*SUBURBAN LEGEND, a six-piece band that plays what they call “party rock that you’d probably dance to .. a fine balance of songs you know and love, songs you’d be surprised to hear played by a bar band, and songs you’ve never heard played in a bar,” will be at Hot Shots Grille this weekend. Be ready to dance to music by everyone from  Talking Heads, Elvis Costello and Janis Joplin to Jackson Five, Robert Palmer, Violent Femmes and plenty of others.

Showtime will be about 9 pm Friday, March 26.

* Newtown resident and musician JIM ALLYN will return to The Blue Z this weekend.

With Jim this time around will be special guests Rick Brodskey, Korey Brodskey, Ryan Daley and Alaskan fiddler Kalia Yeagle. Admission is free and the music starts at 7 pm Saturday night.

*Meanwhile, OLD SCHOOL will be returning for another show at Proud Mary’s, 19 Main Street in Newtown, also tomorrow night. Lou and Tony will be at the lounge below The Inn at Newtown for an 8 pm show on Saturday, March 27.

*GREEN DAY has begun rolling out dates for a North American summer amphitheater tour as the band continues to support last spring’s Grammy-winning 21st Century Breakdown.

The trek, featuring special guests AFI, will be at the Comcast Theater on August 12, and tickets are scheduled to go on sale April 2. Billie Joe Armstrong & Co. hit the road in August, promising an all-inclusive ticket price with no hidden fees, additional charges or any other surprises that might ruin your night out with the band.

Green Day began using inclusive pricing during the first leg of its tour and plans to continue the policy for all tickets on all dates. In addition to the out-the-door pricing, the band will also offer a limited number of lawn seats for $20.

*Southern rock meets Hollywood glam this summer, when LYNYRD SKYNYRD hooks up with Poison’s BRET MICHAELS for a summer tour of amphitheatres, which will include at stop at the Comcast Theater in Hartford on July 10 with special guests .38 SPECIAL, which means the tour is something of a Van Zant family reunion.

Tickets for this show will be on sale this morning (Friday, March 26) at 10 am through LiveNation.com. Lawn seats are $31, reserved seats are $45.40 and $65.50, and a limited number of six-pack lawn seats will be offered for $99.

*You may already be aware that PARAMORE is headlining this year’s Honda Civic Tour with Tegan and Sara and “additional acts TBA.” The tour arrives in Wallingford at Toyota Presents The Oakdale Theatre on July 26. As co-editor John Voket pointed out, this will be the Honda Civic Tour at a Toyota-sponsored venue. Should be interesting.

Tickets for that show are all $39.50 whether you’re looking for general admission pit or reserved seating, and will be available at 10 am Saturday.

*Also on sale Saturday morning at 10 are tickets for KINGS OF LEON, who will be at The Comcast Theatre on Tuesday, August 3. General admission pit entry and reserved seats will be available for $61.50, and lawn seating will be available for $36.50.

*The date and initial artist line-up for the 15th Annual 15th Annual Gathering of the Vibes Festival was announced this week. Gathering of the Vibes 2010, which will run July 29 to August 1, marks the third installment of a five-year contract with the city of Bridgeport to host the annual music, arts and camping festival at Seaside Park through summer 2012.

The all-ages, family-friendly event caters to both weekend campers and single-day guests; both will have access to the park, including its shaded groves, manicured fields and more than a mile of Long Island Sound beachfront.

The initial 2010 lineup includes the reunion of LES CLAYPOOL’S PRIMUS, reggae legend and 2010 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame-inductee JIMMY CLIFF, Grateful Dead’s MICKEY HART and BILL KREUTZMANN’S RHYTHM DEVILS featuring KELLER WILLIAMS, reggae sensation DAMIAN MARLEY with special guest hip-hop icon NAS, pedal steel guitar master ROBERT RANDOLPH & THE FAMILY BAND, New Orleans funk outfit GALACTIC, and many more.

Other confirmed artists include Steve Kimock Crazy Engine, Umphrey’s McGee. Beastie Boys’ DJ Mix Master Mike, Jackie Greene Band, Little Feat, Martin Sexton featuring The Ryan Montbleau Band, New Riders of the Purple Sage, Donna Jean Godchaux, Dark Star Orchestra, Zach Deputy, Big Sam’s Funky Nation, and Max Creek. The Sunday-night headliner and Green Vibes Stage artist announcements are forthcoming.

A limited number of Weekend Camping Passes are on sale for $165; VIP Passes for $420. Single-day tickets will be available when the final band schedule is announced next month.

