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SUMMARY:Foo Fighters Bring the Take Cover Tour Into the Mohegan Sun Arena
DESCRIPTION:Foo Fighters Bring the Take Cover Tour Into the Mohegan Sun Arena Sunday\, Oct. 4\, putting one of America’s biggest rock bands inside a 10\,000-seat room during Mohegan Sun’s 30th birthday celebration. \nThat last part makes this particular stop stand out. \nThe Take Cover Tour has been built largely around stadiums and other enormous venues. Foo Fighters played Soldier Field in Chicago\, Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia\, Nissan Stadium in Nashville\, and Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas during the North American run. \nThen comes Uncasville. \nInstead of another football stadium\, Dave Grohl and Foo Fighters move into the considerably more compact Mohegan Sun Arena for a 7:30 p.m. Sunday show with Gouge Away opening. \nFor fans accustomed to seeing Foo Fighters from the far end of a stadium\, 10\,000 seats qualify as relatively intimate. \nThirty Years of Foo Fighters Meets 30 Years of Mohegan Sun\nThere’s a nice bit of symmetry surrounding the concert. \nFoo Fighters’ first album arrived in 1995. \nMohegan Sun opened the following year\, in 1996. \nThree decades later\, their histories intersect during the resort’s 30th birthday celebration. \nMohegan Sun has built two weekends of major concerts around the anniversary\, beginning with Alanis Morissette on Oct. 2. Foo Fighters take the Arena Sunday night\, followed the next weekend by John Mayer\, Lainey Wilson and DJ Cassidy’s Pass The Mic Live! \nThat places Foo Fighters near the beginning of what amounts to a 10-day birthday party for the resort. \nFoo Fighters Started With One Foo Fighter\nThere wasn’t really a band at first. \nAfter Nirvana ended following Kurt Cobain’s death in 1994\, drummer Dave Grohl entered a Seattle studio and recorded a collection of songs he had written largely on his own. \nGrohl played nearly everything himself on the recordings. \nRather than initially releasing the music under his own name\, he called the project Foo Fighters\, borrowing a World War II-era term used by Allied pilots for unexplained objects they reported seeing in the sky. \nThe self-titled Foo Fighters arrived in 1995. \nA touring band followed\, and what began as Grohl’s personal studio project gradually became one of the most successful rock bands of the following three decades. \nThen Came The Colour and the Shape\nIf the first album established Foo Fighters\, 1997’s The Colour and the Shape helped define what the band would become. \nIt produced “Monkey Wrench\,” “My Hero” and “Everlong.” \nThose songs remain fundamental to the band’s identity nearly 30 years later. \n“Everlong” in particular has become something close to the emotional center of a Foo Fighters concert\, while “My Hero” grew from an alternative-rock single into an arena-sized communal singalong. \nMore records followed\, and so did more songs that became permanent parts of rock radio: “Learn to Fly\,” “All My Life\,” “Times Like These\,” “Best of You\,” “The Pretender\,” “Walk” and “These Days.” \nMohegan Sun describes a catalog that now spans 12 albums and 15 Grammy Awards. \nThe Take Cover Tour Has a New Album Behind It\nThis isn’t simply a greatest-hits tour. \nFoo Fighters released Your Favorite Toy in 2026\, giving the Take Cover Tour new material to put beside songs that have been filling arenas for decades. \nMohegan Sun highlights the title track along with “Caught in the Echo\,” “Of All People” and “Asking for a Friend” among the new record’s songs. \nThat creates one of the interesting tensions in a Foo Fighters show this far into the band’s career. \nThere are enough established songs to fill an entire concert without touching anything recent. But Foo Fighters have continued making records rather than becoming a touring legacy act built solely around the 1990s and 2000s. \nThe current show has to find room for both. \nWhat Are They Playing on This Tour?\nA setlist is never guaranteed\, and Foo Fighters can change songs from night to night. \nBut the band’s recent Sept. 24 performance in Louisville offers a useful picture of what the 2026 show currently looks like. \nThat performance included “All My Life\,” “The Pretender\,” “Times Like These\,” “My Hero\,” “Learn to Fly\,” “These Days\,” “Walk\,” “This Is a Call\,” “No Son of Mine\,” “Big Me\,” “Monkey Wrench\,” “Breakout\,” “Aurora\,” “Best of You\,” “Exhausted” and “Everlong.” \n“Aurora” was dedicated to Taylor Hawkins. \nThat remains one of the unavoidable emotional threads running through the current era of Foo Fighters. \nThe Band After Taylor Hawkins\nHawkins joined Foo Fighters in 1997 and spent roughly a quarter-century behind the drum kit. \nHis death in Colombia in March 2022 at age 50 fundamentally changed the band. \nFoo Fighters eventually decided to continue\, releasing the deeply personal But Here We Are in 2023. The album confronted grief and loss directly\, arriving after both Hawkins’ death and the death of Grohl’s mother\, Virginia. \nSongs such as “Rescued\,” “Under You” and the 10-minute “The Teacher” came from that period. \nThe decision to continue meant Foo Fighters had to figure out what the band was without one of its most recognizable members. \nHawkins hasn’t disappeared from the concerts that followed. “Aurora\,” one of his favorite Foo Fighters songs\, has frequently served as a live remembrance. \nWho Is in Foo Fighters Now?\nThe group onstage in 2026 represents several different eras of Foo Fighters. \nGrohl remains at the center on vocals and guitar\, joined by longtime members Nate Mendel on bass\, Pat Smear and Chris Shiflett on guitar\, and Rami Jaffee on keyboards. \nThat gives the current lineup connections stretching almost all the way back through the band’s history. \nSmear’s connection with Grohl goes back even further: he toured with Nirvana as a second guitarist during the band’s final period. \nThe result is a live band capable of moving from the comparatively lean attack of early Foo Fighters material into the much larger arrangements the group developed as its stages grew from clubs to arenas and stadiums. \nGouge Away Opens the Night\nThe support act isn’t an arbitrary addition. \nGouge Away\, a Florida hardcore and post-hardcore band\, is the confirmed special guest for the Mohegan Sun date. \nThe band’s name itself is a nod toward the Pixies song “Gouge Away\,” which gives the group an immediate connection to the alternative-rock lineage that preceded Foo Fighters. \nTheir music is considerably more abrasive than much of the headliner’s catalog\, drawing on hardcore punk\, noise rock and post-hardcore. \nFor anyone planning to arrive only in time for Foo Fighters\, they’re worth factoring into the evening. This isn’t a local warm-up act added to fill time; Gouge Away is officially part of the Take Cover Tour stop. \nThe Floor Has No Seats\nThere’s another detail worth knowing before buying a ticket. \nThe Mohegan Sun Arena floor is standing general admission for this concert. There will be no chairs on the floor. \nThat creates two distinctly different ways to experience the show. \nA floor ticket means standing in the general-admission crowd directly in front of the stage. \nAnyone who needs or prefers an assigned seat should choose one of the Arena’s seated sections rather than assuming a floor ticket comes with a chair. \nThe distinction is especially important for a concert likely to run for hours once the opening act and changeover are included. \nAn Arena Show in the Middle of an Auto-Show Weekend\nFoo Fighters aren’t the only major attraction bringing people to Mohegan Sun Sunday. \nThe Connecticut International Auto Show is running from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. inside the Earth Expo Center that day\, with new cars\, trucks\, SUVs\, EVs\, exotics\, classics and the new Overland Connecticut exhibit. \nThen Foo Fighters begin at 7:30 p.m. in the Arena. \nThe events require separate admission\, but the schedule makes an all-day Mohegan Sun visit possible: cars during the afternoon and Foo Fighters at night. \nIt also means the property should be particularly busy. \nMohegan Sun offers free self-parking\, but anyone heading specifically to the concert should allow extra time to park\, move through the resort and complete Arena security screening. \nThree Decades Later\, They’re Still Playing Like a Rock Band\nThere are bands whose anniversaries eventually become the entire point of the show. \nFoo Fighters have resisted that transition. \nThe catalog is certainly large enough for nostalgia. “This Is a Call” dates to 1995. “Everlong” and “My Hero” are approaching 30. “Learn to Fly” comes from 1999. Even “The Pretender” is nearly two decades old. \nBut those songs now sit beside music made after deaths\, lineup changes and a period when the band’s future wasn’t certain. \nThat makes the Take Cover Tour something more interesting than a victory lap. \nIt’s a band with three decades behind it still trying to figure out what comes next. \nAnd on Oct. 4\, they’re putting all of that into a room much smaller than many of the stadiums they’ve been playing. \nMore information is available at the Event Website link below. To purchase tickets\, click the Event Ticketing link below. \nDetails\nEvent: Foo Fighters — Take Cover Tour 2026\nDate: Sunday\, Oct. 4\, 2026\nTime: 7:30 p.m.\nVenue: Mohegan Sun Arena\nAddress: 1 Mohegan Sun Boulevard\, Uncasville\, CT 06382\nSpecial Guest: Gouge Away\nTour: Take Cover Tour 2026\nVenue Capacity: Approximately 10\,000\nFloor: Standing general admission; no chairs are provided on the floor\nEvent Context: Part of Mohegan Sun’s 30th Birthday Celebration\nParking: Free self-parking is available in Mohegan Sun’s garages and Winter Lot\nReserved Parking: Riverview Reserved Parking can be purchased separately\nBag Policy: Backpacks\, string bags\, diaper bags\, shopping bags\, messenger bags\, briefcases and rolling-style bags are prohibited inside the Arena\nTicketing: Ticketmaster \n  \n  \nFeatured image is an artistic representation inspired by the event and may not depict the actual people\, location\, or activities shown.
