*Sorry I didn’t have details about this last week, but tickets for NEIL YOUNG at the Chevrolet Theatre on December 7 (note this is a change from the date originally announced by the promoter) went on sale last Friday morning. Priced at $65.50, $85.50 and $105.50 apiece, tickets are available from LiveNation.com, TicketMaster vendors and from the box office directly.

*After a summer of intensive touring through the US and Canada, including a well received stop at the Chevrolet Theatre, the ongoing Zappa Plays Zappa “Tour de Frank” will continue with a new leg of North American dates slated to start at the end of October.

Demand for the concert experience that brings the music of the late Frank Zappa to the stage, under the direction of his eldest son, Dweezil, has exceeded expectations, prompting yet another flight of concert dates that starts with a special Halloween concert at New York’s Beacon Theatre. That concert represents the renewal of a Zappa family tradition that began over 35 years ago when Frank Zappa could be counted upon to perform at a New York area venue every Halloween.

The following evening the show will roll into Connecticut, stopping at the Chevrolet Theatre. Tickets are still available.

If you’re interested in a tiny preview of that show, On Wednesday, October 24 Dweezil and the band will do a live performance on the nationally syndicated Rockline Radio program on Wednesday, October 24, to be followed by an October 30 appearance on Late Night With Conan O’Brien.

*The Rock On America benefit will return to Georgetown Saloon next weekend, on Sunday, October 14, from 2 to 4 pm. The program, according to Marc Huberman from the saloon, is “an exciting group music program for kids ages 6 and up and adults.”

The program was created several months before the 9/11 attacks, but was finally given the name Rock On America as a tribute to the resiliency of the American people. Rock On America, also according to Huberman, “has evolved into a giant musical community/family comprised of people of all ages that have a passion for music of all different styles. You get to play the music love, and also meet a lot of great people.” Musicians will be matched with those of talents; singers are also invited.

Admission is $5 per person, and a portion of the proceeds from the October 14 event will benefit local VFWs. Call the saloon, 203-544-8003 for additional information.

*Meanwhile, the saloon will host CLASHING HEADSTOCKS tonight (Oct 5) and then CURTIS T. tomorrow night. Upcoming shows also include THE WAY UP (“righteous alternative blend of many genres), on October 10; BLUE STEAM BAND (r&b, dance and funk), October 12; and SHOE FLY BLUES, October 13.

The saloon will host a special Oktoberfest Beer & Dinner event on Wednesday, October 17, featuring upbeat non-traditional bluegrass music by ALL GRASS BLUE STARS. After that it’s ROXY PERRY on the 19th; JAY STOLLMAN & THE BLACK ROCK ALL STARS on October 20; ORB MELLON & BROWNBIRD RUDY RELIC, October 24; SMOKEHOUSE, October 26; and OLD SCHOOL REVUE with special guest VICTORIA CAVE of Steely Dan on October 27. Plans are still underway for the saloon’s Halloween show; check the website occasionally for updates.

*CRACKED ICE, a seven-piece band that plays rock, rhythm and blues, soul, funk, jazz and pop, and is led by saxophonist, composer and producer Crispin Cioe, will celebrate a CD release party on Friday, October 19, at Fairfield Theatre Company. Tickets are $22 ($17 for members), and available by calling 203-259-1036 for tickets or visit the theater’s website, FairfieldTheatre.org, for details on this and other upcoming FTC programs.

Speaking of which, also coming up will be a show by the group that gave birth to the Grateful Dead. NEW RIDERS OF THE PURPLE SAGE will headline at the theater on Saturday, October 20 (tickets $42, $32 FTC members); STEPHEN KELLOGG & THE SIXERS on Thursday, October ($22, $17 members); and AZTEC TWO-STEP the following evening ($42, $32 members).

*Staind co-founder and lead singer AARON LEWIS will return to The Cabaret Theatre at Mohegan Sun for another series of solo acoustic shows in December and January.

