*Two down, now there’s another one to go to: Tickets for a third show by BILLY JOEL at Hartford Civic Center will be going on sale this weekend. Now in addition to shows on March 10 and 28, Joel will be performing on Thursday, March 23, at 8 pm.

Tickets for this show are $41.50 and $77, and will be going on sale Saturday morning at 10. They’ll be sold through all TicketMaster outlets and vendors on Saturday. The civic center’s box office will not be open on Saturday for sales, but will be offering tickets for this show on Monday if any are remaining at that point.

*After two shows at Mohegan Sun’s Cabaret Theatre (2003, 2004) and then a powerhouse performance to a capacity crowd in the casino’s arena this past July, MICHAEL BUBLÉ will return once again to Uncasville. This time around the young crooner will be kicking off his 2006 world tour.

The Connecticut-exclusive concert will take place on Wednesday, March 1, and tickets are going on sale Friday, December 16. They’ve been priced at $45 and $60, and will be available through all TicketMaster vendors and outlets. Tickets will not be sold at Mohegan Sun’s box office on Friday, but will be available beginning Saturday morning, subject to availability.

*When the Grammy nominations were announced earlier this month, the country trio of RASCAL FLATTS found themselves hitting a high note in an already amazing year. Gary LeVox, Jay DeMarcus and Joe Don Rooney have been nominated for Country Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal for their hit “Bless the Broken Road,” and the song has also been nominated for Song of the Year and Best Country Song.

Riding this wave of popularity, the band will cruise into Uncasville for a pair of shows at Mohegan Sun Arena on Friday and Saturday, January 27 and 28. Both shows will begin at 8.

Rising country star KEITH ANDERSON will have the shows’ opening sets.

Tickets for both shows are $50 and $70, and will be going on sale Saturday, December 17, at 10 am, through TicketMaster outlets and vendors. The Mohegan Sun box office will sell tickets starting Sunday, December 18, subject to availability.

*ZOX will be at Newtown High School on Saturday night. There was concern initially because a minimum of 120 advance tickets to book the show needed to be in, and they reportedly came in just in time.

Tickets for the show are just $10, and three NHS bands will have opening performances before NHS grad Spencer Swain and pals hit the stage. Showtime is 8 pm.

*Also performing on Saturday, but in Guilford, will be fellow NHS grad MORGANEVE SWAIN (Spencer’s sis), who will be fiddling for ONCE REMOVED at Ceilis Irish Pub (29 Water Street; telephone 203-453-4936). That show doesn’t get going until 10 pm.

*AARON LEWIS, of Staind fame, has a series of five shows set up at Mohegan Sun Cabaret later this month. Lewis will be doing solo acoustic shows in Uncasville nightly from Wednesday, December 28, until Sunday, January 1. Tickets for most nights are $65, although the New Year’s Eve tickets are $85.

*The next open mic session at Mocha Coffee House in Sandy Hook will be on Sunday, December 18.

Musicians are invited to sign up any time after 4:30 at the coffee house at 3 Glen Road in Sandy Hook. The music begins at 5.

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

DECEMBER 16 — Bonnie Raitt at Foxwoods Casino’s Fox Theatre, Ledyard; Antigone Rising at Premier Music Hall, Danbury; George Winston at University of Hartford’s Wilde Auditorium, West Hartford;

December 17 — Zox at Newtown High School; Southside Johnny & The Asbury Jukes at Mohegan Sun’s Wolf Den, Danbury; Hat City Blues Band at The Spot, Bethel; Marion Meadows Christmas Show at Toad’s Place, New Haven (all ages); The Zoo at Tuxedo Junction; Sirius Coyote at NOMA Gallery, Middletown (20th anniversary celebration);

December 18 — Cyndi Lauper at Foxwoods Casino’s Fox Theatre;

December 19 — James Taylor at The Arena at Harbor Yard, Bridgeport;

December 23 — Ronnie Spector at Mohegan Sun’s Wolf Den; John Valby at Toad’s Place;

December 28 — Aaron Lewis at Mohegan Sun Cabaret (solo acoustic show, nightly until January 1);

December 29 — Aaron Lewis at Mohegan Sun Cabaret (solo acoustic show, nightly until January 1);

December 30 — Earth, Wind & Fire at The Palace Theater, Waterbury; Herman’s Hermits featuring Peter Noone at Mohegan Sun’s Wolf Den (also December 31); Aaron Lewis at Mohegan Sun Cabaret (solo acoustic show, nightly until January 1);

December 31 — Maroon 5 at Mohegan Sun Arena; Herman’s Hermits featuring Peter Noone at Mohegan Sun’s Wolf Den; The Zoo at Tuxedo Junction; Aaron Lewis at Mohegan Sun Cabaret (solo acoustic show, nightly until January 1).