*SOL DOG returns to Classic Rock Brew Pub this weekend for its 3rd Annual Jam on The Tarmac. This year’s show is Friday, July 5. I went to last year’s show and it’s really a lot of fun.

The gates open and burgers start getting cooked around 6, and then the band plays its first set of the evening on one corner of Danbury Airport’s tarmac starting around 8. About 9:15-ish, the music stops for a while, when Danbury’s annual fireworks show is lit from another section of the airport, which means you are about as close to being under the fireworks when they go off as you can get without being illegally close. It’s a brilliant sight, with absolutely no trees or buildings between you and the exploding fireworks.

After the show the band stars playing again, having moved its instruments indoors. Admission is $5. The brew pub is at the end of Wibling Road, which runs between Fairgrounds Liquors and Sports Authority/Bed, Bath & Beyond. If it’s raining on Friday, the band will still play a full show indoors but the fireworks will be postponed to Saturday night.

*It probably would have been good for me to have included the date of the show KIM LEAMAN is playing at Towne Crier Café when I mentioned last week that she’ll be opening for BRIAN GALLAWAY this weekend. The show is Sunday, July 7, and tickets ($15) are still available.

The Danbury-based vocalist, guitarist and composer Leaman is reportedly the most requested local artist in rotation right now on WCSU radio station WXCI. According to her website, Leaman has since the summer of 1998 “sparked interest in music fans of many generations throughout the country.” She lists among her top influences Jeff Buckley, Radiohead, The Smiths and Chris Cornell.

The restaurant-music venue is on Route 22, just off I-84 – take the exit for Pawling and stay on Route 22 right into town. The Crier will be on your right. Showtime is 8 pm.

*If you purchased tickets last weekend for MARY J. BLIGE then you’ve already noticed this next announcement: The date originally given last week by promoters (and therefore in most press outlets) was incorrect. The show is Saturday, August 10, not Friday the 9th.

*The B.B. KING BLUES FESTIVAL, featuring King, GEORGE THOROGOOD, THE FABULOUS THUNDERBIRDS, TOWER OF POWER and SUSAN TEDESCHI, will be at ctnow.com Meadows Music Centre in Hartford on Friday, September 6, beginning at 6:30. Tickets went on sale last weekend, but I didn’t receive the announcement for the show until Friday morning – sorry about not being able to get it to you sooner.

Tickets are $20 for the lawn, and run from $35 to $55 for reserved seats. As always, tickets for Meadows shows are available directly from the box office, at tickets.com, over the phone from 203-265-1501 or 800-477-6849, or at any tickets.com outlet including Strawberries Records stores.

The good news is, the same show is going to be right in our backyard earlier that same week. Ives Concert Park in Danbury announced this spring it would also host the B.B. King Blues Festival, on September 1 (the Sunday of Labor Day weekend). Showtime is 6 pm and tickets for that venue are $26 on the lawn for adults ($11 for children), and $46 and $66 for reserved seats. Call 744-8100, go to www.TicketMaster.com, or visit any TicketMaster outlet for tickets.

*The itinerary for Rock Fest 2002 – a 22-date package tour featuring DOKKEN, RATT, WARRANT, FIREHOUSE, and L.A. GUNS – was announced in late May and at that time included a July 17 stop at Connecticut Expo Center in Hartford. Unfortunately that stop has been dropped from the tour. According to someone at the expo center last week, there had been talk that the show would stop in Hartford, but the date was never confirmed (contrary to a press release issued on May 22).

Apologies to anyone who had their hopes up for this show. I received a few calls from people having trouble finding tickets for the show. Now we know why. (An additional note: The show scheduled for July 20 at Dunkin’ Donuts Arena in Providence, R.I., has been canceled. The closest dates for this show are in New York state, but nothing remotely close – Brookhaven and Syracuse.)

*GEOFF TATE, the lead singer of QUEENSRYCHE, will bring his solo tour to New Haven next weekend. Tickets for the July 11 show at Toad’s Place are $15.50 in advance.

Until next week, I’ll be seeing you… on the road.

