*Tickets for the Mohegan Sun stop of STING’s Broken Music Tour – Friday, May 6 –  go on sale Saturday, February 12, at 10 am. They’ve been set at $66 and $86 apiece.

The tickets will be available at the casino’s box office and through all TicketMaster outlets. Sales at Mohegan Sun on Saturday will be conducted through a wristband system with a limited number of wristbands distributed at 7 am, and tickets released at 10 am.

TicketMaster customers can log on to TicketMaster.com, call any TicketMaster Charge By Phone number, or visit any TicketMaster outlet.

*Newtown High School Band Parents will be sponsoring a live performance by MAYNARD FERGUSON and his Big Bop Nouveau Band on Thursday, February 17, at 7:30 pm, in the auditorium of Newtown High School. Tickets for the concert by a major jazz legend and his current band are $20. They’re available in advance (call 270-4644 extension 2263) and will also be sold at the door.

Thursday’s concert will also include a performance by the NHS Jazz Ensemble. Proceeds will benefit the Newtown High School Band and Color Guard.

*THE LIZ McNICHOLL BAND will be in the area with two shows this weekend. The band will be at The Redding Roadhouse (telephone 203-938-3388) on Friday night and then at The Acoustic Café in Bridgeport (203-335-3655) on Saturday. The Bridgeport show will be a co-headlining acoustic event with HOE, with a finalé combining the efforts of both bands planned.

*AMERICAN MORTAR ORIGINAL ROCK BAND will be back on the road this month, playing at Cousin Larry’s Sports Bar & Café on Friday, February 18. The café is on Main Street, at the corner of Elm (telephone 730-0035).

Showtime is 9:30, and the cover charge is just $3.

The show, says lead singer and lyricist Susan Brachfeld Washburn, will be a Belated Valentine’s Day Bash. “Everyone who didn’t have a chance to give or get a valentine on the 14th – and even those who did – has to come that night! A free rose will be given to the first ten pairs of people,” she promises.

*A benefit concert for 20 families who were devastated by the earthquakes and resulting tsunamis in southeast Asia in December is being coordinated for next weekend in Danbury.

The legendary folk and blues performer JOSH WHITE JR, the acoustic folk duo OPEN BOOK, Redding resident and singer-songwriter DAN BONIS, and SANS CHERUBS lead singer WENDY CAHILL will be performing on Saturday, February 19, at Danbury Music Centre, 256 Main Street. The concert will begin at 7 pm and all tickets are $20. Call 748-0359 for reservations or additional information.

The concert will be raising funds for The Bang Tao Relief Fund, which was established by Bethel native Wally Sudik to help survivors in Bang Tao, Thailand.

*Also next weekend, HAT CITY BLUES BAND will be playing at Vino On The Brickwalk in Fairfield. They’re at Redding Roadhouse the following weekend, on February 25, and then at The Lodge in the Southford section of Southbury (near the Oxford town line) on March 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 CONCERTS

FEBRUARY 11 — Joe Cocker at Stamford’s Palace Theatre, Eugen Grove opening; Steel Pulse at Toad’s Place, New Haven, Mutti Lewis opening (all ages); The Liz McNicholl Band at Redding Roadhouse, Redding; Dylan Connor at The Acoustic Café, Bridgeport, with Sam Bisbee and Todd Martin opening (rescheduled from January 22); Morris Day & The Time at Mohegan Sun’s Wolf Den, Uncasville;

February 12 — Liz McNicholl Band and Hoe at The Acoustic Café; The Machine at The Webster Theatre, Hartford (rescheduled from January 22, original tickets will be honored); Ashford & Simpson at Mohegan Sun’s Wolf Den; Screaming Broccoli at Tuxedo Junction, Danbury;

February 13 — local punk band showcase at Toad’s Place featuring A Fighting Chance, Saturday Matinee, A Lazy Way Out, Morning After and When Freedom Dies (all ages);

February 15 — The Starting Line at Toad’s Place, Further Seems Forever, Days Away and Jamison Parker opening (all ages);

February 17 — Aaron Carter at Toad’s Place (all ages); The Ryan Montbleau Band at The Acoustic Café;

February 18 — The Radiators at The Webster Theatre; Hat City Blues Band at Vino on The Brickwalk, Fairfield; Unforgettable Fire at Toad’s Place, INK, Silent Majority and Split Decisions opening; The October Project at The Acoustic Café; Pirata at Tuxedo Junction;

February 19 — Dr John at Mohegan Sun’s Wolf Den; The Slackers at The Webster Theatre (all ages); The Glamour Girls at Playhouse on The Green; Pencilgrass at The Acoustic Café; The Nerds at Tuxedo Junction.