Thursday, September 10, 2026
This weekend’s music lineup is having a bit of an identity crisis.
And we mean that as a compliment.
You can see ZZ Top and George Thorogood on the same stage, celebrate Tina Turner with an eight-piece band, spend Saturday night with Alice in Chains and System of a Down tributes, or head to the beach for a full-blown Lady Gaga experience.
And that’s just the loud stuff.
There’s jazz in an intimate new room in New London, country at the vineyards, folk music taking over downtown Wakefield, The Cars at the Wolf Den and four hours of musicians playing from porches around Stonington Borough.
Then there’s the maritime side of the weekend. Songs of the Sea brings chanteys, Celtic music and folk punk to Parade Plaza before everybody crosses the street and keeps singing at the pub.
We even found a band celebrating the 30th anniversary of breaking up.
Honestly, at that point we stopped trying to find a theme.
Here are 18 ways to hear some live music this weekend.
Ernie Lewis Goes Acoustic at Kingdom of the Hawk
Friday @ 5 pm
Wicked Peach frontman Ernie Lewis trades the full band for voice and acoustic guitar at Kingdom of the Hawk, with South County Barbeque handling dinner. A familiar local rocker, just considerably quieter and surrounded by grapevines. See Full Details →
Zac N’ Fried Brings Zac Brown to the Sun Patio
Friday @ 6:30 pm
Country, Southern rock and Zac Brown favorites take over Mohegan Sun’s outdoor patio as Connecticut tribute band Zac N’ Fried plays one of the final parties of the summer series. Admission is free, food trucks are waiting and the band starts at 8. See Full Details →
Simply the Best Celebrates Tina Turner at the UNITED
Friday @ 7:30 pm
Jenn Cristy toured and recorded with John Mellencamp. Now she fronts an eight-piece live band celebrating Tina Turner, from Proud Mary and River Deep – Mountain High through What’s Love Got to Do with It and The Best. This isn’t a look-alike act. It’s about bringing Tina’s electricity back to the stage. See Full Details →
Phred & Friends Settle Into New London’s New Jazz Room
Friday @ 7:30 pm
Phred Mileski brings jazz, funk and classic R&B to The Marquee with Ken Fischer on keyboard and James Hunter on bass. The new State Street room holds only a few dozen people, which is pretty much exactly where a jazz trio belongs. See Full Details →
Take It To The Bridge Brings the Horns to Charlestown
Friday @ 8 pm
An eight-piece band, multiple vocalists, horns and a repertoire stretching through funk, soul, pop and rock & roll. Take It To The Bridge has spent years playing weddings and parties, which means sitting politely through this one may prove difficult. See Full Details →
Stonington’s First Porchfest Takes Over the Borough
Saturday @ 12 pm
Forget the main stage. Stonington’s inaugural Porchfest puts local acoustic musicians on porches, lawns and courtyards throughout the Borough and lets you wander until something catches your ear. It’s free, and the Art Walk is happening at the same time. See Full Details →
Songs of the Sea Goes From Shanteys to Folk Punk
Saturday @ 2 pm
Six acts take over Parade Plaza for nearly five hours of sea songs, Celtic music and folk punk, eventually ending with Canada’s The Dreadnoughts. Somewhere between traditional chanteymen and electric guitars, New London’s maritime history gets considerably louder. See Full Details →
Radiotricity Reunites 30 Years Later
Saturday @ 7 pm
Connecticut alt-rock band Radiotricity is getting back together at Hygienic Art Park to celebrate the 30th anniversary of… breaking up. Even better, singer Brett Eckhart’s son Dylan Read opens with his own band. Thirty years later, the next generation gets the first set. See Full Details →
The Sea Shanty’s Move Into the Pub
Saturday @ 7 pm
When Songs of the Sea ends, walk across the street to Oasis and keep singing. Veteran shantyman Marc Bernier hosts an informal pub sing where there isn’t much distinction between performer and audience. Don’t know the songs? Give it a couple choruses. See Full Details →
Alice in Chains Meets System of a Down at the Rathskeller
Saturday @ 8 pm
Nutshell has spent more than 20 years recreating the dark harmonies and heavy guitars of Alice in Chains. Free Thinkers Are Dangerous opens with System of a Down. Apparently the Rathskeller decided Saturday night didn’t need anything subtle. See Full Details →
ZZ Top and George Thorogood Share One Stage
Saturday @ 9 pm
ZZ Top brings the Texas blues-rock swagger. George Thorogood & The Destroyers bring Bad to the Bone and decades of hard-driving boogie. Put them together at Mohegan Sun Arena and subtlety is no longer part of the evening’s agenda. See Full Details →
Lady Gaga Goes to the Beach
Saturday @ 9 pm
Haus of Monsters isn’t showing up with four musicians playing Gaga covers. The New York production brings a live band, backup dancers, costumes and choreography to the Ocean Mist for a full Lady Gaga experience. Bad Romance with the Atlantic outside the door seems appropriately excessive. See Full Details →
South County Gets a New Folk Festival
Sunday @ 12 pm
The first South County Folk Festival brings nine hours of folk, Americana, indie folk and alt-country to downtown Wakefield. Brad Barr leads a six-act lineup that also includes Nic Panken, Ruby of Thanks, Breachway, Lily Rhodes and Lefty Parker. See Full Details →
Frankenphil Takes Over Deans Mill Farm
Sunday @ 2:30 pm
Sunday doesn’t need to be complicated. Frankenphil plays three hours at Deans Mill Farm, food trucks handle the eating and the farm handles the drinks. Bring a lawn chair and you’ve pretty much completed the planning process. See Full Details →
Violet Theory, Wine and Wood-Fired Pizza
Sunday @ 3 pm
Local country duo Violet Theory mixes originals recorded in Nashville with country, rock and pop covers at Saltwater Farm Vineyard. Fire in the Kitchen brings the wood-fired pizza. Saltwater Farm supplies the wine. Sunday afternoon has now been organized for you. See Full Details →
Jus-Tus Brings Soul to the Rathskeller
Sunday @ 4 pm
Motown, soul, R&B, blues and classic rock get a laid-back Sunday treatment from Jus-Tus Down Back at the Rathskeller. It’s free, the kitchen is open and nobody is asking you to accomplish anything productive before Monday. See Full Details →
Candy-O Recreates The Cars at Wolf Den
Sunday @ 7 pm
No costumes and no Ric Ocasek impersonation. Candy-O concentrates on getting the meticulously constructed sound of The Cars right, from Just What I Needed and Good Times Roll to Drive, Magic and You Might Think. Even better: the 90-minute Wolf Den show is free. See Full Details →
Brandon Lake Brings Arena-Sized Worship to Mohegan Sun
Sunday @ 7:30 pm
Six-time Grammy winner Brandon Lake has helped push contemporary Christian music into rock, country and the mainstream, including his crossover hit with Jelly Roll, Hard Fought Hallelujah. Sunday he brings the full arena version to Mohegan Sun with Ben Fuller opening. See Full Details →