Questions and comments should be sent to Shannon Hicks, c/o Bee Publishing Co., 5 Church Hill Road, Newtown 06470, or shannon@thebee.com, or call The Bee office at 426-3141.

Shows listed on the calendar at club locations are for ages 21 and over unless specified.

UPCOMING CONCERTS

JULY 5 —Poison at ctnow.com Meadows Music Theatre, Hartford, with Cinderella, Winger and Faster Pussycat; Sol Dog at Classic Rock Brew Pub, Danbury (Fireworks Night!); The Get-Up Kids, Superchunk and Hot Rod Circuit at The Webster Theatre, Hartford; Popa Chubby at Black-Eyed Sally’s BBQ & Blues Café, Hartford; Riders on The Storm at Toad’s Place, New Haven (all ages), The Limit opening; Bill Perry Blues Band at Towne Crier Café, Pawling, N.Y.;

July 5-6 — Peter Frampton at Mohegan Sun’s Wolf Den, Uncasville;

July 6 — INXS at Foxwoods Casino Fox Theatre (Ledyard); REO Speedwagon at Ives Concert Park, Danbury;

July 7 —REO Speedwagon and Kansas at Oakdale Theatre; Brian Gallaway at Towne Crier, Kim Leaman opening;

July 8 — Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers at Mohegan Sun Arena, Uncasville, The Brian Setzer Trio opening;

July 11 — Heart at Foxwoods Casino; Geoff Tate at Toad’s Place;

July 12 — Peter Obre and Alan Johnson at Proud Mary’s, Newtown; Lynyrd Skynyrd with Dickey Betts at Oakdale Theatre; The Machine at Toad’s Place (all ages), Fountain Project opening;

July 13 — Alicia Keys at Mohegan Sun Arena; OzzFest at The Meadows, featuring Ozzy Osbourne, System Of A Down, P.O.D., Drowning Pool, Adema, Zakk Wylde’s Black Label Society, Rob Zombie, et al; Peter Obre and Alan Johnson at 707 On Main, Monroe; Willy Porter at Beardsley Zoo, Bridgeport, Jeff Lang opening (ZooFolk Series concert); Reid (of Strangefolk) at The Webster Theatre, Blind Ambition, Stepanion and feeds opening; Bill Morrissey at Towne Crier Café; Prezident Brown, Raisin Hill and 28 & Waiting at Woodbury Ski Area (first day of Reggae Fest);

July 14 — Concrete Blonde at The Webster Theatre, echo janes opening; The Derek Trucks Band at Towne Crier Café; Deep Banana Blackout, The Pete Schieps Band, Uncle Sammy and Electric Hill at Woodbury Ski Area (final day Reggae Fest); Ja Rule at Hartford Civic Center, Ashanti opening;

July 16 — Chicago at Foxwoods Casino;

July 17 — John Mellencamp at Mohegan Sun Arena;

July 18 — Phil Lesh & Friends at The Meadows; Fredie McGregor at Toad’s Place.

July 19 — Anger Management 2002 at The Meadows featuring Eminem, Pap Roach, Ludacris, Xzibit, X-Ecutioners, et al; Leon Redbone at Towne Crier Café;

July 20 — Weezer at Meadows Music Centre, Dashboard Confessional and Sparta opening (no tickets yet);

July 21 — Lake Trout at Toad’s Place (all ages);

July 24 — Creed at The Meadows;

July 25 — The Tom Tom Club at Toad’s Place (all ages), The Andy Buzzi Trio opening;

July 25-26 — SOLD OUT: Dave Matthews Band at The Meadows;

July 26 — Peter Obre and Alan Johnson at Proud Mary’s; India.Arie at Foxwoods Casino’s Fox Theatre; Deep Banana Blackout at The Webster Theatre;

July 27 — Peter Obre and Alan Johnson at 707 On Main; Average White Band at The Webster Theatre; Brian Howe at CityCenter Green (former Bad Company lead singer; showtime 7:30, at Danbury High School if rain);

July 29 — Judas Priest at The Webster Theatre;

July 31 — Journey at Mohegan Sun Arena.