*Rudy’s Gourmet is hosting live music on Saturday nights.

The restaurant and catering business at 68 Stony Hill Road in Bethel will host the regionally renowned jazz guitarist TODD SCHNEIDER, along with a stand-up bass player, on Saturday, August 27, starting at 7 pm. For additional information call 743-4442.

  *A reminder for anyone who may not have heard: Sunday’s YES show at Mohegan Sun has been cancelled. Just want to make sure no one makes the drive to Uncasville needlessly. The whole tour has apparently been cancelled due to “immigration issues.”

  As I mentioned two weeks ago, the August 28 show is definitely off and tickets are available at the point of purchase.

  *Tickets for ROB THOMAS’s solo show at Mohegan Sun Arena go on sale this weekend. The show is scheduled for Saturday, October 15, and tickets for that show, priced at $45 and $30, will be going on sale Saturday, August 27, at 10 am.

  The first day of sales at the casino will be conducted by a wristband system, with wristbands handed out at 7 am.

  TicketMaster vendors are also handling sales for this show.

 *Thomas will also be at the Chevrolet Theater (formerly The Oakdale) on Friday, October 14. Tickets for that show went on sale last weekend, but I didn’t receive the notice about that show until just after last week’s deadline.

 Tickets for the show in Wallingford are $35 and $45 and available through TicketMaster and at the Chevy Theater’s box office.

 *Now that the Bridgewater Fair has closed for another year, the biggest fair of all – The Big E – is just around the corner. The 17-day event runs this year from Friday, September 16, until Sunday, October 2, and music is once again a large part of the big event in West Springfield, Mass.

  The fair this year will offer an Outdoor Arena (which had for decades been the site for auto thrill shows) for major concerts on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays; and a Court of Honor Stage, a new stage outside the coliseum.

  Outdoor Arena highlights will include former B2K lead singer OMARION on September 17; country singer GRETCHEN WILSON headlines on September 18, with JAMES OTTO doing an opening set; COLLECTIVE SOUL, who just played Ives Concert Park and will be back in the state for an October 8 show at Mohegan Sun, will be in the Outdoor Arena on Sunday, September 25; and LOS LONELY BOYS will close the arena for the season on October 2.

  The Court of Honor Stage will feature performances by country singer JULIE ROBERTS on September 16-18; PERCY SLEDGE, September 19-22; CHARO, September 26-29; and TAYLOR DAYNE, September 30-October 2. Court of Honor performers will be featured twice each day, at 3 and 8 pm.

  *Mainstage headliners for the 28th Annual Norwalk Seaport Association Oyster Festival  were announced last week. The festival, which returns Friday through Sunday, September 9-11 (the same weekend of the Bethlehem Fair), will offer performances by KANSAS on Friday, THE VILLAGE PEOPLE on Saturday, and LITTLE FEAT on Sunday.

  Festival hours are Friday from 6 to 11 pm; Saturday, 11 am to 11 pm; and Sunday, 11 am to 8 pm. Admission is $10 for adults, $6 for seniors, and $3 for ages 5-12. Call 203-838-9444 or visit www.seaport.org for full festival details.

  *LEMONHEADS, with Evan Dando, has been added to The Webster Theater’s schedule. The band will be in Hartford on Friday, September 30. Tickets are $20 in advance and are on sale now.

  *BONNIE RAITT will be playing an October 22 show at The Warner Theatre in Torrington. Pre-sale tickets for Bonnie Raitt club members are being offered until August 26, priced at $59.50 and $67 each, so watch for public sales to begin either August 27 or September 3.

  Also coming to The Warner will be the triple bill of blues legend JOHN HAMMOND, the HOT TUNA acoustic trio of Jorma Kaukonen, Jack Casady and Barry Mitterhoff, and rock legend LEON RUSSELL and his band, all on Saturday, October 1. Tickets are $44.50, $49.50 and $54.50 apiece.

  The PINK FLOYD LASER SHOW, a two-hour spectacular, returns to Connecticut on Friday, October 14. This is the show that features Pink Floyd’s Dark Side of the Moon synchronized to the film classic The Wizard of Oz, as well as the best songs of the band.

  LYLE LOVETT, JOHN HIATT, JOE ELY and GUY CLARK will offer an acoustic performance on Tuesday, November 15; tickets are $48.50, $55.50 and $62.50. B.B. KING will be in Torrington on January 13; tickets for that show aren’t yet on sale.

 Call the Warner’s box office at 860-489-7180 or visit online at WarnerTheatre.org.

 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

AUGUST 26 — The Rolling Stones at Rentschler Field, East Hartford; John Hiatt and Shawn Colvin at The Palace Theatre, Waterbury; Joan Armatrading at The Ridgefield Playhouse; Cherish The Ladies at Towne Crier Café, Pawling, N.Y.;

August 27 — Bob Weir & Ratdog and Bruce Hornsby & The Noisemakers at The Chevrolet Theatre (formerly The Oakdale), Wallingford; Badfish at Toad’s Place, New Haven, Starside, This Defect Sequence and Fist Full of Steel opening (all ages); Screaming Broccoli at Tuxedo Junction, Danbury; Todd Schneider at Rudy’s Gourmet, Bethel;

August 28 — Toby Keith at The Dodge Music Center (formerly The Meadows), Hartford, Lee Ann Womack and Shooter Jennings opening;

SEPTEMBER 1 — Hall & Oates at Ives Concert Park, Danbury, Tears For Fears opening; Ryan Montbleau at Acoustic Café, Bridgeport, with special guest Eric Hutchinson;

September 2 — Secret Smile CD release party at Toad’s Place, New Haven; Gandalf Murphy & The Slambovian Circus at Towne Crier Café, Pawling, N.Y.

September 3 — Dr Mudd at Tuxedo Junction, Danbury; End of Summer Comedy Show at The Webster Theater, Hartford, featuring Nikki Carr, Gerald Kelly and Paul West.