*If you were one of the lucky few who made their way to the NYFS Rock The Vote program in Sandy Hook last weekend, then you already know about the musical wonder that is RENARD BOISSIERE. The New Orleans native led a performance of what my friend and fellow editor John Voket called “Cajun, blues and jam band music including a couple of fairly easily recognizable songs by The Grateful Dead.”

(Speaking of John, three things: A reminder that he is playing each Thursday this month at The Brass House in Waterbury. Two, if you haven’t checked it out yet go give a listen to The Bee’s podcast, accessible from The Bee’s website [NewtownBee.com] as well as through iTunes. That’s John doing our weekly update. The rest of us will have our chance behind the mic soon, but for the time being it’s John’s newest gig.

And three, John and his friend Brendan Walsh will be back at Mocha Coffee House this coming Sunday afternoon. More on that in a few minutes.]

Anyway, back to Renard Boissiere, who has a network with local musicians all across the country and will call on some of his Connecticut buddies this weekend for a trio of shows. On Friday he’ll start his weekend with a very special set: Boissiere will be opening for no less than the legendary ODETTA, who will headline the finale of the 11th Annual Summer Sounds of the World Concert Series. This free show starts at 6 pm at McLevy Green, at the corner of Main and State Streets.

A few hours later Boissiere will be performing at Rack-n-Roll Sports Bar & Café, way down in Stamford, along with Nardy Boy. That’s a 9:30 show.

On Saturday Boissiere will be back in the Park City, headlining at The Acoustic Café. This show will also include Nardy Boy along with Strawberry Brown and Jim Wolf. Doors open at 8 pm, showtime will be 9, and tickets are $5.

*Music at Mocha Coffee House will begin this weekend with the sounds of classical Indian and Middle Eastern music, thanks to the efforts of Mocha’s own JON HARTMANN and other local musicians.

Then on Saturday BRIANNE CHASANOFF, a classically trained vocalist and pianist, will have the stage area for the evening. A graduate of Western CT State University (bachelor of science in music education with a concentration in classical voice and piano), Brianne has been accompanying musicals, chorus ensembles, church services and recitals for years.

Both of these shows will run from 8 until 10 pm, when the coffee house closes for the evening.

JOHN VOKET & BRENDAN WALSH, who have been performing since at least the late 80s, will bring another acoustic rock show to Mocha on Sunday afternoon. The guys will be playing from 1 to 3 pm, which means you can do some shopping at the Sandy Hook Village Farmers’ Market – which runs from 9 am until 1 pm each Sunday – and then take a breather at Mocha, all without moving your car.

Next weekend’s music will include a performance by SIDE PORCH, a three-man blues/rock guitar band, on Friday night, and then a return by INFRASONIC (a/k/a Will Lindsay), who plays acoustic rock that adds folk, new wave, blues and psychedelic sounds into the mix, on Saturday night.

*Three-time Grammy winner LUCINDA WILLIAMS, one of the country’s most celebrated living songwriters, will be at the Shubert Theater in New Haven on Saturday, October 4. Tickets will be going on sale this weekend, Saturday morning at 10, through the theater’s website (Shubert.com), by phone at 800-228-6622, and in person from the theater’s box office. All seats have been priced at $50.

Williams will be touring once again with her band, Buick 6, which includes guitarists Doug Pettibone and Chet Lyster, bassist David Sutton and drummer Butch Norton.

The show will certainly include a selection of music from Williams’ career, which dates back to at least 1978, when she released her first album. Concertgoers can expect to hear a few new songs too, however, considering Williams’ ninth studio album, Little Honey, will be released ten days after the New Haven show.

*Thank god PETE SEEGER isn’t any older, or that WPKN isn’t located any further to the right on the FM dial.

Seeger will be headlining the next benefit concert for PKN, which will take place on September 11 at The Ridgefield Playhouse, and when organizers of this show were deciding what to charge for the event – which will include the folk icon along with his grandson and fellow folk musician, TAO RODRIGUEZ-SEEGER, and the acoustic bluesman GUY DAVIS — someone apparently said something along the lines of “Hey, Pete’s 89½ this year… and our station is at 89.5… wouldn’t it be cool if…?” and that’s how the $89.50 ticket price for the Seeger-Seeger-Davis concert was born.

Showtime is 8 pm and tickets are available through the theater’s box office, in person or by calling 203-438-5795, as well as online through RidgefieldPlayhouse.com.

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

AUGUST 22 — Jon Hartmann and friends at Mocha Coffee House, Sandy Hook; Rascal Flatts with Taylor Swift at Dodge Music Center, Hartford; Hal Ketchum & Aztec Two-Step at The Ridgefield Playhouse; The Beach Boys at Mohegan Sun Arena, Uncasville; Skid Row at Mohegan Sun’s Wolf Den, Uncasville; Guthrie Boys’ Night Out Tour at Connecticut’s Beardsley Zoo, Bridgeport;

August 23 — Brianne Chasanoff at Mocha Coffee House; John Mayer at Dodge Music Center with special guest One Republic; Daughtry at MGM Grand at Foxwoods, Ledyard; The Zoo at Toad’s Place, New Haven (all ages); Renard Boissiere with Nardy Boy, Strawberry Brown and Jim Wolf at The Acoustic Café, Bridgeport;

August 24 — John Voket & Brendan Walsh at Mocha Coffee House (afternoon show, starting 1 pm); Mötley Crüe at Mohegan Sun Arena, Buckcherry opening;

August 25 — Richie Havens at Mohegan Sun’s Wolf Den (also August 26);

August 26 — Richie Havens at Mohegan Sun’s Wolf Den;

August 27 — Badfish at Mohegan Sun’s Wolf Den;

August 28 — John Voket at The Brass House Restaurant & Lounge, Waterbury; Dion at Mohegan Sun’s Cabaret Theatre (nightly through August 31); Colin Hay at Mohegan Sun’s Wolf Den;

August 29 — Side Porch at Mocha Coffee House; Dion at Mohegan Sun’s Cabaret Theatre;

August 30 — Infrasonic at Mocha Coffee House; Paramore at The Chevrolet Theatre, with Jack’s Mannequin and Phantom Planet opening; Dion at Mohegan Sun’s cabaret Theatre;

August 31 — Pat Benatar and Neil Giraldo at The Klein Memorial Auditorium; Kid Rock & Lynyrd Skynyrd at Dodge Music Center; John Voket and Brendan Walsh at Rosy Tomorrows, Danbury; Dion at Mohegan Sun’s Cabaret Theatre.