URL:https://thectbeacon.com/event/foo-fighters-bring-the-take-cover-tour-into-the-mohegan-sun-arena/
LOCATION:Mohegan Sun Arena\, 1 Mohegan Sun Blvd\, Uncasville\, 06382\, United States
CATEGORIES:Mohegan Sun
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SUMMARY:Connecticut International Auto Show Adds an Off-Road Adventure to Mohegan Sun
DESCRIPTION:Connecticut International Auto Show Adds an Off-Road Adventure to Mohegan Sun Oct. 3 and 4\, filling the Earth Expo Center with the newest cars\, trucks\, SUVs\, hybrids and EVs alongside luxury vehicles\, exotics\, customs and classics. \nBut this year’s show isn’t staying entirely on the pavement. \nFor 2026\, organizers are adding the Overland Connecticut Exhibit\, a new section devoted to the increasingly popular world of vehicle-based outdoor travel. Adventure-ready trucks and SUVs will share space with off-road builds\, camping setups\, outdoor equipment and accessories designed for people whose idea of a road trip includes the point where the road ends. \nIt substantially broadens a show traditionally built around one simple pleasure: walking through a huge room full of vehicles and being allowed to get close to them. \nThis Is a Car Show You Can Climb Into\nThe Connecticut International Auto Show isn’t structured like a velvet-rope concours where visitors admire rare automobiles from a safe distance. \nMuch of the show floor is essentially an enormous automotive showroom. \nVisitors can sit inside participating new vehicles\, inspect interiors\, compare passenger and cargo space and move directly between competing models without driving from dealership to dealership. \nProduct specialists and automotive representatives will be on the floor to explain technology and features and answer questions. \nThat makes the show useful for two very different audiences. \nSomeone considering a new vehicle can compare models in one place. \nSomeone who simply likes cars can spend hours moving between everything from practical family transportation to vehicles that aren’t particularly practical at all. \nNew for 2026: Overland Connecticut\nThe most significant addition this year reflects a part of automotive culture that has exploded well beyond traditional off-roading. \nOverlanding combines vehicles\, camping and self-contained travel\, typically using trucks or SUVs equipped to carry people and equipment into places where hotels and paved parking lots aren’t necessarily part of the plan. \nThe new Overland Connecticut Exhibit brings that culture inside the Expo Center. \nOrganizers say the display will include adventure-ready vehicles\, custom off-road builds\, camping configurations\, outdoor equipment and accessories. \nThat means visitors interested in trucks and SUVs aren’t limited to seeing them as they arrived from the factory. The exhibit provides a look at what those vehicles can become when they’re configured for camping\, trail travel and extended outdoor trips. \nIt’s a different world from the polished luxury cars elsewhere on the floor\, which is precisely why it makes the show more interesting. \nGas\, Hybrid and Electric Under One Roof\nThe modern auto show has also become a place to watch the industry’s transition happening in real time. \nConventional gasoline vehicles now share show floors with hybrids\, plug-in hybrids and fully electric vehicles\, often from manufacturers pursuing very different ideas about what comes next. \nThat gives visitors an opportunity to compare more than styling. \nScreens and software have replaced many traditional dashboard controls. Driver-assistance systems continue to expand. Electric vehicles have created different approaches to interior space because there’s no conventional engine occupying the front of the vehicle. Hybrids offer another solution for drivers who want improved efficiency without relying entirely on charging. \nFor someone who hasn’t seriously shopped for a vehicle in five or ten years\, simply sitting in several current models can be an education in how quickly automobiles have changed. \nThen There Are the Cars Nobody Needs an Excuse to Look At\nNot everything on the floor has to be a potential purchase. \nThe show also incorporates luxury vehicles\, exotic cars\, customs and classics\, providing a counterweight to the practical side of comparison shopping. \nThat mixture has always been part of the appeal of a large auto show. \nYou can inspect something sensible enough for the school run\, move to an electric vehicle packed with new technology\, study a lifted off-road truck built for the woods and then find yourself standing beside an exotic car that exists primarily because somebody decided automobiles should occasionally be outrageous. \nThe floor plan and specific automotive exhibitors can change\, so anyone attending specifically to see a particular manufacturer or model should check the show’s current floor plan before heading to Uncasville. \nMore Than 100\,000 Square Feet of Cars\nThe venue helps explain the scale. (Map of car manufacturers) \nMohegan Sun’s Earth Expo Center provides roughly 125\,000 square feet of contiguous\, column-free exhibition space\, making it possible to create a single enormous automotive floor rather than breaking the show into a collection of small rooms. \nThe facility was designed for events that need to bring genuinely large objects indoors. Its infrastructure includes multiple loading docks and grade-level drive-in doors capable of accommodating vehicles and trucks. \nFor an auto show\, that’s essentially a very large blank canvas. \nThe Connecticut International Auto Show is owned by the Connecticut Automotive Retailers Association and produced by Steve Freeman Events. Organizers say it attracts thousands of visitors annually. \nMake Sunday a Cars-and-Concert Day\nSunday’s show also happens to fall in the middle of an unusually busy weekend at Mohegan Sun. \nThe Auto Show runs from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Sunday\, Oct. 4\, while the Foo Fighters play Mohegan Sun Arena that evening as part of the resort’s 30th birthday celebration. \nThe Arena and Earth Expo Center are separate venues within the resort\, so the concert is not included with Auto Show admission. But for someone interested in both\, the timing makes it possible to spend the afternoon looking at cars and stay at Mohegan Sun for the concert that night. \nThat’s going to make Sunday particularly busy around the property\, so allowing extra time for parking and getting around the resort would be sensible. \nThe Cheapest Tickets Are for Kids — and Some Visitors Pay Nothing\nAdmission remains relatively inexpensive for a large indoor show. \nAdults are $14\, seniors are $10\, and children ages 6 through 12 are $6. Children younger than 6 are admitted free. \nActive and retired military personnel also receive free admission with appropriate military identification. The official ticket information says accompanying guests of eligible military members receive $2 off when tickets are obtained at the box office. \nThe ticket prices listed by the show include additional fees and services. \nParking is also free. \nThe Winter Garage is the closest garage to the Earth Expo Center\, making it the most convenient place to start if the Auto Show is the primary reason for the visit. \nMohegan Sun has more than 13\,000 parking spaces across the property\, with additional garages and lots available when needed. \nMore information is available at the Event Website link below. To purchase tickets\, click the Event Ticketing link below. \nDetails\nEvent: Connecticut International Auto Show\nDates: Saturday\, Oct. 3 and Sunday\, Oct. 4\, 2026\nSaturday Hours: 10 a.m.–8 p.m.\nSunday Hours: 10 a.m.–6 p.m.\nVenue: Mohegan Sun Earth Expo Center\nAddress: 1 Mohegan Sun Boulevard\, Uncasville\, CT 06382\nFeatured Vehicles: New cars\, trucks\, SUVs\, hybrids and EVs\, plus luxury vehicles\, exotics\, customs and classics\nNew for 2026: Overland Connecticut Exhibit featuring adventure vehicles\, off-road builds\, camping setups\, outdoor gear and accessories\nAdult Admission: $14\nSeniors: $10\nChildren Ages 6–12: $6\nChildren Under 6: Free\nMilitary: Free for active and retired military with appropriate ID; accompanying guests receive $2 off at the box office\nParking: Free\nRecommended Parking: Winter Garage\, immediately adjacent to the Earth Expo Center\nShow Floor: Exhibitors and vehicles are subject to change; check the current floor plan if you’re attending for a specific brand\nSecurity: Bags are subject to search and magnetometers may be in use\nAccessibility: The Earth Expo & Convention Center is accessible; accessible restrooms and elevators are available throughout Mohegan Sun\, and wheelchairs are available on a limited first-come\, first-served basis \n  \n  \nFeatured image is an artistic representation inspired by the event and may not depict the actual people\, location\, or activities shown.
