*Concert promoters Live Nation announced this week that due to production delays the first two weeks of COLDPLAY’s Viva La Vida tour have been rescheduled.

The band’s scheduled appearance on July 3 at the XL Center is one of the shows affected, and it has been rescheduled for Saturday, August 2. The good news is, tickets from the original date will be honored in August.

More information and tickets continue to be available at Coldplay.com and at LiveNation.com.

*Also this week comes work that YES has decided to cancel its 2008 40th anniversary tour on the heels of lead vocalist Jon Anderson’s recent health concerns. In the wake of a respiratory attack, doctors have advised Anderson to spend a few months resting and recovering, which means he won’t be able to tour as originally planned.

Anderson was admitted to the hospital last month after suffering a severe asthma attack. He has since been diagnoses with acute respiratory failure. His doctors have told him not to work for at least six months or he runs the risk of further health complications.

The band’s 26-city tour was scheduled to kick off in Quebec next month and run through the summer, including a stop at Mohegan Sun Arena on July 22. Ticket refunds will be available at the point of purchase.

*Music at Mocha Coffee House will begin this weekend with FAIRFIELD CROSSING on Friday, June 13, at 7:30 pm. Fairfield Crossing is a group of musical friends whose repertoire consists of traditional and contemporary Irish/Scottish, Appalachian, bluegrass, New England and French Canadian tunes. They perform lively jigs and reels, beautiful waltzes and poignant Celtic ballads, Irish pub songs, bluegrass standards, and more.

Then on Saturday the headliner will be BRIANNE CHASANOFF, whose passionate vocals and sultry voice speak to the listener intimately with a soothing, natural clarity… at least according to the program notes I received this week. Brianne is a classically trained vocalist and pianist who has been accompanying musicals, chorus ensembles, church services, and recitals for years, playing various styles of music from Broadway and classical to pop.

A graduate of Western Connecticut State University, Brianne received her bachelor’s of science in music education with a concentration in classical voice and piano.

Showtime for her is also 7:30, and both shows will run until Mocha closes its doors – at 9 on Friday and 10 on Saturday.

*RAY MASON and his trusted 1965 Silvertone guitar will make their Mocha debut next weekend… along with a lot of room for the back catalog of albums he has under his belt.

The Northampton, Mass., resident started his first band in 1966 and has been going strong ever since. Ray has released five critically acclaimed (albeit cassette only) albums, followed them with a single on his own Captivating Music label and has appeared on numerous compilations from such labels as East Side Digital, Shimmy Disc, Sound Asleep (Sweden), Signature Sounds, Dren Records and Paisley Pop.

The initial release of his first “official” CD (Between Blue & Okay) came in 1994, followed by Missyouville, Old Souls Day, Castanets, When the Clown’s Work is Over, Square Crazy, Three Dollar Man, Idiot Wisdom, Old School, A Man and His Silvertone, and the latest, Don’t Mess With Our Routine (on the Hi-N-Dry label out of Cambridge, Mass.). He has also recorded (along with Jim Armenti) six albums as a founding member of the Lonesome Brothers, with whom he appeared A Prairie Home Companion and at last year’s Newport Folk Festival.

Ray has recorded with plenty of names, and he has opened for many others (among them NRBQ, The Band, Fountains of Wayne, Marshall Crenshaw, Bill Morrissey, Warren Zevon, et al).

So what can we expect following his two hour drive from Massachusetts next weekend? Ray says his tunes follow no trend while keeping an upward slide on the songwriting scale. “It’s rock with the roll!!” he wrote in an email this week. “A man and his Silvertone” will be at Mocha on Friday, June 20.

*Tickets for THE BEACH BOYS, who will return to Connecticut on Friday, August 22, go on sale tomorrow morning. All seats for the Mohegan Sun Arena show are $25 and will be available beginning June 14 through TicketMaster, and then also through the casino’s box office beginning Sunday morning.

