*JENNIFER ZULLI will headline in the corner stage at Mocha this Friday night, and then on Saturday THE SKANKTONES, who helped make a recent Haitian earthquake fundraiser here in town quite the success, will return to Sandy Hook.

*Speaking of Mocha, 3 Glen Road will once again host a Fat Tuesday celebration when its returns next week.

Rob Kaiser and crew will be celebrating Mardi Gras all day with Zydeco and Cajun music, French Market coffee, drink specials and plenty of gumbo. “Essential to any Fat Tuesday celebration is the communal pot represented by gumbo,” Rob said in this week’s email. “In a climate like ours, in a time when the food you stored in autumn was, for the most part, what carried you through until spring, a late winter fast was essential to survival.” I’m in!

While celebrating Mardi Gras, Fat Tuesday and the onset of Lent, check out this month’s art show too: February’s exhibit features the art of Catherine Hair and her daughters, Taelyr and Alexis. The trio offers a multi-generational, mixed media collection of photographs, paintings and drawings to create “an eclectic blend of landscape, portrait and still life – but it’s all in the family.”

*Newtown musician JIM ALLYN will be over at The Blue Z again this weekend, returning to the stage at 127 Main Street South in Newtown. Jim will be headlining on Saturday, February 13, and again on Saturday, February 27. Both shows will be getting underway around 7:45 he told me.

*Received a press release this week from singer-songwriter ISRAEL NASH GRIPKA and indie rockers THE FIEROS that piqued my interest. And that’s always a good thing.

“The biggest bands in the world have a concept to promote their tour.  U2 did Zoo TV and the 360 Tour, the Rolling Stones had A Bigger Bang,” said the note. “So when Gripka and The Fieros began planning their US jaunt, they decided to be candid and ‘Sing For Their Supper.’”

Next month, the artists will set sail from New York City to the southern United States, stopping along the route to locally owned and operated diners and other food joints, with guitars, and forks, in hand. Both acts will sing a song or three for one free meal, a tour premise not only feeding the bands their much needed daily sustenance, but also presenting a departure from the way individuals hear independent artists.

Gripka is the son of a Baptist minister and has grown up listening to gospel music in all of its forms, as well as his father record collection “that granted access to the world of classic rock n’ roll.” He’s touring to support his debut solo album, New York Town, which reached #18 on the US Americana Airplay Charts and #2 on the Euro Americana charts.

The Fieros, meanwhile, “are a straight-up, no frills Texas-American rock band” formed in 2005 and honored with Dallas Observer awards for Best New Act (2006) and Best Indie Rock (2007). The band relocated to Brooklyn in 2008 and recently released its self-titled debut EP.

As the Sing For Their Supper Tour hits the road, the first show on the itinerary is actually right here in Connecticut. The tour will kick off on Sunday, March 7, at The Acoustic Café in Bridgeport.

*This weekend Bridgeport will host its fifth annual BlackRock Rocks Mardi Gras Celebration. A taste of New Orleans nestled in Bridgeport, the event returns to The Acoustic Café, Lady Luck and The Black Rock Tavern on Saturday, February 13. The party starts at 2 in the afternoon and goes well into the night.

Featured performers will include New York’s BROTHER JOSCEPHUS AND THE LOVE REVIVAL REVOLUTION ORCHESTRA, a ten-piece band that plays a mix of R&B, soul, New Orleans jazz and “secular gospel,” with a healthy dose of spectacle for good measure; plus local performers including RAMBUNCTION FEATURING RENARD BOISSIERE, KUNG FU, MIKE FALZONE , SKETCH THE CATACLYSM, MANCHADO, DARIAN CUNNING BAND, ST. BERNADETTE, STEVE DETROY TRIO, TC & THE SPEAKERS, JOHN TORRES, BRIAN DOLZANI, CHRIS DEANGELIS, LARISSA DELORENZO & THE BUTTONDOWN MAFIA, BIG MOON and LISA FURMAN & THE BLUE FLIES.

Featuring all these musicians and New Orleans inspired food, the event is a fundraiser for BlackRock Rocks, a Bridgeport-based production organization made up of local musicians, artists and avid supporters of both. Over the past several years BRR has raised more than $14,000 for the American Red Cross, The Salvation Army, The Higher Ground Fund and Tipitina’s Foundation.