URL:https://thectbeacon.com/event/connecticut-international-auto-show-adds-an-off-road-adventure-to-mohegan-sun/2026-10-04/
LOCATION:Rainmaker Expo\, 350 Trolley Line Boulevard\, Mashantucket\, 06338\, United States
CATEGORIES:Mohegan Sun
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DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20261003T150000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20261003T180000
DTSTAMP:20261005T192801Z
CREATED:20260913T030059Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20261005T192801Z
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SUMMARY:Sun BrewFest Brings 200+ Pours\, Food\, Live Music and Festival Games to Mohegan Sun
DESCRIPTION:Sun BrewFest returns to Mohegan Sun Saturday\, October 3\, with unlimited samples of more than 200 beers\, hard seltzers and canned cocktails\, chef-inspired food samples\, live music from The Rakes\, stein-hoisting contests\, line dancing and a cornhole tournament offering $1\,000 in cash prizes. \nThis year’s festival also has a new home. \nInstead of the Earth Expo & Convention Center used for last year’s event\, the 2026 BrewFest moves into the Uncas Ballroom\, with general admission running from 3 to 6 p.m. \nAnd Mohegan Sun has now released a substantial vendor lineup for the festival\, ranging from familiar national beer companies to Connecticut and Rhode Island craft breweries\, cideries\, distilleries\, food vendors and specialty exhibitors. \nThis Is More Than a Beer Festival Now\nSun BrewFest began in 2012 with beer at the center of the experience\, and beer remains a major part of it. \nBut the modern version has expanded considerably. \nMohegan Sun says there will be more than 200 varieties of beer\, seltzer and canned cocktails available for unlimited sampling during the three-hour general admission session. \nThat means visitors aren’t limited to traditional breweries. \nCider\, spirits\, ready-to-drink cocktails and newer alcoholic beverages are represented alongside IPAs\, lagers\, ales and other beer styles. \nFood has become a bigger component as well. Local culinary vendors will provide complimentary samples\, while larger portions will be available to purchase. \nAnd those vendors aren’t simply feeding the crowd. \nThey’re competing. \nYou Get to Pick the Best Food\nThe People’s Choice Food Competition puts participating culinary vendors head-to-head\, with BrewFest guests serving as the judges. \nVisitors can sample the competing dishes and cast a vote for their favorite. \nVoting closes at 5:45 p.m.\, with the winner scheduled to be announced at 6 p.m. \nMohegan Sun has not yet published the complete 2026 culinary lineup. The event page currently tells visitors to check back for participating food vendors\, so additional names should be expected as October approaches. \nOne food vendor already included in the broader published vendor list is PHYGIT Pretzels. \nThe current event page also features NoRA Cupcake Company imagery\, although NoRA is not presently included in Mohegan Sun’s published 2026 vendor list. Until Mohegan Sun adds it to that list\, it shouldn’t be treated as a confirmed 2026 participant. \nLast year’s event featured food from Hungry Lion\, Keifer’s Kettle Korn\, Knot of this World Pretzels\, NoRA Cupcake Company\, Philly’s\, Rubino’s Full Scoop\, Spuds Your Way and Whey Station\, but those were 2025 vendors and should not be assumed to be returning this year. \nThe Complete 2026 Vendor List So Far\nMohegan Sun’s current list includes beverage producers\, distributors\, food and specialty vendors\, automotive businesses and other exhibitors. Some distributors represent multiple beverage labels\, which helps explain how the festival reaches more than 200 individual beverages without listing 200 breweries. \n1013 Rustic Designs creates handcrafted rustic and decorative products. \n1911 Established Hard Cider comes from New York’s Beak & Skiff Apple Orchards and produces a broad family of hard ciders and flavored cider beverages. \n78 Brewing Co. joins the craft-beer side of the festival. \nBoston Beer Company brings one of the country’s largest craft-beverage portfolios. The company is behind Samuel Adams and also has brands including Truly Hard Seltzer\, Twisted Tea and Angry Orchard within its larger family. \nBoozy Candles adds a non-drinking option to the vendor floor with alcohol and cocktail-inspired candles and gifts. \nBrescome Barton Inc. is one of Connecticut’s major beverage distributors. Its presence means additional brands can appear at BrewFest under the distributor rather than being individually named in the vendor list. \nBully Boy Distillers is a Boston distillery producing whiskey\, rum\, gin\, vodka and ready-to-drink beverages. \nCampari America represents a large spirits portfolio that includes Campari\, Aperol and other internationally known labels. \nCharles Toyota is among the local automotive businesses participating in the event. \nCigar Nowhere joins the specialty-vendor side of BrewFest. \nConnecticut Cigar Company adds another cigar-related exhibitor. \nConstellation Brands / Beer Division represents one of the largest beer portfolios in the country\, including major imported brands. \nEquilibrium Brewing comes from Middletown\, New York\, and has built a substantial following among craft-beer drinkers\, particularly for its IPAs and other modern craft styles. \nFunny Water produces flavored alcoholic still water\, a lighter alternative to carbonated hard seltzer. \nGirard Ford is another southeastern Connecticut automotive participant. \nGood Boy Vodka produces vodka and canned ready-to-drink cocktails. \nGreenhouse Agency works with beverage brands on marketing\, promotion and consumer events and will be represented on the festival floor. \nGrey Sail Brewing of Rhode Island and Outer Light Brewing Company appear together on Mohegan Sun’s vendor list\, giving BrewFest two familiar breweries from The CT Beacon’s immediate coverage area. Grey Sail brews in Westerly\, while Outer Light operates in Groton. \nHeineken USA brings another major international beer portfolio to the tasting floor. \nI Got A Guy CT is among the non-beverage exhibitors scheduled for the festival. \nJack Daniel’s Canned Cocktails brings the Tennessee whiskey brand into the ready-to-drink side of BrewFest with its line of canned mixed drinks. \nLitchfield Distillery represents Connecticut-made spirits\, producing bourbon\, whiskey\, gin and vodka in Litchfield. \nMartignetti and Martignetti Companies of Connecticut are both included on Mohegan Sun’s published list. The major New England beverage distributor represents an extensive portfolio of wine\, spirits and other alcoholic beverages. \nNissan of Norwich joins Charles Toyota and Girard Ford among the local automotive businesses represented. \nOcean State Charity Events is also scheduled to participate. \nOwl’s Brew makes tea-based alcoholic beverages and ready-to-drink cocktails using ingredients including tea and botanicals. \nPHYGIT Pretzels brings food into the vendor mix with handmade pretzels. \nReed’s Inc. is best known for ginger beer and ginger beverages and also operates the Virgil’s craft soda brand. \nSpiked Ade joins the growing ready-to-drink portion of the