*Bee reporter, radio and party DJ, and entertainer extraordinaire JOHN VOKET returns for his third show tonight (Friday, April 29) at Mocha Coffee House in Sandy Hook. Showtime is 7 pm, but the desserts, soft drinks and coffee creations will be up and running all day. Pull up a chair, grab the comfy sofa and bring your good vibes.

  *SOL DOG opens the weekend tonight with a set at Beltaine 2005, a weekend-long festival on Route 188 in Oxford, and then returns to 100 Church Hill in Sandy Hook tomorrow night.

  *As if June 9 weren’t already a special day (Gerber daisies are my favorite flower, by the way, for anyone planning on surprising me on my birthday… hint hint), now we can look forward to BRIAN McKNIGHT and NEW EDITION that Thursday evening at Mohegan Sun Arena.

 Tickets are $30.75 and $40.75 and will be on sale at 10 am Friday, April 29, at the Mohegan Sun box office and TicketMaster.

  *Tickets will also be going on sale this weekend for the five-hour Rock Never Stops 2005 concert, which stops at Mohegan Sun Arena on Thursday, July 21. CINDERELLA, RATT, QUIET RIOT and FIREHOUSE will all be performing full sets.

  Tickets have been priced at just $25 and $35 and will be going on sale Saturday, April 30, at 10 am, through the Mohegan Sun box office and TicketMaster outlets. If you want to purchase tickets directly from the box office, a limited number of wristbands will be distributed Saturday morning at 7.

  *Going on sale next weekend, also at Mohegan Sun Arena, will be tickets for STEVIE NICKS & DON HENLEY, who will be in Uncasville on Monday, June 6. Tickets are $75, $95 and $125, and will be on sale starting Saturday, May 7, at 10 am.

  *Also going on sale this weekend are three shows that were announced Wednesday afternoon: BRIAN WILSON at the Oakdale on Wednesday, August 17 (tickets are on sale Friday at 10 am, at $38 and $48); JESSE McCARTNEY at the Oakdale on Monday, June 13 (on sale Friday afternoon at 4, with all seats $32); and THE ALLMAN BROTHERS BAND, with special guest moe, at the Meadows Music Theater (on sale Saturday at 10 am; $24.50 for lawn seating, $35 and $55 reserved).

  *WEZN (STAR 99.9) is going from the airwaves to Bridgeport’s Harbor Yard this weekend for a brand new family event. The STAR 99.9 Family Jam will take place on Saturday, April 30, and Sunday, May 1, from 11 am to 5 pm, at Bridgeport’s Arena at Harbor Yard. Families can enjoy carnival rides, a safety area sponsored by Ikea, The Home Depot Kids Workshop and over 100 exhibitors featuring family oriented products and services.

  Children will have the opportunity to meet the official Marvel Comic’s superhero Spider-Man all day on Saturday. On Sunday, adults can meet their own superhero: CBS daytime soap opera star Scott Bailey (Sandy Foster) from Guiding Light will stop in from 11:30 am until 1:30 pm for a meet and greet with fans.

  There will also be a ceramics workshop sponsored by Creative Castle, face painting by the award-winning painter Chrys Dawid, a pet adoption area run by The Connecticut Humane Society, and even an area for dads with a putting green, a NASCAR simulator, and Big Daddy’s Racing.

  In addition the final rounds of the first STAR Idol Competition will run. An initial field of 115 contestants has been narrowed down to 24 semi-finalists, and they will compete on the main Family Jam Stage beginning at noon on Saturday. The nine finalists will return for the conclusion of the competition on Sunday.

  Admission to the STAR 99.9 Family Jam is $7 for adults, $5 for seniors, and free for children ages 12 and under. Discount coupons may be picked up at any Fairfield county or New Haven county Shaw’s location.

  *Danbury Music Centre will be the location for two very exciting folk shows coming up in May and June.

  CHERYL WHEELER will be at 256 Main Street for a performance on Friday, May 20. Showtime is 7:30 (doors will open at 7), and the opening set will be by Danbury’s own LYS GUILLORN.

  The performance, in an intimate setting, will feature music from Wheeler’s first studio album in six years, Defying Gravity.

  Tickets are $30, and all are general admission. Purchase tickets from the show’s promoter, Westside Entertainment, by visiting www.westside-entertainment.com or calling 800-838-3006.

  In June CHRISTINE LAVIN will headline on Saturday the 20th, with MY DAD’S TRUCK opening. Tickets for this show aren’t yet available but will be sold through Westside Entertainment as well.

  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 club locations are for ages 21 and over unless specified.

UPCOMING SHOWS

APRIL 29 — John Voket at Mocha Coffee House, Sandy Hook; Ashanti at Foxwoods Casino’s Fox Theatre, Uncasville; Snoop Dogg and The Game at Hartford Civic Center, also Don Omar and Cuban Link; John Valby at Toad’s Place, New Haven; Sevendust at The Webster Theatre, Hartford (all ages); Connor Steward & Friends at The Acoustic Café, Black Rock (Bridgeport); Hat City Blues Band at 95 North, Norwalk; Viva Mexe at Tuxedo Junction, Danbury;

April 30 — Todd Rundgren and Joe Jackson at Foxwoods’ Fox Theatre; Sol Dog at 100 Church Hill, Sandy Hook; Quiet Riot at Mohegan Sun’s Wolf Den (two shows); Johnny A at The Acoustic Café; Luvbug at Tuxedo Junction.

MAY 2 — Velvet Revolver at The Arena at Harbor Yard, Bridgeport, Hoobastank opening;

May 5 — Reba McIntire at The Meadows, Brad Paisley and Terri Clark opening; Rockapella at The Ridgefield Playhouse, The Retrotones opening; Papa Roach at Toad’s Place, New Haven, Trust Company and No Warning opening (all ages);

May 6 — Sting at Mohegan Sun Arena; The Nerds at Toad’s Place, The Gamma Rays and Red Handed opening; Echoing August at The Acoustic Cafe, Bridgeport;

May 7 — Sammy and The Wabos at Foxwoods Casino’s Fox Theatre, Ledyard, opening set by Michael Anthony, and Los Tres Gusanos;

May 8 — Marky Ramone at The Webster Theatre (all ages);

May 10 — Reverend Horton Heat at Toad’s Place, The Supersuckers and Murphy’s Law opening (all ages);

May 11 — Machine Head at Toad’s Place, Devil Driver, The Haunted and It Does Today opening.

May 12 — Donna The Buffalo at Toad’s Place, The Rafter Bats opening (all ages);

May 13 — Boyz II Men at Foxwoods Casino’s Fox Theatre; Darik & The Funbags at Toad’s Place, Livin Trust, Megahertz and Green Inside opening; Chris Smither at The Acoustic Café;

May 14 — Glenn Frey at Foxwoods Casino’s Fox Theatre; Hat City Blues Band at The Lodge, Southbury; Percy Hill at The Webster Theatre.