*THE DOUG WAHLBERG BAND will be back at the Georgetown Saloon once again this weekend, “where there’s never a shortage of a good time,” the band mentioned in an email this week.

Showtime for tonight’s show (Feb 22) is 9 pm.

While the band —  vocalist and guitarist (and Sandy Hook resident) Doug Wahlberg, bassist George P. Miller, drummer Rich Genovese, keyboardist Tim “T-Bone” Stone, and vocalist and guitarist Rick Tedesco — is looking forward to this weekend’s show, they are also “especially excited,” also according to that email, for its upcoming set as opener for BLUE OYSTER CULT at The Ridgefield Playhouse on Saturday, March 1. Showtime for that show next weekend is 7:30, and tickets for that gig are available for $60 and $65. Tickets can be purchased by calling the playhouse’s box office at 203-438-5795 or visiting RidgefieldPlayhouse.org.

The following weekend the band will be making another return, this time to Ledyard for a pair of shows at The Atrium at Foxwoods Casino. Showtime is 9:30 on March 7 and 8, and admission is free.

*MIKE “The King of Slide Guitar” TOWNSEND will be back at Mocha in Sandy Hook tonight, with a show starting at 7:30. 

Back in the stage area of the Glen Road coffeehouse tomorrow night will be MIKE GRIFFIN, also starting around 7:30. Both shows will run until about 10 and since admission (as always at Mocha) is free, why not bring some extra money to support local musicians through tips and local business owners with your business?

*For fans of Led Zeppelin who didn’t get tickets (or couldn’t afford the flight) to December’s one-night-only reunion concert in London, the Palace Theater is offering one of the next best things: this weekend the theater will host Long Island’s critically acclaimed tribute band, HAMMER OF THE GODS. Named after a biographical tome by Stephen Davis, Hammer of the Gods bills itself as “The Ultimate Led Zeppelin Experience.” The band not only performs the songs but attempts to duplicate the British supergroup’s live show right down to stage layouts and the appearance of Page, Plant, et al.

Tickets for the show are $40 each and can be purchased at the Palace box office, 100 East Main Street; by calling 203-755-4700; or visiting PalaceTheaterCT.org.

*JOHN VOKET will be headlining his next show at Milano’s in New Milford (across from the train station) this weekend. John will be at the Railroad Street restaurant and bar on Saturday, February 23. Showtime is 9 pm and there is no cover charge.

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 22 — Michael Townsend at Mocha Coffee House, Sandy Hook; Creedence Clearwater Revisited at Foxwoods Casino’s Fox Theatre, Ledyard; Doug Wahlberg Band at Georgetown Saloon, Redding; Grace Potter & The Nocturnals at Toad’s Place, New Haven (all ages); The Duke Robillard Band at The Acoustic Café, Bridgeport, Paul Gabriel opening; Spice Girls at the XL Center, Hartford; Aaron Lewis at Mohegan Sun’s Cabaret Theatre, Uncasville (solo acoustic show, nightly through February 24); Talespin at Hat City Ale House, Danbury, Slight Return opening; Jerry Portnoy Trio at Black-Eyed Sally’s BBQ & Blues Café, Hartford;

February 23 — Mike Griffin at Mocha Coffee House; Aaron Lewis at Mohegan Sun’s Cabaret Theatre (solo acoustic show, nightly through February 24); Hammer of the Gods at The Palace Theatre, Waterbury; John Voket at Milano’s, New Milford; Blues Patrol at Georgetown Saloon; The Station at The Acoustic Café; Ryan Hartt & The Blue Harts at Black-Eyed Sally’s;

February 24 — Aaron Lewis at Mohegan Sun’s Cabaret Theatre (solo acoustic show); Taj Mahal & The Trio Band at The Ridgefield Playhouse;

February 27 — My Dad’s Truck at Georgetown Saloon (providing live music for beer dinner event, call for details); The Robert Cray Band at The Ridgefield Playhouse; Keller Williams & The WMDs at Toad’s Place (all ages); electric rock and blues jam featuring Roger Edel’s “Hatbox” at The Acoustic Café (21 and over);

February 28 — Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band at Hartford Civic Center; Toby Keith at Mohegan Sun Arena (also February 29); local bands showcase at Toad’s Place featuring Not For Nothing, Falling Seasons, Standing Stone, The Lawless Cast, Starvation, Plank Ink and Falling Stickmen (all ages); Bluegrass & Beer Jam featuring Hoe at The Acoustic Café;

February 29 — Toby Keith at Mohegan Sun Arena, with special guests Gary Allan, Carter’s Chord, Mica Roberts and Trailer Choir; Smokehouse at Georgetown Saloon; The Nerds at Toad’s Place, Take October opening; Indobox and Otherwise at The Acoustic Café; Brian Templeton Blues Band at Black-Eyed Sally’s.

MARCH 1 — Blue Oyster Cult at The Ridgefield Playhouse, The Doug Wahlberg Band opening; Debbie Davies at Black-Eyed Sally’s BBQ & Blues Café, Hartford;

March 4 — Horrorpops at Toad’s Place, New Haven, The Pink Spiders, Steve E Nix & The Cute Lepers, and Royale Brothers opening (all ages);

March 7 — Bon Jovi at Mohegan Sun Arena, Uncasville, Daughtry opening (also March 8); Doug Wahlberg Band at The Atrium at Foxwoods, Ledyard (also March 8); Rane at Black-Eyed Sally’s;

March 8 — Bon Jovi at Mohegan Sun Arena, Daughtry opening; Doug Wahlberg Band at The Atrium at Foxwoods; J. Geils and Gerry Beaudoin at Black-Eyed Sally’s;

March 9 — John Waite at The Ridgefield Playhouse;

March 11 — Los Lobos at The Ridgefield Playhouse;

March 12 — Little Feat at The Ridgefield Playhouse; Gregory Isaacs at Toad’s Place (all ages);

March 13 — The Walkmen at Toad’s Place (all ages);

March 14 — Black Sun Music Festival at Toad’s Place (also March 15, all ages); Brian Auger & The Oblivion Express at Black-Eyed Sally’s; Felix Cavalier’s Rascals at The Ridgefield Playhouse, Way-Back Machine opening;

March 15 — Black Sun Music Festival at Toad’s Place (all ages); The Savage Brothers at Black-Eyed Sally’s;

March 16 — k.d. lang at The Palace Theater, Waterbury; The Jonas Brothers at Arena at Harbor Yard, Bridgeport, Rooney opening;

March 18 — The Jonas Brothers at The Chevrolet Theatre, Wallingford, Rooney opening;

March 21 — Robin Trower at The Ridgefield Playhouse; Shakedown at Black-Eyed Sally’s;

March 22 — Johnny Rawls at Black-Eyed Sally’s;

March 25 — Drive-By Truckers at Toad’s Place, The Felice Brothers opening (all ages);

March 26 — Van Halen at Mohegan Sun Arena, Ky-Mani Marley opening;

March 27 — Say Anything at Toad’s Place, Manchester Orchestra, Biffy Clyro and Weatherbox opening (all ages);

March 28 — Stanley Maxwell at Black-Eyed Sally’s;

March 29 — Johnny Winter at The Ridgefield Playhouse; Eight to the Bar at Black-Eyed Sally’s.