festival. \nSuntory Global Spirits has one of the largest spirits portfolios represented at BrewFest. The company formerly known as Beam Suntory owns brands across whiskey\, tequila\, gin and other categories. \nTapped Apple Cidery & Winery provides another particularly local connection. The Westerly producer makes hard cider and wine using apples and other fruit. \nThese Guys Brewing Company comes from Norwich\, where the downtown brewery and restaurant has been part of the local craft-beer scene for years. \nTwo Roads Brewing Company represents Stratford and one of Connecticut’s most widely distributed craft breweries. \nWaypoint Spirits brings locally produced spirits from Bloomfield\, Connecticut. \nWhalers Brewing Company comes from Wakefield\, Rhode Island\, and is particularly well known for its Rise American pale ale. \nWormtown Brewery brings Massachusetts craft beer to the floor from its Worcester roots. \nThat list is current as of September 12\, and Mohegan Sun can still add participants before October 3. \nThere Are Some Strong Local Breweries in the Mix\nFor southeastern Connecticut and southwestern Rhode Island drinkers\, several names stand out. \nOuter Light is practically down the road in Groton. \nGrey Sail has been brewing in Westerly since 2011 and has become one of Rhode Island’s better-known craft breweries\, particularly through beers including Captain’s Daughter. \nTapped Apple also comes from Westerly but approaches fermentation through fruit rather than grain\, producing cider and wine. \nThese Guys gives Norwich a representative. \nWhalers comes from South Kingstown. \nAnd Two Roads gives the lineup one of Connecticut’s largest independent craft-beer names. \nThe larger distributors then dramatically expand the selection beyond the breweries named individually. \nThat’s how this becomes a tasting of 200-plus beverages rather than simply the three dozen businesses listed on the event page. \nThe Rakes Supply the Soundtrack\nConnecticut band The Rakes will provide live music during the festival. \nThe Rakes are a five-piece band built around rock and pop covers\, with a repertoire spanning decades rather than concentrating on a single artist or genre. \nThey’re familiar throughout Connecticut’s live-music circuit and have played festivals\, clubs\, private events and larger community celebrations around the state. \nFor BrewFest\, the band isn’t a separate ticketed performance. \nLive entertainment is included with admission. \nThen Someone Hands You a Full Stein\nSun BrewFest’s Stein Hoisting Competition returns with six sessions beginning every half hour from 3 through 5:30 p.m. \nEach round is limited to 10 contestants. \nThe concept is simple and increasingly painful: contestants hold a full stein straight out in front of themselves for as long as possible without dropping their arm or violating the competition rules. \nThe 2026 sessions begin at: \n3 p.m.\, 3:30 p.m.\, 4 p.m.\, 4:30 p.m.\, 5 p.m. and 5:30 p.m. \nMohegan Sun’s August announcement describes alternating men’s and women’s sessions\, beginning with the men’s competition at 3 p.m. \nParticipation is free for BrewFest attendees\, with registration taking place at the Stein Hoisting Stage on a first-come\, first-filled basis. \nEach winner receives a swag bag donated by festival sponsors. \nCornhole Gets Much More Serious\nThe cornhole tournament begins before general admission. \nReal Wicked Events runs the tournament from 2 to 6 p.m.\, with advance registration required. \nTournament participants receive access to BrewFest’s otherwise unavailable VIP hour\, entering before the 3 p.m. general admission crowd. \nThere’s real money involved\, too. \nFirst place receives $500 cash\, a future complimentary Mohegan Sun hotel stay and two tickets to a Mohegan Sun Arena performance\, subject to availability. \nSecond place gets $300. \nThird gets $200. \nThat’s $1\,000 in cash prizes before counting the hotel room and show tickets. \nAnyone interested in playing needs to register for the tournament separately in advance. This isn’t something to decide after the fourth IPA. \nLine Dancing and Games Fill Out the Afternoon\nThe festival also includes line dancing sessions and other games throughout the afternoon. \nThat makes the event structurally different from a tasting where guests simply move from brewery table to brewery table for three hours. \nThere’s always something else happening. \nListen to The Rakes. \nVote for food. \nEnter a stein-hoisting round. \nTry line dancing. \nWatch the cornhole tournament. \nThen return to the serious business of determining whether you really needed to sample another beer. \nMohegan Sun Online Casino Has Its Own Competition\nMohegan Sun Online Casino presents Spin to Win during BrewFest. \nParticipants must download the Mohegan Sun Online Casino app\, register an account and place a $25 wager on any game to unlock a spin. \nPrizes can include cash\, hotel stays\, in-app bonus credits and other rewards. \nParticipation is restricted to guests 21 and older\, and self-excluded individuals are not eligible. \nIt’s separate from the tastings and other included BrewFest activities because participating requires the qualifying wager. \nWho Are the Sponsors?\nThere’s an important distinction between the published vendor list and a formal sponsor list. \nAs of September 12\, Mohegan Sun has published the full current list of participating vendors but has not published a separate comprehensive 2026 sponsor roster on the event page. \nThe sponsors and event partners that are explicitly identifiable from the current material include Mohegan Sun Online Casino\, which presents Spin to Win\, and Real Wicked Events\, which partners with BrewFest on the cornhole tournament. \nMohegan Sun also states that stein-hoisting prizes are donated by “our sponsors\,” indicating additional beverage or event sponsors are involved\, but the current page doesn’t identify every one of those businesses by sponsor status. \nRather than label all 36 listed vendors as sponsors when Mohegan Sun itself doesn’t do that\, the safest distinction is: all of the businesses in the vendor list above are confirmed participants; Mohegan Sun Online Casino and Real Wicked Events are explicitly identified event partners/presenters. \nIf Mohegan Sun publishes a separate sponsor roster before October 3\, we’ll update the list. \nUnlimited Really Does Mean Unlimited Samples\nOne of the biggest changes from many beer festivals is that Sun BrewFest doesn’t operate with a fixed tasting-ticket system. \nMohegan Sun’s current FAQ specifically describes the alcohol tastings as unlimited. \nAdmission includes samples of beer\, cider\, hard seltzer and canned cocktails\, along with complimentary samples from participating culinary vendors. \nFull-size food portions will also be available for purchase. \nOf course\, unlimited availability doesn’t eliminate the usual practical consideration. \nThere are more than 200 beverages and only three hours. \nNobody needs to complete the collection. \nThis Year’s BrewFest Is 21+ Only\nUnlike some food-and-beverage festivals that offer designated-driver admission or allow younger guests\, Mohegan Sun’s published rules for the 2026 Sun BrewFest require everyone attending to be at least 21 years old. \nA valid photo ID and ticket or event wristband are required for entry. \nThat’s worth emphasizing because previous editions have offered designated-driver ticket options. The current 2026 event information does not advertise one. \nThe venue change also matters for returning guests. \nDon’t head automatically toward the Earth Expo Center because that’s where you remember BrewFest being held. \nThis year\, go to the Uncas Ballroom. \nDetails\nEvent: Sun BrewFest\nDate: Saturday\, October 3\, 2026\nGeneral Admission: 3–6 p.m.\nVenue: Uncas Ballroom at Mohegan Sun\nAddress: 1 Mohegan Sun Boulevard\, Uncasville\, CT 06382\nAge: 21+ only; valid photo ID required\nBeverages: More than 200 varieties of beer\, cider\, hard seltzer and canned cocktails\nTastings: Unlimited beverage samples included with admission\nFood: Complimentary samples from participating culinary vendors; full-size portions available for purchase\nPeople’s Choice Food Competition: Voting closes at 5:45 p.m.; winner announced at 6 p.m.