*150 RPM, an acoustic/electric trio with an emphasis on strong vocal harmonies, will be playing Friday, December 8, from 8 to 11 pm, at Proud Mary’s, the lounge located at The Inn At Newtown, 19 Main Street in Newtown (telephone 270-1876). They will also appear at Proud Mary’s on December 29 and 30.

According to notes sent to me from the band, 150 RPM is an acoustic/electric trio formed by Raymond Michaud, Paul Hatrick and Mark Holleran, all residents of Trumbull. It features Raymond on electric and acoustic guitars, Paul on acoustic guitar, and Mark on acoustic guitar and keyboards; and all three on vocals. They play an eclectic mix of music with an emphasis on strong vocal harmonies. Their repertoire includes music of the Beatles, Badfinger, Crosby Stills & Nash, the Eagles, Green Day, the Temptations, Van Morrison, and others.

These three guys have performed together as professional actors and singers for nearly 20 years. Frequent performers at the Spinning Wheel Inn and in area murder mysteries, they formed 150 RPM about 18 months ago and frequently play local clubs and private parties.

Rock & Roll Hall of Fame member – and now Georgia Music Hall of Fame Performer honoree – will stay on the road this season and bring his tour to Mohegan Sun Arena in January.

After a lengthy summer tour with The Allman Brothers Band, Gregg Allman has spent the fall on the road with a little help from a few other friends – guitarist Val McCallum, saxophonist Jay Collins, bassist Jerry Jemmott, keyboardist Neil Larson, percussionist Floyd Miles and drummer Steve Potts. A winter leg of this tour kicked off on November 2, will continue until at least January 14, and will swing through Connecticut for a show in Uncasville on January 6.

Best of all, this show will be free! The hard part, however, will be securing a seat since it will be at Mohegan Sun’s Wolf Den.

Also, I’m not sure if it will apply for this show but HONEYTRIBE – the band that features Allman’s son Devon Allman – will be opening several of the shows on the winter tour.

*Two shows will be going on sale this weekend at Mohegan Sun. BROOKS & DUNN, the country duo who was honored with a Mohegan Sun Walk of Fame star the last time they visited, will return to Connecticut for their fifth Mohegan Sun performance on Saturday, January 27. Tickets are $40 and $55, and will be going on sale Saturday at 10 am through TicketMaster vendors online, in person and over the phone.

Tickets will not be available at Mohegan Sun’s box office until Sunday morning, and that’s only if they don’t sell out on Saturday.

ROD STEWART continues to tour following the release of his Still The Same… Great Rock Classics of Our Time and will be in the casino’s arena on Friday, February, 2. Tickets for this show have been set at $95, $125 and $150, and will also be on sale as of 10 am Saturday, with the same conditions (remaining tickets will be available at the casino’s box office starting Sunday).

*LIZ McNICHOLL and Boston Newcomer EILEN JEWELL will be featured in a Bridgeport concert on December 1.

I think the holiday threw some folks off with their planning for publicity last week because this arrived on my desk late last Wednesday afternoon, and even that would have been too late for a regular deadline, never mind one that had been moved up 24 hours to accommodate for the holiday. Sorry I couldn’t share this info sooner: Pilgrim Hall of United Congregational Church, 877 Park Avenue in Bridgeport, will host two bands, both led by female singer-songwriters. Liz McNicholl (from Norwalk) and Eilen Jewell (from Boston) share a love of songcraft and the rich American folk tradition.

Showtime is 7:30 pm. Tickets are $15. Coffee and desserts will be available, but concertgoers can bring their own food and drink for the cabaret-style tables. Last-minute reservations can be made by calling Jim Motavalli at 203-367-0847.

The Liz McNicholl Band is becoming a top attraction in Fairfield County, thanks to repeat audiences who that come to hear the Irish-born McNicholl’s full-throated vocals, backed by the dancing fiddle of Morgan Eve Swain, the guitar, dobro and mandolin leads of Chuck O’Donnell and John Hurley, and Fred McKay’s jazzy acoustic bass. Everyone in the band sings, and they work together on heart-melting harmonies.

Boston’s Eilen (pronounced EE-lin) Jewell recently released Boundary County, a collection of songs “about trying to get along in a world gone wrong.” Boundary County would fit perfectly on playlists that include singers from Gillian Welch and Memphis Minnie to Lucinda Williams and Neil Young.

Jewell’s first-rate recording and concert band includes drummer Jason Beek, fiddler Daniel Kellar and upright bass player Johnny Sciascia (both former Tarbox Ramblers), dobro/lap steel legend Jerry Miller of The Spurs, and Greg Glassman of Tastes Like Gravy String Band on banjo.

Jewell has only very infrequently been heard in Connecticut, though she is a sellout at gigs in Massachusetts and other New England states. The demand in Boston is such that Jewell plays every Saturday night at the club Tir Na Nog in Somerville.

*HAT CITY BLUES BAND is on the road this weekend, returning to 59 Bank in New Milford (59 Bank Street; telephone 860-350-5995).

The band’s next show isn’t until January, so this will be a good time to get your fill of some local blues before the remainder of the holiday season. The band has future shows scheduled, but the next one after this weekend won’t be until January 27, when they return to Redding Roadhouse.

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 1 — The Who at Mohegan Sun Arena, Uncasville, The Pretenders opening; Jon Secada at Mohegan Sun’s Wolf Den; Robbie Dupree with Larry Hoppen and David Sancious at FTC’s StageOne, Fairfield; Shoo Fly Blues at The Georgetown Saloon, Redding;

December 2 — The Brian Setzer Orchestra at Foxwoods Casino’s Fox Theater, Ledyard; The Grass Roots at Mohegan Sun’s Wolf Den; John Fogerty at Mohegan Sun Arena; Hat City Blues Band at 59 Bank Street, New Milford; Curtis T at The Georgetown Saloon;

December 6 — Georgetown Underground: local bands showcase at The Georgetown Saloon;

December 8 — John Sebastian at FTC’s StageOne, Fairfield; 150 RPM at Proud Mary’s, Newtown; Fade To Blue at The Georgetown Saloon;

December 9 — The Beach Boys (Christmas show) at The (Waterbury) Palace Theater; Dark Star Orchestra at Toad’s Place, New Haven (all ages); Blue Steam Band at The Georgetown Saloon;

December 10 — Willie Nininger at The Georgetown Saloon;

December 12 — Overkill at The Webster Theater, Hartford.