Meanwhile for tickets and information go to GatheringOfTheVibes.com or call Vibes HQ at 203-908-3030.

*Classic rock acts STYX and FOREIGNER with special guest KANSAS have plans to hit the road together this summer for a tour they’ve dubbed United We Rock. The tour will hit Mohegan Sun Arena on Friday, June 18, at 7 pm.

All tickets are $40 and go on sale Friday (March 26) at 10 through TicketMaster. Tickets will also be available at the Mohegan Sun box office starting Saturday, March 27, subject to availability.

*Due to scheduling conflicts, the FOGHAT show at The Ridgefield Playhouse originally planned for April will now be taking place on October 9. Tickets are $60 and The King Norris Band, featuring Fred Norris from the Howard Stern show, is still scheduled to offer the opening set.

Call 203-438-5795 or visit RidgefieldPlayhouse.org for tickets and details.

*THE FABULOUS THUNDERBIRDS will be playing Mohegan Sun’s Wolf Den on Thursday, April 3, at 8 pm. The show is free, and seating is limited, so get there early if you’re planning on going.

*PHISH will kick off an extensive summer tour on June 11 at Toyota Park in Chicago, Ill.,  and will find their way to Connecticut for a pair of dates at The Comcast Theatre in Hartford, June 17-18.

An online ticket request period is currently underway at phish.portals.musictoday.com and will end on Friday, March 26, at 11:59 pm. Tickets will then go on sale to the general public beginning Friday, April 2, and Hartford’s tickets are all $50 whetehr you want reserved seating or lawn tickets.

Tickets go on sale next Friday at 1 pm, and will be available through TicketMaster as well as select Blockbuster outlets.  If tickets are still available, they can be purchased at the Chevrolet Theatre box office in Wallingford beginning Monday, April 5.

*So belated congratulations to Waterbury’s Palace Theater and The Oakdale Theatre in Wallingford, both of which have gone international: Both venues have been recognized by Pollstar Magazine as being among the Top 100 Worldwide Theater Venues for 2009. The Oakdale Theater sold 85,582 tickets in 2009, putting it at #56 among the top 100 theaters around the world.

In the midst of its fifth anniversary season, the not-for-profit Palace Theater has yet another reason to celebrate this year, as it has recently been recognized by Pollstar Magazine as one of the Top 100 Worldwide Theater Venues for 2009. According to Pollstar, the Palace sold 45,050 tickets for its events last year.

The theater venues that appeared on the magazine’s January 2010 Year End Special Edition Top 100 Worldwide Theater Venues list were ranked according to the number of tickets sold worldwide as reported to Pollstar for shows played between January 1, 2009, and December 31, 2009.

The Connecticut theaters find themselves in the company of Mexico City’s Auditorio Nacional, which topped the list this year with more than 1.1 million tickets sold for its events (seating capacity is just under 10,000); along with Radio City Music Hall, Atlanta’s Fox Theatre and The Theater at Madison Square Garden.

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

MARCH 26 — Sundad at The Blue Z Coffee House, Newtown; Suburban Legend at Hot Shots Grille, Newtown; Mass Distraction at The Black Duck Café, Westport; Norah Jones at The MGM Grand Theater at Foxwoods; Bon Jovi at Mohegan Sun Arena, Uncasville (also March 27); Sister Funk at The Georgetown Saloon; The Doug Wahlberg Band at The Atrium at Foxwoods Casino;

March 27 — Bon Jovi at Mohegan Sun Arena; Daughtry at The MGM Grand Theater at Foxwoods, with Lifehouse and CAVO; Jim Allyn & Friends at The Blue Z Coffee House; Old School at Proud Mary’s, Newtown; The Bernadettes at The Georgetown Saloon;

March 28 — Jeffrey Gaines at Infinity Music Hall, Rebecca Pidgeon opening; Dashboard Confessional at The Webster, Hartford, An Horse and Civil Twilight opening.

APRIL 1 — James Cotton at Infinity Music Hall, Norfolk; The Duke Robillard Band and Johnny A. at Fairfield Theatre Company, Fairfield;

April 2 — Roomful of Blues at Infinity Music Hall; John Voket at The Blue Z Coffee House, Newtown;

April 3 — Graham Parker at Infinity Music Hall; Overkill at The Webster, Hartford, Vader, God Dethroned, Warbringer, Evile, et al opening; Keith Emerson & Greg Lake at The Ridgefield Playhouse, Ridgefield;

April 4 — Ben Folds at Klein Memorial Auditorium, Bridgeport, Kate Miller-Heidke opening.