*Also going on sale Saturday morning will be tickets for TRACE ADKINS, who will have special guest Kellie Pickler opening when he rolls into Mohegan Sun Arena on Friday, September 12. Tickets are $35 and $45 and will also be available through TicketMaster for the first 24 hours, and then also from the casino’s box office beginning on Sunday.

*And finally this week is the news that Georgetown Saloon over in Redding will begin a bluegrass open mic starting June 18 at 8 pm. The event will run the first and third Thursday of the month and will be co-hosted by local bluegrass legends Dan Tressler & Dan Carlucci.

The Dans will begin each evening with “String Fingers,” a presentation of bluegrass and acoustic exploration and music, before opening the floor to musicians who have signed up to perform. They will be available as backup or give the stage over completely to those who want to perform.

Sign up can be done each week either by calling or visiting the saloon as early as 6 pm, when the sign-up list is posted; call 203-544-8003 to get on that list. Visit GeorgetownSaloon.com for additional information about this as well as other shows and special events.

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

JUNE 13 — Billy Joel at Mohegan Sun Arena, Uncasville (SOLD OUT); Dave Matthews Band at Dodge Music Center, Hartford, with special guest Paolo Nutini (also June 14); Third World at The Webster Theater, Hartford; Hat City Blues Band at Milano’s, New Milford; Fairfield Crossing at Mocha Coffee House, Sandy Hook; John Valby at Toad’s Place, New Haven; Blue Steam Band at The Georgetown Saloon, Redding;

June 14 — Dave Matthews Band at Dodge Music Center, with special guest Paolo Nutini; Brianne Chasanoff at Mocha Coffee House; Shakedown at Toad’s Place, Candy Mantra opening (all ages); Christopher Robin Band at Georgetown Saloon;

June 15 — Billy Joel at Mohegan Sun Arena; Band Bash 2008 at Toad’s Place, featuring All in Blind, Myopia, et al, benefit for Yale-New Haven Children’s Hospital (all ages);

June 17 — Tom Tom Club at Fairfield Theatre Company, Fairfield; Gordon Lightfoot at The Palace Theater, Waterbury; Cute is What We Aim For at Toad’s Place, Ace Enders, Danger Radio and Powerspace opening (all ages);

June 18 — London After Midnight at Toad’s Place, Life Cried and guest DJs in the house (all ages);

June 19 — Stevie Wonder at Mohegan Sun Arena; Dan Hicks & The Hot Licks at Fairfield Theatre Company (also June 20);

June 20 — Ray Mason at Mocha Coffee House; ZZ Top at The Chevrolet Theatre; Dan Hicks & The Hot Licks at Fairfield Theatre Company; Dark Lotus at Toad’s Place, Haystack, Wolfpac and The R.O.C. opening (all ages); Roxy Perry at Georgetown Saloon.

June 21 — Brooks and Dunn with Rodney Atkins and James Otto at Dodge Music Center; Dickey Betts & Great Southern w/ Devon Allman’s Honeytribe at The Ridgefield Playhouse (also June 22); Alkaline Trio at Toad’s Place, Bayside and The Fashion opening (all ages); Old School Revue at Georgetown Saloon;

June 22 — Ringo Starr & His All-Star Band at Mohegan Sun Arena; Dickey Betts & Great Southern w/ Devon Allman’s Honeytribe at The Ridgefield Playhouse; Groundation at Toad’s Place (all ages);

June 24 — Fish at Toad’s Place (all ages);

June 25 — Steely Dan at the Chevrolet Theatre;

June 27 — Pearl Jam at Dodge Music Center, Ted Leo & The Pharmacists opening; Hot Jam 7 featuring Keyshia Cole, Akon, Rick Ross, Ray J, et al, at the XL Center; Fade To Blues at Georgetown Saloon;

June 28 — Billy Joel at Mohegan Sun Arena; Rustic Overtones at The Ridgefield Playhouse; Bottoms Up at Toad’s Place, The Shape opening; The Connecticut Rhythm Section at Georgetown Saloon.