\nLive Music: The Rakes\nStein Hoisting: Six sessions from 3–6 p.m.; 10 contestants per session; free with admission and first come\, first filled\nCornhole Tournament: 2–6 p.m.; advance registration required through Real Wicked Events/Eventbrite\nCornhole VIP Access: Tournament participants receive access to the pre-general-admission VIP hour\nCornhole Prizes: $500 plus hotel stay and two Arena tickets for first; $300 second; $200 third\nOther Activities: Line dancing\, games and Spin to Win\nParking: Free; Mohegan Sun has more than 13\,000 on-site parking spaces\nCurrent Confirmed Vendors: 1013 Rustic Designs; 1911 Established Hard Cider; 78 Brewing Co.; Boston Beer Company; Boozy Candles; Brescome Barton Inc.; Bully Boy Distillers; Campari America; Charles Toyota; Cigar Nowhere; Connecticut Cigar Company; Constellation Brands/Beer Division; Equilibrium Brewing; Funny Water; Girard Ford; Good Boy Vodka; Greenhouse Agency; Grey Sail & Outer Light; Heineken USA; I Got A Guy CT; Jack Daniel’s Canned Cocktails; Litchfield Distillery; Martignetti; Martignetti Companies of CT; Nissan of Norwich; Ocean State Charity Events; Owl’s Brew; PHYGIT Pretzels; Reed’s Inc.; Spiked Ade; Suntory Global Spirits; Tapped Apple Cidery & Winery; These Guys; Two Roads Brewing Company; Waypoint Spirits; Whalers Brewing Company; Wormtown\nExplicitly Identified Event Partners/Presenters: Real Wicked Events and Mohegan Sun Online Casino\nAdditional Food Vendors: Mohegan Sun says the participating culinary list is still to come \nMore information is available at the Event Website link below. \nTo purchase tickets\, click the Event Ticketing link below. \n  \n  \nFeatured image is an artistic representation inspired by the event and may not depict the actual people\, location\, or activities shown.
URL:https://thectbeacon.com/event/sun-brewfest-brings-200-pours-food-live-music-and-festival-games-to-mohegan-sun/
LOCATION:Uncas Ballroom at Mohegan\, 1 Mohegan Sun Blvd\, Uncasville\, 06382\, United States
CATEGORIES:Mohegan Sun
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DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20261003T100000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20261003T200000
DTSTAMP:20261001T020837Z
CREATED:20261001T020837Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20261001T020837Z
UID:10009213-1791021600-1791057600@thectbeacon.com
SUMMARY:Connecticut International Auto Show Adds an Off-Road Adventure to Mohegan Sun
DESCRIPTION:Connecticut International Auto Show Adds an Off-Road Adventure to Mohegan Sun Oct. 3 and 4\, filling the Earth Expo Center with the newest cars\, trucks\, SUVs\, hybrids and EVs alongside luxury vehicles\, exotics\, customs and classics. \nBut this year’s show isn’t staying entirely on the pavement. \nFor 2026\, organizers are adding the Overland Connecticut Exhibit\, a new section devoted to the increasingly popular world of vehicle-based outdoor travel. Adventure-ready trucks and SUVs will share space with off-road builds\, camping setups\, outdoor equipment and accessories designed for people whose idea of a road trip includes the point where the road ends. \nIt substantially broadens a show traditionally built around one simple pleasure: walking through a huge room full of vehicles and being allowed to get close to them. \nThis Is a Car Show You Can Climb Into\nThe Connecticut International Auto Show isn’t structured like a velvet-rope concours where visitors admire rare automobiles from a safe distance. \nMuch of the show floor is essentially an enormous automotive showroom. \nVisitors can sit inside participating new vehicles\, inspect interiors\, compare passenger and cargo space and move directly between competing models without driving from dealership to dealership. \nProduct specialists and automotive representatives will be on the floor to explain technology and features and answer questions. \nThat makes the show useful for two very different audiences. \nSomeone considering a new vehicle can compare models in one place. \nSomeone who simply likes cars can spend hours moving between everything from practical family transportation to vehicles that aren’t particularly practical at all. \nNew for 2026: Overland Connecticut\nThe most significant addition this year reflects a part of automotive culture that has exploded well beyond traditional off-roading. \nOverlanding combines vehicles\, camping and self-contained travel\, typically using trucks or SUVs equipped to carry people and equipment into places where hotels and paved parking lots aren’t necessarily part of the plan. \nThe new Overland Connecticut Exhibit brings that culture inside the Expo Center. \nOrganizers say the display will include adventure-ready vehicles\, custom off-road builds\, camping configurations\, outdoor equipment and accessories. \nThat means visitors interested in trucks and SUVs aren’t limited to seeing them as they arrived from the factory. The exhibit provides a look at what those vehicles can become when they’re configured for camping\, trail travel and extended outdoor trips. \nIt’s a different world from the polished luxury cars elsewhere on the floor\, which is precisely why it makes the show more interesting. \nGas\, Hybrid and Electric Under One Roof\nThe modern auto show has also become a place to watch the industry’s transition happening in real time. \nConventional gasoline vehicles now share show floors with hybrids\, plug-in hybrids and fully electric vehicles\, often from manufacturers pursuing very different ideas about what comes next. \nThat gives visitors an opportunity to compare more than styling. \nScreens and software have replaced many traditional dashboard controls. Driver-assistance systems continue to expand. Electric vehicles have created different approaches to interior space because there’s no conventional engine occupying the front of the vehicle. Hybrids offer another solution for drivers who want improved efficiency without relying entirely on charging. \nFor someone who hasn’t seriously shopped for a vehicle in five or ten years\, simply sitting in several current models can be an education in how quickly automobiles have changed. \nThen There Are the Cars Nobody Needs an Excuse to Look At\nNot everything on the floor has to be a potential purchase. \nThe show also incorporates luxury vehicles\, exotic cars\, customs and classics\, providing a counterweight to the practical side of comparison shopping. \nThat mixture has always been part of the appeal of a large auto show. \nYou can inspect something sensible enough for the school run\, move to an electric vehicle packed with new technology\, study a lifted off-road truck built for the woods and then find yourself standing beside an exotic car that exists primarily because somebody decided automobiles should occasionally be outrageous. \nThe floor plan and specific automotive exhibitors can change\, so anyone attending specifically to see a particular manufacturer or model should check the show’s current floor plan before heading to Uncasville. \nMore Than 100\,000 Square Feet of Cars\nThe venue helps explain the scale. (Map of car manufacturers) \nMohegan Sun’s Earth Expo Center provides roughly 125\,000 square feet of contiguous\, column-free exhibition space\, making it possible to create a single enormous automotive floor rather than breaking the show into a collection of small rooms. \nThe facility was designed for events that need to bring genuinely large objects indoors. Its infrastructure includes multiple loading docks and grade-level drive-in doors capable of accommodating vehicles and trucks. \nFor an auto show\, that’s essentially a very large blank canvas. \nThe Connecticut International Auto Show is owned by the Connecticut Automotive Retailers Association and produced by Steve Freeman Events. Organizers say it attracts thousands of visitors annually. \nMake Sunday