Lewis solo performances tend to feature many of the band’s hit songs as well as some lost tracks that never made the album cuts, along with acoustic covers of other bands’ material the musician used while earning his living playing in bars. The shows are meant to be an interactive one for the audience as well as Lewis, who plays what he feels like and even takes requests from the audience.

Lewis has ten shows planned for December and January. Shows are scheduled for Wednesday, December 26, through Monday, December 31, and then Thursday, January 3, through Sunday, January 6. Tickets for all shows are $65.

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

OCTOBER 5 — Van Halen at Mohegan Sun Arena, Uncasville, Ky-Mani Marley opening; Gov’t Mule at The Chevrolet Theatre, Wallingford, with Little Feat and Grace Potter & The Nocturnals; Blackmore’s Night at The Ridgefield Playhouse; Assembly of Dust and J.J. Grey & Mofro at Toad’s Place, New Haven (all ages); Jesse Colin Young and Celtic Mambo at Fairfield Theatre Company; Clashing Headstocks at Georgetown Saloon, Redding;

October 6 — Devon Allman’s Honeytribe at The Ridgefield Playhouse; Billy Ray Cyrus at Foxwoods Casino’s Fox Theatre, Ledyard; America at Mohegan Sun’s Wolf Den (also October 7); Curtis T. at Georgetown Saloon;

October 7 — America at Mohegan Sun’s Wolf Den;

October 8 — Dave Mason and John Mayall at The Ridgefield Playhouse;

October 9 — Queen Latifah at Stamford Center for the Arts;

October 10 — The Way Up at Georgetown Saloon;

October 12 — Maroon 5 at Mohegan Sun Arena, The Hives and Sara Bareilles opening; Type O Negative at Toad’s Place (all ages); Violent Femmes at Mohegan Sun Wolf Den (also October 13); Blue Steam Band at Georgetown Saloon;

October 13 — John Voket and Brendan Walsh at Mocha Coffee House, Sandy Hook; Queen Latifah at Foxwoods Casino’s Fox Theatre, Ledyard; Violent Femmes at Mohegan Sun’s Wolf Den; Shoe Fly Blues at Georgetown Saloon;

October 16 — Tori Amos at The Chevrolet Theatre, Wallingford;

October 17 — All Grass Blue Stars at Georgetown Saloon (part of saloon’s Oktoberfest Beer & Dinner event, call for details);

October 18 — They Might Be Giants at Toad’s Place (age 14 and up); Tower of Power at Mohegan Sun Wolf Den (also tomorrow night);

October 19 — Phil Lesh & Friends at Mohegan Sun Arena; Cracked Ice at Fairfield Theatre Company; Tower of Power at Mohegan Sun’s Wolf Den; Roxy Perry at Georgetown Saloon;

October 20 — Bouncing Souls at Toad’s Place (all ages); New Riders of the Purple Sage at Fairfield Theatre Company; Jay Stollman & The Black Rock All Stars at Georgetown Saloon;

October 21 — Kelly Clarkson at Mohegan Sun Arena, with special guest Jon McLaughlin; Aztec Two Step at Fairfield Theatre Company;

October 24 — Horatio Sanz & The Kings of Improv at Toad’s Place (all ages); Orb Mellon & Brownbird Rudy Relic at Georgetown Saloon;

October 25 — Stephen Kellogg & The Sixers at Fairfield Theatre Company;

October 26 — The Moody Blues at Foxwoods Casino’s Fox Theatre; Aztec Two-Step at Fairfield Theatre Company; Smokehouse at Georgetown Saloon;

October 27 — Blue Man Group at Hartford Civic Center; Old School Revue (with special guest Victoria Cave) at Georgetown Saloon;

October 28 — The Derek Trucks Band at Mohegan Sun’s Wolf Den; Unearth at Toad’s Place (all ages);

October 29 — The Tragically Hip at Toad’s Place (all ages).