*STEVIE NICKS will perform songs from her most recent greatest hits album, Crystal Visions, when she headlines at Mohegan Sun Arena on Sunday, April 20, at 7 pm. Tickets are $55 and $75, and go on sale Friday, February 15, at 10 am, through TicketMaster. Tickets will also be available at the Mohegan Sun box office beginning Saturday, February 16, subject to availability.

*Also returning to Connecticut will be RUSH, who will be at Mohegan Sun Arena on Monday, July 7, at 7:30 pm.

Tickets for this show are priced at $80, $95 and $110 and will go on sale Saturday, February 16, at 10 am through Ticketmaster. Tickets will also be on sale at the arena’s box office starting Sunday morning at 10, subject to availability.  

*The stage area at Mocha Coffee House in Sandy Hook will be busy with performances this weekend by BAMBOO RED (Mike Johnson and Walter Murphy) on Friday, February 15, and then a return by J.D. HILL on Saturday night.

Also at Sandy Hook, my friend and fellow editor John Voket is in the process of organizing a Sunday Night Jam at Mocha, which will kick off this weekend. He wants this series to be an open forum of communal music for musicians of all abilities.

Brendan Walsh will be joining John for the series, which will run from 1 to 5 pm. Acoustic musicians are invited to drop in and play a tune or two or, space permitting, sit in and jam on “easy and popular numbers from the 60s to today,” John said this week.

Interested? Send an email to JohnVoket@gmail.com or info@MochaCoffeeHouse.com, or visit MochaCoffeeHouse.com for information about this and all the other live entertainment and activities at the coffee house.

(By the way, Rob at Mocha is always interested in hearing from people who may be ready to play the coffee house. Send him a note at artists@MochaCoffeeHouse.com).

*John will be headlining his next show at Milano’s in New Milford (across from the train station) next weekend. He’ll be returning for a solo show on Saturday, February 23. Showtime is 9 pm and there is no cover charge.

 *Hat City Ale House, who I rarely hear from, sent a note last week to remind everyone that TALESPIN – “four excellent musicians each of whom have 20 years of band and experience on their respective instruments” – will headline at the 253 Main Street venue next weekend. The band will be in Danbury on Friday, February 22. Admission is $3. The band offers classic and progressive rock “with a little rockabilly thrown in for good measure,” including work made famous by the likes of Green Day, Deep Purple, Brian Setzer, Jethro Tull, Alice Cooper, and others.

The show will open at 9 pm with a set by Slight Return, featuring vocalist Brandee Carl-Werner.

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

FEBRUARY 15 — Bamboo Red at Mocha Coffee House, Sandy Hook; Ludacris at Fairfield University’s Alumni Hall, Fairfield; Fade To Blue at Georgetown Saloon, Redding; Shakedown at Toad’s Place, New Haven, Mo’ Folkies and Candy Mantra opening (all ages); Down Lo at The Acoustic Café, Bridgeport, Larissa Delorenzo & Friends opening; Gina Sicilia at Black-Eyed Sally’s BBQ  & Blues Café, Hartford;

February 16 — J.D. Hill at Mocha Coffee House; Charlie Karp & Friends at Georgetown Saloon; Dylan Connor at The Acoustic Café, Milton opening; The Colbys at Black-Eyed Sally’s;

February 17 — Citizen Cope at Toad’s Place (all ages);

February 18 — Matchbox Twenty at Mohegan Sun Arena, Alanis Morissette and Mute Math opening; Amity Teen Center Benefit at Toad’s Place featuring Shadow Act, Nomads of Allegiance, Peligroso Es Mi Nombre Medio, c2c, et al (all ages); HJS Jazz Jam at Black-Eyed Sally’s;

February 19 — Jason Isbell & The 400 Unit and Will Hoge at Toad’s Place, Dawn Landes opening (all ages);

February 20 — Aaron Lewis at Mohegan Sun’s Cabaret Theatre, Uncasville (solo acoustic show, nightly through February 24); electric rock and blues jam featuring Roger Edel’s “Hotbox” at The Acoustic Café (21 and over); Gene Donaldson Blues Jam at Black-Eyed Sally’s;

February 21 — The Paul Green School of Rock All-Stars with special guest Gibby Haynes at Toad’s Place, performing the music of The Butthole Surfers (all ages); The Dan Arcamone Trio at The Acoustic Café; Aaron Lewis at Mohegan Sun’s Cabaret Theatre (solo acoustic show, nightly through February 24);

February 22 — Creedence Clearwater Revisited at Foxwoods Casino’s Fox Theatre; Doug Wahlberg Band at Georgetown Saloon; Grace Potter & The Nocturnals at Toad’s Place (all ages); The Duke Robillard Band at The Acoustic Café, Paul Gabriel opening; Spice Girls at the XL Center, Hartford; Aaron Lewis at Mohegan Sun’s Cabaret Theatre (solo acoustic show, nightly through February 24); Talespin at Hat City Ale House, Danbury, Slight Return opening; Jerry Portnoy Trio at Black-Eyed Sally’s;

February 23 — Aaron Lewis at Mohegan Sun’s Cabaret Theatre (solo acoustic show, nightly through February 24); Hammer of the Gods at The Palace Theatre, Waterbury; John Voket at Milano’s, New Milford; Blues Patrol at Georgetown Saloon; The Station at The Acoustic Café; Ryan Hartt & The Blue Harts at Black-Eyed Sally’s;

February 24 — Aaron Lewis at Mohegan Sun’s Cabaret Theatre (solo acoustic show);

February 27 — My Dad’s Truck at Georgetown Saloon (providing live music for beer dinner event, call for details); Keller Williams & The WMDs at Toad’s Place (all ages); electric rock and blues jam featuring Roger Edel’s “Hatbox” at The Acoustic Café (21 and over);

February 28 — Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band at Hartford Civic Center; Toby Keith at Mohegan Sun Arena (also February 29); local bands showcase at Toad’s Place featuring Not For Nothing, Falling Seasons, Standing Stone, The Lawless Cast, Starvation, Plank Ink and Falling Stickmen, et al (all ages).