a Cars-and-Concert Day\nSunday’s show also happens to fall in the middle of an unusually busy weekend at Mohegan Sun. \nThe Auto Show runs from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Sunday\, Oct. 4\, while the Foo Fighters play Mohegan Sun Arena that evening as part of the resort’s 30th birthday celebration. \nThe Arena and Earth Expo Center are separate venues within the resort\, so the concert is not included with Auto Show admission. But for someone interested in both\, the timing makes it possible to spend the afternoon looking at cars and stay at Mohegan Sun for the concert that night. \nThat’s going to make Sunday particularly busy around the property\, so allowing extra time for parking and getting around the resort would be sensible. \nThe Cheapest Tickets Are for Kids — and Some Visitors Pay Nothing\nAdmission remains relatively inexpensive for a large indoor show. \nAdults are $14\, seniors are $10\, and children ages 6 through 12 are $6. Children younger than 6 are admitted free. \nActive and retired military personnel also receive free admission with appropriate military identification. The official ticket information says accompanying guests of eligible military members receive $2 off when tickets are obtained at the box office. \nThe ticket prices listed by the show include additional fees and services. \nParking is also free. \nThe Winter Garage is the closest garage to the Earth Expo Center\, making it the most convenient place to start if the Auto Show is the primary reason for the visit. \nMohegan Sun has more than 13\,000 parking spaces across the property\, with additional garages and lots available when needed. \nMore information is available at the Event Website link below. To purchase tickets\, click the Event Ticketing link below. \nDetails\nEvent: Connecticut International Auto Show\nDates: Saturday\, Oct. 3 and Sunday\, Oct. 4\, 2026\nSaturday Hours: 10 a.m.–8 p.m.\nSunday Hours: 10 a.m.–6 p.m.\nVenue: Mohegan Sun Earth Expo Center\nAddress: 1 Mohegan Sun Boulevard\, Uncasville\, CT 06382\nFeatured Vehicles: New cars\, trucks\, SUVs\, hybrids and EVs\, plus luxury vehicles\, exotics\, customs and classics\nNew for 2026: Overland Connecticut Exhibit featuring adventure vehicles\, off-road builds\, camping setups\, outdoor gear and accessories\nAdult Admission: $14\nSeniors: $10\nChildren Ages 6–12: $6\nChildren Under 6: Free\nMilitary: Free for active and retired military with appropriate ID; accompanying guests receive $2 off at the box office\nParking: Free\nRecommended Parking: Winter Garage\, immediately adjacent to the Earth Expo Center\nShow Floor: Exhibitors and vehicles are subject to change; check the current floor plan if you’re attending for a specific brand\nSecurity: Bags are subject to search and magnetometers may be in use\nAccessibility: The Earth Expo & Convention Center is accessible; accessible restrooms and elevators are available throughout Mohegan Sun\, and wheelchairs are available on a limited first-come\, first-served basis \n  \n  \nFeatured image is an artistic representation inspired by the event and may not depict the actual people\, location\, or activities shown.
URL:https://thectbeacon.com/event/connecticut-international-auto-show-adds-an-off-road-adventure-to-mohegan-sun/2026-10-03/
LOCATION:Rainmaker Expo\, 350 Trolley Line Boulevard\, Mashantucket\, 06338\, United States
CATEGORIES:Mohegan Sun
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DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20261002T200000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20261002T220000
DTSTAMP:20261001T011405Z
CREATED:20261001T011405Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20261001T011405Z
UID:10009211-1790971200-1790978400@thectbeacon.com
SUMMARY:Alanis Morissette Opens Mohegan Sun’s 30th Birthday Celebration With an Arena Show
DESCRIPTION:Alanis Morissette Opens Mohegan Sun’s 30th Birthday Celebration With an Arena Show Oct. 2\, bringing more than three decades of music and one of the defining albums of the 1990s to the 10\,000-seat Mohegan Sun Arena. \nThis isn’t a Wolf Den appearance or one of the casino’s smaller theater shows. \nMorissette is taking over the Arena at 8 p.m. Friday\, kicking off a remarkable run of major concerts surrounding Mohegan Sun’s 30th anniversary. Foo Fighters follow on Oct. 4\, John Mayer on Oct. 9\, Lainey Wilson on Oct. 10\, and DJ Cassidy’s Pass The Mic Live! on Oct. 11. \nFor Morissette\, the timing carries a second anniversary connection. \nHer breakthrough album\, Jagged Little Pill\, turned 30 in 2025\, meaning the singer arrives at Mohegan Sun just over three decades removed from the record that transformed her from a Canadian pop singer into one of the defining voices of alternative rock. \nThe Album That Changed Everything\nMorissette was only 21 when Jagged Little Pill was released in June 1995. \nThe album sounded different from much of what dominated mainstream radio at the time. There was anger in “You Oughta Know\,” anxiety and self-examination in “Hand in My Pocket\,” observational humor in “Ironic” and something close to catharsis running through much of the record. \nListeners responded on an enormous scale. \nJagged Little Pill became one of the best-selling albums of all time and won the Grammy for Album of the Year\, while “You Oughta Know” earned Grammys for Best Rock Song and Best Female Rock Vocal Performance. \nIt also gave Morissette a catalog of songs that never really disappeared. \n“You Oughta Know\,” “Ironic\,” “Hand in My Pocket\,” “You Learn\,” “Head Over Feet” and “All I Really Want” remain fixtures of ’90s alternative music three decades later. \nBut reducing Morissette’s career to that one album misses most of the story. \nWhat Came After Jagged Little Pill\nRather than attempting to reproduce the same record indefinitely\, Morissette followed it with the darker and more experimental Supposed Former Infatuation Junkie in 1998. \nThat album produced “Thank U\,” another of her signature songs\, while demonstrating that the songwriter behind Jagged Little Pill was willing to move away from the sound that had made her enormously successful. \nAlbums including Under Rug Swept\, So-Called Chaos\, Flavors of Entanglement\, Havoc and Bright Lights and Such Pretty Forks in the Road followed. \nHer catalog eventually grew to 10 studio albums\, with songwriting that increasingly explored relationships\, motherhood\, spirituality\, anxiety\, fame and emotional health. \nHer most recent studio project\, 2022’s The Storm Before the Calm\, took another unexpected turn. Rather than conventional alternative rock songs\, Morissette created an ambient meditation album built around extended compositions. \nThe distance between the fury of “You Oughta Know” and an hour-long meditation record is considerable. \nThat’s also part of what has allowed her career to last. \nSeven Grammys and a Broadway Musical\nMorissette has won seven Grammy Awards and sold tens of millions of records worldwide. \nJagged Little Pill also found an entirely different second life onstage. \nA Broadway musical inspired by the album opened in 2019\, using Morissette’s songs to tell an original story about an apparently comfortable suburban family dealing with addiction\, sexual assault\, identity and secrets. \nThe production received 15 Tony Award nominations and won two at the 2021 ceremony. \nIt was further evidence that songs written by a woman in her early 20s during the mid-1990s had survived long enough to be interpreted by another generation. \nA Concert That Starts Mohegan Sun’s Own Anniversary\nFriday’s concert also has unusual significance for the venue. \nMohegan Sun first opened its doors in October 1996. A major expansion followed in 2001\, adding the Mohegan Sun Arena\, The Shops at Mohegan Sun\, Sky Tower and Casino of the Sky. \nNow the resort is marking 30 years with two weekends of entertainment\, promotions and special events. \nMorissette gets the first major Friday-night Arena slot of that celebration. \nThe lineup that follows illustrates the scale of what Mohegan Sun has planned: Foo Fighters two nights later\, John Mayer the following Friday\, Lainey Wilson on Saturday and DJ Cassidy’s Pass The Mic Live! closing the Arena portion of the birthday run Sunday with Busta Rhymes\, Fat Joe\, Ja Rule\, Jadakiss and Nelly. \nThat gives Friday night’s concert a slightly different context. \nIt’s an Alanis Morissette show\, but it’s also the opening night of one of the largest entertainment stretches Mohegan Sun has assembled for its own milestone anniversary. \nWhat Will She Play?