*HAT CITY BLUES BAND will be at Kicking Horse Grill this weekend, playing a 10 pm show at 17 Pease Avenue in Southport (203-254-1600). The local blues band will continue the holiday season celebration with they return to the Kicking Horse (formerly known as The Boxcar) to bring out some of their old favorites and introduce a number of new songs.

The guys will also be playing at Redding Roadhouse on January 10, Black Duck Café in Westport, and again at Redding Roadhouse in May.

*If you haven’t already heard, the JOHN VALBY XXXmas show that was to have been performed at Toad’s Place last weekend – Friday night – has been postponed until Friday, January 2. All tickets and passes from the December 19 original plan will of course be honored.

*Also just booked at Toad’s is RAKIM, for Friday, January 30. Tickets for that show are $25 in advance or $30 on the day of the show.

OK GO has also been added to the Toad’s calendar, for a March 10 show. Those tickets are $15 in advance, $17 day of, and there will be opening sets by Longwave and Oppenheimer.

*Music at Mocha will be on hold Wednesday and Thursday, December 24-25, but will be right back on track for this weekend when the Glen Road coffeehouse hosts an open jam on Friday, December 26.

Local musicians are invited to bring their own instruments and join other local music makers for a mixed bag of popular and traditional tunes. This won’t be an open mic event, but there is an open invitation issued for all musicians and music lovers.

Then on Saturday evening Mocha will welcome the return of JESSICA WILKES. The multi-talented musician plays an array of styles including blues, soul, acoustic contemporary and jazz flute, the latter of which she is currently majoring in at Berklee Music School in Boston.

Both shows will run 8 to 10 pm, and admission is free.

*DEEP BANANA BLACKOUT has a pair of shows next week at Fairfield Theatre Company, including one on New Year’s Eve. So there’s an option for you.

Tickets for Tuesday, December 30, are $50 ($45 students and seniors, with additional discounts I believe for FTC members). Tickets for the New Year’s Eve 10 pm show are $75 (and $70).

Meanwhile, FTC will also be hosting THE ENGLISH BEAT for New Year’s Eve, at Klein Memorial Auditorium over in Bridgeport. Tickets for that show are $50 and $75 (cash bar, although the higher priced ticket will give you your first drink of the evening on the house). Producer’s Circle tickets are also available for $100, which include a pre-show Meet & Greet with members of one of the most popular and influential bands of the British ska era.

FTC Project Safe Home 2009 will be in effect for the evening, which means that those who volunteer to be the designated driver for their party — and will wear a wristband to prove it — will receive free soft drinks all night.

*Speaking of New Year’s Eve, Newtowner DOUG WAHLBERG and his band will be celebrating it at The Georgetown Saloon this year. The music will start at 5:30 on Wednesday with a bluegrass set for all ages by THE STRING FINGERS BAND, followed by Doug and his crew from 9:30 pm until 1:30 am.

Dinner will be served at 9, with a prix fixe menu of $80 per person (plus tax and gratuity), which will cover passed hors d’oeuvres, a three course dinner, champagne toast, a late night serving of French onion soup, party favors, and the entertainment. Special pricing on wine and champagne will also be available. Give the saloon a call (203-544-8003) or visit its website (GeorgetownSaloon.com) for the full menu and reservations options.

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

DECEMBER 26 — Darik & The Funbags at Toad’s Place, with Big Floppy Disk, Hype and Lost opening; Marc Huberman at Donna Marie’s Cucina Italiana; Open Jam Friday at Mocha Coffee House, Sandy Hook;

December 27 — Jessica Wilkes at Mocha Coffee House; Badfish at Toad’s Place, with Scotty Don’t, Baylock, All in Blind and Five Day Fate opening (all ages); Starship with Mickey Thomas at Mohegan Sun’s Wolf Den; Marc Huberman at Southwest Café, Ridgefield; Hat City Blues Band at Kicking Horse Grill (former Boxcar location), Southport;

December 28 — Starship with Mickey Thomas at Mohegan Sun’s Wolf Den; Lawn Boy at Toad’s Place, Madhat opening;

December 30 — The Mighty Mighty Bosstones at Toad’s Place (all ages); Paul Green School of Rock All-Stars at The Black Bear Saloon, South Norwalk; Deep Banana Blackout at Fairfield Theatre Company, Fairfield (also December 31);

December 31 — New Year’s Eve with The Breakfast and Shakedown at Toad’s Place, with StraddleDaddy opening (all ages); The Doug Wahlberg Band at Georgetown Saloon, Redding (prix fixe menu; call for details); Deep Banana Blackout at Fairfield Theatre Company; The English Beat at Klein Memorial Auditorium, Bridgeport.