This year’s beneficiary of BlackRock Rocks Mardi Gras will be the Uptown Music Theater of New Orleans. Founded in 2000 by Delfeayo Marsalis (who also happens to be one of this year’s headliners for the Mardi Gras Celebration), Uptown Music Theatre is a summer arts program specifically aimed at providing junior high and high school youth with musical theatre training. Its “Swinging with the Cool School” educational initiative is geared at young children, many of whom are struggling to express their feelings and cope with the losses and devastation following Hurricane Katrina.

A single admission price of $20 allows access to all three venues throughout the event. (Advance tickets, priced at $15, can be purchased in advance at The Acoustic Café; call 203-335-3655). Tickets for ages 12-21 are $5, and children under 12 enter free. **Note that anyone under the age of 21 will only be allowed into Lady Luck with the presence and supervision of a parent or guardian until 8:30, and not into either of the other locations at any other time.

More information including the additional bands and final performance schedule can be found at BlackRockRocks.org. Questions about the event can be directed to BlackRock Rocks Chairperson Angel Telesco at angel@BlackRockRocks.org.

*Grammy Award winner ALICIA KEYS will headline at The MGM Grand Theater on March 13 and 14, and tickets are on sale now. The email from the casino about this show came in last Thursday afternoon, after last week’s deadline, so I apologize for the delay in letting you know about this show.

Tickets range from $90 to $160 and can be purchased at MGMatFoxwoods.com, by calling the MGM Grand Box Office at 866-646-0609, through any TicketMaster vendor, or at the Foxwoods box office in Mashantucket

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

 

FEBRUARY 12 — Jennifer Zulli at Mocha Coffee House, Sandy Hook; Phil Vassar at The Ridgefield Playhouse; Greg Brown at Infinity Music Hall, Norfolk; Dave Ross at The Acoustic Café, Bridgeport (CD release party); Steve Winwood at The MGM Grand Theater at Foxwoods, Mashantucket;

February 13 — Wiped Out at Proud Mary’s, Newtown (8-10 pm, followed by Bongo Joe until closing); The Skanktones at Mocha Coffee House; Kid Rock at Mohegan Sun Arena, Uncasville; River City Slim & The Zydeco Hogs at Infinity Music Hall; Dave Davies at Mohegan Sun’s Wolf Den; Trey Anastasio at the Oakdale Theatre, Wallingford;

February 14 — The Neville Brothers at The Ridgefield Playhouse with Dr John and Lower 911; B.B. King & Buddy Guy at The MGM Grand Theater at Foxwoods; John Mayall at Infinity Music Hall;

February 16 — Breaking Benjamin and Three Days Grace at Mohegan Sun Arena, Flyleaf opening;

February 18 — George Clinton & Parliament Funkadelic at Toad’s Place, New Haven; Sophie B. Hawkins at Mohegan Sun’s Wolf Den;

February 19 — Off The Hook at Redding Roadhouse; Kala Farnham at Mocha Coffee House; Lucy Kaplansky and Richard Shindell at Quick Center/Fairfield University; Greytooth at The Acoustic Café; John Mayer at Mohegan Sun Arena, Michael Franti and Spearhead opening; Alien Ant Farm at Mohegan Sun’s Wolf Den;

February 20 — Stephen Pascuzzi at Mocha Coffee House; Hot 8 Brass Band at The Ridgefield Playhouse; Buddy Jewell at Mohegan Sun’s Wolf Den; Dylan Connor with Kaiser Cartel at The Acoustic Café;

February 24 — New Found Glory at The Webster, Hartford; Fat at The Acoustic Café;

February 25 — Flogging Molly at The Webster, Saves The Day and Hello Goodbye opening; Cyril Neville at Fairfield Theatre Company; Dennis DeYoung at The Ridgefield Playhouse; Hoe at The Acoustic Café;

February 26 — JP Shannon at Mocha Coffee House; Phil Lesh and Bob Weir at Mohegan Sun Arena; Bobby McFerrin at The Ridgefield Playhouse; Cyril Neville at Infinity Music Hall; John Cafferty and The Beaver Brown Band at Mohegan Sun’s Wolf Den;

February 27 — Bill Devlin & Friends at Mocha Coffee House; The Black Eyed Peas at Mohegan Sun Arena; The Verve Pipe at Infinity Music Hall (note: billed as “alternative takes, an acoustic evening”); Soul Asylum at Mohegan Sun’s Wolf Den;

February 28 — The Verve Pipe at Infinity Music Hall (note: billed as “alternative takes, an acoustic evening”).