\nMohegan Sun has not published a setlist for the Oct. 2 performance. \nThe songs most closely associated with Morissette remain obvious candidates\, including “You Oughta Know\,” “Ironic\,” “Hand in My Pocket\,” “You Learn\,” “Head Over Feet” and “Thank U\,” but a concert set can change and those songs shouldn’t be treated as guarantees until she performs them. \nWhat is certain is that the Arena gives Morissette a considerably different setting from an intimate nostalgia show. \nThis is a full-scale arena concert built around a performer whose breakthrough happened at almost exactly the same moment Mohegan Sun itself was being created. \nThirty years later\, their timelines meet in Uncasville. \nMore information is available at the Event Website link below. To purchase tickets\, click the Event Ticketing link below. \nDetails\nEvent: Alanis Morissette\nDate: Friday\, Oct. 2\, 2026\nTime: 8 p.m.\nVenue: Mohegan Sun Arena\nLocation: Mohegan Sun\nAddress: 1 Mohegan Sun Boulevard\, Uncasville\, CT 06382\nVenue Capacity: Approximately 10\,000\nTicketing: Ticketmaster\nEvent Context: Part of Mohegan Sun’s 30th Birthday Celebration\, running Oct. 2–11\nParking: Free self-parking is available at Mohegan Sun’s garages and Winter Lot; upgraded Riverview Reserved Parking is also available\nBag Policy: Backpacks\, string bags\, diaper bags\, shopping bags\, messenger bags\, briefcases and rolling-style bags are prohibited inside the Arena\nArena Box Office: 860-862-8499\nMohegan Sun: 888-226-7711 \n. \n  \nFeatured image is an artistic representation inspired by the event and may not depict the actual people\, location\, or activities shown.
URL:https://thectbeacon.com/event/alanis-morissette-opens-mohegan-suns-30th-birthday-celebration-with-an-arena-show/
LOCATION:Mohegan Sun Arena\, 1 Mohegan Sun Blvd\, Uncasville\, 06382\, United States
CATEGORIES:Mohegan Sun
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://thectbeacon.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/Alanis-Morissette-Opens-Mohegan-Suns-30th-Birthday-Celebration-With-an-Arena-Show.jpg
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DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20260927T190000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20260927T220000
DTSTAMP:20260924T170755Z
CREATED:20260924T170755Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260924T170755Z
UID:10008603-1790535600-1790546400@thectbeacon.com
SUMMARY:Wicked Peach Brings 30 Years of Rock Favorites Back to the Wolf Den
DESCRIPTION:Wicked Peach Brings 30 Years of Rock Favorites Back to the Wolf Den Sunday\, Sept. 27\, as one of southeastern New England’s longest-running cover bands returns to Mohegan Sun for a free 7 p.m. show. \nThe band has spent three decades building its reputation around a straightforward formula: take recognizable rock and pop-rock songs\, play them with the energy of a club band rather than a tribute act\, and keep the set moving. \nThat approach has made Wicked Peach a familiar name throughout southeastern Connecticut\, Rhode Island and Massachusetts and a recurring presence on the Wolf Den stage. \nThirty Years of Wicked Peach\nWicked Peach dates its beginning to 1996\, putting the band at its 30-year mark in 2026. \nRather than dedicating itself to one artist or period\, the group has built a repertoire across decades of rock\, alternative and pop-rock. That gives a Wicked Peach show the feel of a live rock playlist\, with the set capable of moving between eras instead of staying locked into one sound. \nThe current lineup includes Ernie Lewis on lead vocals and guitar\, Dan Watson on lead guitar and vocals\, Corey Carter on guitar\, Stan Smith on bass and Jonathan Souza on drums. \nMohegan Sun itself has repeatedly described Wicked Peach as a staple of the southeastern New England music scene\, and the relationship between the band and the casino stretches across years of Wolf Den appearances. \nIn 2024\, Wicked Peach was among the acts Mohegan Sun chose for the Wolf Den’s late-night concert experiment\, playing back-to-back 8 and 10:30 p.m. performances. The band returned to the venue during the 2026 summer season as well. \nSunday’s show puts them back in the room for another free headlining set. \nA Cover Band Without the Tribute-Band Rules\nThe difference between Wicked Peach and a traditional tribute band is range. \nA tribute act has a catalog and identity already chosen for it. Wicked Peach can follow whatever works with the room. \nThe band describes itself as playing favorite rock\, pop-rock and rock hits\, and its shows are built around songs audiences are likely to recognize quickly. \nThat flexibility is particularly useful at a casino venue. \nA Wolf Den audience can include dedicated fans who arrived specifically for the band alongside people who discovered there was a free concert happening while walking through Casino of the Earth. \nA familiar opening riff can turn the second group into the first remarkably quickly. \nThe Wolf Den Puts the Band in the Middle of the Casino\nThe Wolf Den remains one of Mohegan Sun’s unusual entertainment spaces because it isn’t tucked away in a conventional theater. \nIt’s located directly inside the Casino of the Earth\, surrounded by the activity of the casino floor. Mohegan Sun equips the venue with full beverage service and a state-of-the-art sound system while keeping performances free. \nThat combination has allowed the Wolf Den to host national touring artists alongside the regional bands that repeatedly fill the room. \nAnd Wicked Peach belongs firmly in the latter category. \nThe band has played the venue often enough that a return to the Wolf Den feels less like an isolated booking and more like an ongoing relationship between a regional band and one of the region’s best-known stages. \nFree Doesn’t Mean Guaranteed\nThere is one important catch to Wolf Den shows: a ticket isn’t what gets you inside. \nAdmission is free\, but seating is limited and available on a first-come\, first-served basis. \nGuests may begin lining up no earlier than three hours before showtime. One person can hold up to four places in line\, but Mohegan Sun requires everyone to be physically present when seats are distributed. \nThe Wolf Den is also restricted to guests 21 and older and is a non-smoking venue. \nSunday performances normally begin earlier than the Wolf Den’s Thursday-through-Saturday shows\, so this one starts at 7 p.m. \nFor Wicked Peach\, that’s three decades of southeastern New England bar rooms\, festivals\, clubs and casino stages distilled into another Sunday night at a venue the band knows well. \nNo elaborate tribute concept required. \nJust familiar songs\, electric guitars and a free place to hear them played loud. \nMore information is available at the Event Website link below. \nDetails\nEvent: Wicked Peach at the Wolf Den\nDate: Sunday\, Sept. 27\, 2026\nTime: 7 p.m.\nVenue: Wolf Den at Mohegan Sun\nLocation: Casino of the Earth\nAddress: 1 Mohegan Sun Blvd.\, Uncasville\, CT 06382\nAdmission: Free\nAge: 21+\nSeating: Limited and first come\, first served\nLine Policy: Guests may line up no earlier than three hours before the show\nMusic: Rock\, pop-rock and rock favorites\nBand: Ernie Lewis\, Dan Watson\, Corey Carter\, Stan Smith and Jonathan Souza\nAccessibility: Contact Mohegan Sun Guest Services for specific accommodation needs\nImportant: Performance times and artists are subject to change \n  \n  \nFeatured image is an artistic representation inspired by the event and may not depict the actual people\, location\, or activities shown.
