Mermaid and for his portrayal of Mufasa in Broadway’s The Lion King; ELIZABETH PARKINSON, the Tony Award-nominated, Astaire Award-winning Broadway dancer of Movin’ Out; THE DOUG WAHLBERG BAND; and Marc Huberman.

The gala will take place at David and Carter Boyajian’s Sculpture Barn, 3 Milltown Road at New Fairfield. Hors d’oeuvres will be catered by Tom Devine from Ciao! Catering and Events and Two Steps Downtown Grille, Danbury; wine has been donated by Stew Leonard’s Wine Shop, Danbury; a cake and desserts will be presented by The Goodie Shoppe, New Fairfield; flowers provided by Village Flower Shop, New Fairfield; photographs will be taken by White Light Inc., Bethel; and all print and web materials have been created by Dactyl Technologies LLC, Danbury.

Tickets are $75 in advance, and $100 at the door, and can be purchased before the benefit at The Goodie Shoppe, Sprinkles Ice Cream, Portofino, Video Island, and Village Hardware, all in New Fairfield. They can also be purchased by sending a check payable to The Wyatt Foundation, PO Box 8030, New Fairfield CT 06812.

For reservations or additional information call 312-9804.

*HAT CITY BLUES BAND will be in New Milford this weekend. Ron Caruso, Gary LeVan, Ed Pryzby, Dave Lott and Bill Fedorko will be playing a 9 pm show at Milano’s Restaurant & Pizza, which is at 10 Railroad Street, tomorrow (Saturday) night. Don’t worry about parking – use the full lot next to the train tracks. And if you have time, get there early because the restaurant has a great menu.

*I’m big enough to admit when I haven’t heard of someone before, and this week’s entry in that book is JAMES HUNTER, who Van Morrison has reportedly called “one of the best voices, and best kept secrets, in British R’n’B and soul.”

As if Morrison isn’t enough (although his opinion rocks in my book), Hunter – who will be co-headlining a show with SUSAN TEDESCHI at the University of Hartford on November 8 – has also been lavishly praised by The Boston Globe (who said “Winehouse Who?” upon the release of his latest, The Hard Way), LA Times (saying in part “critics, in their effusive praise, wrong-peg Hunter as a revivalist purist of the Sam Cookie/Jackie Wilson school, but his music takes in a wide range of influences, including 50s piano-based R&B, early Skatalites, horn charts, an almost post-modern guitar deconstruction of Ike Turker or Hubert Sumlin, and the New Orleans R&B of Allen Toussaint).

Rolling Stone also loves Hunter’s work, saying “All it took was ten seconds of listening to “The Hard Way,” the title track from Brit soul man James Hunter’s third US album, before we knew the disc was unbelievably awesome,” and People magazine said “Sorry Amy: Apparently the UK’s retro-soul movement isn’t all about the ladies. On his latest set of good old-fashioned R&B, this British crooner continues to be possessed by the ghost of Ray Charles.”

I’m sold.

Tedeschi, of course, is the Grammy nominated New England native soul-blues guitarist who is just about to drop her fifth studio album, Back To The River (due October 28).

Hunter and Tedeschi, as I said, will perform a benefit concert for Hartford Inner City Outings at UHartford’s Lincoln Theater next month. Showtime is 7:30 and tickets are available for $35 general seating or $40 reserved; call 860-768-4228 or visit Hartford.edu/tickets.

The concert will be part of the Music for A Change concert series, which was launched by the university in cooperation with its radio station (WWUH, 91.3 FM), and has raised more than $110,000 in its 6½ years for a number of greater Hartford charities and nonprofit organizations. Proceeds from the Hunter-Tedeschi show will benefit Hartford Inner City Outings, a community outreach program that provides opportunities for urban youth and adults to explore, enjoy and protect the natural world.

*The previous night, I just found out, JOHN GORKA will also be performing at the West Hartford college, but in its Wilde Auditorium.

Lara Herscovitch will open, and tickets for this show are all $18. Call or visit the same phone number and website as above.

*TONY SUMMO and LOU BELLOFATTO will return to 100 Church Hill next weekend, performing a mix of classic rock and oldies on Saturday, October 25. The show will start around 9:30.

Tony and Lou will be playing as a duo, but will be bringing along custom recorded tracks that give them the sound of a full band.

Lou on keyboards and Tony plays guitar, and both share time at the mic. These two were in the popular regional band STEEPLECHASE that performed four to five nights a week from 1976 to 1982 in the tri-state area.

Tony has lived in Newtown and Sandy Hook for 22 years, and was the manager of Newtown Hardware for 20 years before leaving that gig in 2003. Lou is a professional studio musician and producer who most recently performed with Carly Simon and worked on the film Across the Universe.

Their current repertoire covers everything from the Beatles to the Stones, Billy Joel to Chicago, Hendrix to Stevie Ray Vaughn, and includes 60s soul like Wilson Pickett, Sam & Dave, and Otis Redding.

*Two weekends later, CRYSTAL PYRAMID will bring their southern rock talent to the same venue. These guys, who play Allman Brothers, .38 Special, ZZ Top and the like, will be in the Hook on Saturday, November 8.

*Ticketholders already know this, but just to make sure we’re all on the same page: JANET JACKSON’s Rock Witchu Tour was postponed again last week, about 24 hours prior to her Connecticut show. If you still have your tickets for the original October 11 Mohegan Sun show and still want to see Ms Jackson, hang on to those tickets. When the reschedule date is announced, your tickets will be good.

Jackson has been missing shows since late last month, when she became ill and ended up hospitalized briefly. She was to resume her tour with the Connecticut show last weekend, but an announcement shortly after 6 pm Friday postponed that show until further notice.

*And finally this week comes word that DARYL HALL & JOHN OATES will be returning to John’s home state for a show at Mohegan Sun Arena on New Year’s Eve. I think this may be the first New Year’s Eve listing we have this year.

Tickets are set at $55, $75 and $90, and will be going on sale this morning (Friday) through TicketMaster; they will also be available through Mohegan’s box office tomorrow after 10 am.

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.

UPCOMING SHOWS

OCTOBER 17 — The Adults at Proud Mary’s, Newtown;

October 18 — Jenn Taylor at Proud Mary’s; Hat City Blues Band at Milano’s, New Milford; Marc Huberman at Donna Marie’s Cucina Italiana, Georgetown;

October 19 — Marc Huberman at La Zingara Ristorante, Bethel;

October 24 — Billy Michaels at Proud Mary’s;

October 25 — Tony Summo and Lou Bellofatto at 100 Church Hill, Sandy Hook.

; 150 RPM at Proud Mary’s;

October 28 — The Who at Mohegan Sun Arena; Rock Band Live: Panic At The Disco and Dashboard Confessional at Arena at Harbor Yard, Bridgeport, with Plain White T’s and The Cab, also local bands TBA;

October 31 — Alice Cooper at MGM Grand at Foxwoods, Ledyard; 150 RPM at Proud Mary’s.