*Two concerts were announced last week after we went to press, and both have tickets already on sale.

PAT BENATAR will perform at The MGM Grand Theater in Mashantucket on Friday, March 18. Tickets are $30, $40 and $50 and are available through the casino’s box office, through TicketMaster vendors,  and online at MGMatFoxwoods.com or Foxwoods.com.

*TAYLOR SWIFT will bring her Speak Now World Tour to the XL Center in Hart-ford on Wednesday, June 22. Presale tickets went on sale Thursday, February 17, and the general public will have access to tickets Friday morning at 10. Priced at $28, $62.50 and $72.50 for the Hartford stop, tickets will be available at the XL Center’s Ticket Office (through its Group Sales Office, at 860-548-2000), and through TicketMaster including vendor locations, online www.TicketMaster.com, or by calling 800-745-3000.

NeedToBreathe! will be opening this leg of the tour, which will run for 15 months, covering four continents, 19 countries and 87 shows.

*Rock and Roll Hall of Famers DAVID CROSBY and GRAHAM NASH will bring their spring tour to the Palace Theatre in Stamford on May 22. Performances on this tour will mix acoustic and plugged-in performances by the legendary singer-songwriters.

Tickets go on sale Friday, February 18, at 11 am, priced at $58 and $80. They’ll be available through the SCA website (www.scalive.org) or by phone at 203-325-4466. Tickets can also be purchased in person at the Palace Theatre box office in downtown Stamford 61 Atlantic Street. The box office is open Monday through Friday from 10 am to 6 pm.

The Crosby-Nash tour has also partnered with Brita on its FilterForGood movement, making Brita Hydration Stations available to dispense filtered water, free of charge, to concert attendees. It’s also the reason why you’ll need to visit www.guacFund.org for details about special benefit seating.

*Also on sale Friday morning will be tickets for BRET MICHAELS, returning to Connecticut just four months after a pre-Thanksgiving performance at The Ridgefield Playhouse that my pal Lisa Pollard Bigham called “awesome.”

The former Poison frontman and “Rock of Love” TV star will this time rock the MGM Grand Theater at Foxwoods on Friday, March 25. Tickets are $30, $40 and $50, and are on sale at 10 am. 

*The Connecticut band LITTLEHOUSE is generating buzz throughout New England for its grassroots music (also referred to in press materials as heartland, Americana rock, incorporating country, rockabilly, rock, spiritual, folk and blues into its original songs) and innovative performance venue. Most recently, The New York Times profiled the group in the Sunday, February 6, edition of the paper. 

For the last several years, LittleHouse has developed a faithful following, with up to 80 fans squeezing into a converted barn on the West Simsbury property of West Simsbury resident and band founder Joe Patrina. The seven-member group has played 50 shows since 2008 in that space, but now it’s time to break out of the barn.

The group will play at the Warner Theatre’s Nancy Marine Studio in Torrington, a state of the art 300-seat black box theater, on March 12; at Bridge Street Live in Collinsville, which offers an Art Deco design bar room, lounge and massive wraparound decks overlooking the Farmington River and Sweetheart Mountain, on April 23, and at The Kate, a 250-seat theater within The Katherine Hepburn Cultural Arts Center in Old Saybrook, on April 29.

In keeping with its unorthodox approach, LittleHouse will not be using the upcoming shows as personal money makers. Instead, the group is using the performances as fundraisers for a variety of different organizations.

The March 12 concert will be a benefit for the CT Lupus Foundation. During the intermission, the band will “Pass The Hat for Lupus” and basically, any monies donated by the audience in the hat will be matched by LittleHouse Founder and Lead Singer Joe Patrina, who has pledged to raise/donate a minimum of $1,000 for the organization.

And then the concert in Old Saybrook will benefit the Hepburn Center itself, as it is a non-profit. Joe Patrina has agreed to donate a minimum of $1,500 following that show.

For ticket information, visit www.WarnerTheatre.org, www.41BridgeStreet.com or www.KatharineHepburnTheater.org. To sample live LittleHouse performances, check out www.LittleHouselive.com.

*Guitarist Thom Gomez from Oxford and saxophonist Rick Sadlon from Sandy Hook have teamed up to create The Gomez & Sadlon Smooth Jazz duo. They will be performing three 45 minute sets at the Twisted Vine in Derby from 8 to 11 pm on Saturday, February 26.

There is never a cover charge, but reservations are recommended. The restaurant is at 285 Main Street (Route 34) in Derby; call 203-734-2462.

For a preview of the music of Gomez&Sadlon, visit www.myspace.com/smoothjazzexpressions.

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 18 — Rascal Flatts at Mohegan Sun Arena, Uncasville, Luke Bryan and Chris Young opening;

February 19 — Taj Mahal Trio and Los Lobos at The Klein, Bridgeport; Daria Musk at Fairfield Theatre Company’s StageOne, Jeff Tolson opening;

February 20 — Clay Aiken at The Palace, Waterbury; David Allan Coe at Infinity Music Hall, Norfolk;

February 24 — Blues at the Crossroads: Big Head Todd & The Monsters, David “Honeyboy” Edwards, Hubert Sumlin and Cedric Burnside & Lightnin’ Malcolm at The Ridgefield Playhouse;

February 25 — The Adults at Proud Mary’s, Newtown;

February 26 — Gomez & Sadlon Smooth Jazz Duo at The Twisted Vine, Derby.

MARCH 3 — The Adults at The One-Eyed Pig, Newtown (hosting open mic night); 

March 4 — Bon Jovi at Mohegan Sun Arena, Uncasville; The Adults at The Cookhouse, New Milford; River City Slim & The Zydeco Hogs at Infinity Music Hall, Norfolk; Johnny Winter at Toad’s Place, New Haven;

March 5 — Billy Ray Cyrus at The MGM Grand at Foxwoods, Mashantucket;

March 8 — Furthur at the Oakdale Theatre, Wallingford;

March 11 — Elton John at Mohegan Sun Arena;

March 12 — The Adults at The One-Eyed Pig (full band);

March 13 — Dropkick Murphys at Mohegan Sun Arena, Against Me! opening.