URL:https://thectbeacon.com/event/wicked-peach-brings-30-years-of-rock-favorites-back-to-the-wolf-den/
LOCATION:Wolf Den\, 1 Mohegan Sun Blvs\, Uncasville\, CT\, 06382\, United States
CATEGORIES:Mohegan Sun
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20260919T200000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20260919T220000
DTSTAMP:20260917T000000Z
CREATED:20260917T000000Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260917T000000Z
UID:10007924-1789848000-1789855200@thectbeacon.com
SUMMARY:Mark Wills at Wolf Den Brings a Run of ’90s and Early-2000s Country Hits to Mohegan Sun
DESCRIPTION:Mark Wills at Wolf Den brings one of the familiar voices of late-1990s and early-2000s country radio to Mohegan Sun on Saturday\, September 19\, for a free 8 p.m. concert. \nFor anyone who had country radio on during that period\, Wills’ catalog can trigger memories remarkably quickly. \nWish You Were Here. \nI Do (Cherish You). \nDon’t Laugh at Me. \nJacob’s Ladder. \nAnd especially 19 Somethin’\, his rapid-fire trip through Pac-Man\, Rubik’s Cubes\, Farrah Fawcett\, MTV\, and everything else that made growing up in the 1970s and ’80s feel like growing up in the 1970s and ’80s. \nThose songs produced 19 Billboard-charting singles\, Gold and Platinum records\, and eventually a place in the Grand Ole Opry. \nSaturday puts Wills and those songs into one of Mohegan Sun’s smallest rooms. \n19 Somethin’ Turned Nostalgia Into a No. 1 Country Hit\nIt takes only a few lines for 19 Somethin’ to establish what it’s doing. \nThe song runs through a childhood and adolescence measured in pop-culture landmarks\, moving from Star Wars and Stretch Armstrong through Pac-Man\, MTV and parachute pants before reaching adulthood. \nReleased in 2002\, it became the biggest chart hit of Wills’ career. \n19 Somethin’ spent six weeks at No. 1 on Billboard’s Hot Country Songs chart and was later certified Gold by the RIAA. \nThe song arrived at an interesting moment. \nCountry music was moving into a new century\, but one of its biggest songs was looking backward at the previous one. \nMore than two decades later\, the nostalgia has effectively doubled. \nWills is now singing a nostalgic song that has itself become nostalgic. \nBefore That Came Wish You Were Here\nWills already had a substantial career before 19 Somethin’. \nHis first single\, Jacob’s Ladder\, arrived in 1996 and became the first of his eight Top 10 country hits. \nThen came a particularly strong run between 1997 and 1999. \nPlaces I’ve Never Been reached the Top 5. \nSo did I Do (Cherish You). \nThen came Don’t Laugh at Me and Wish You Were Here. \nThe latter became Wills’ first No. 1 country single. \nIts title initially suggests a conventional romantic song. Instead\, the story takes a dramatic turn\, becoming the final message from a man who dies in a plane crash. \nThat kind of narrative song became one of Wills’ specialties. \nHe had the voice for country radio\, but many of the records that endured were built around stories. \nDon’t Laugh at Me Became Something Larger Than a Hit Single\nFew songs illustrate that better than Don’t Laugh at Me. \nReleased in 1998\, the song addresses bullying and exclusion through characters who are mocked because they’re different. \nIt became a major country hit and earned significant industry recognition\, including a Country Music Association nomination for Single of the Year. \nBut its life continued beyond country radio. \nSongwriters Steve Seskin and Allen Shamblin helped turn the song’s message into an educational movement. The Don’t Laugh at Me program was subsequently used in schools and youth organizations as part of anti-bullying and social-emotional learning efforts. \nWills returned to the song in 2022\, recording a new version with vocal group Home Free. \nHis daughter Macey Wills also appeared on the recording. \nThe accompanying video featured Nate Smith of 21 Pineapples and JennaLee Wasserman and earned three Gold Telly Awards. \nFor Wills\, it is no longer simply an old hit that has to appear in the set. \nIt became part of his identity. \nI Do (Cherish You) Had a Second Life Outside Country Music\nThen there’s I Do (Cherish You). \nWills released the song in 1998\, taking it into the country Top 10. \nA year later\, pop group 98 Degrees recorded its own version. \nThat recording became a major pop hit and appeared on the soundtrack to the Julia Stiles and Freddie Prinze Jr. movie 10 Things I Hate About You. \nThe crossover gave the song an unusual life. \nSome listeners know it as a Mark Wills country ballad. \nOthers encountered it as a 98 Degrees love song. \nWills got there first. \nHis Career Started in an Atlanta Honky-Tonk\nLong before the Opry\, Wills was singing in clubs. \nBorn in Blue Ridge\, Georgia\, he grew up listening to artists including Conway Twitty\, George Jones\, Merle Haggard\, Alabama and Ronnie Milsap. \nHe developed his voice in school choir before working his way into the Atlanta-area music scene. \nEventually\, he became a regular performer at The Buckboard\, a large country nightclub in Atlanta. \nThat proved to be his training ground. \nNight after night\, Wills learned how to work a room filled with people who hadn’t necessarily come specifically to hear him. He sang covers\, developed his stage presence and began recording demos. \nMercury Nashville signed him in the mid-1990s. \nHis self-titled debut album followed in 1996. \nWithin a few years\, the nightclub singer had become a national country artist. \nCountry Music Recognized Him Early\nWills’ success wasn’t limited to the charts. \nThe Academy of Country Music named him Top New Male Vocalist following his early run of hits. \nHis albums went Gold and Platinum. \nHe became a regular on country radio and built a touring career around songs that balanced polished Nashville production with his rich baritone voice. \nThen\, as country music changed through the 2000s\, Wills continued touring rather than disappearing with the radio format that had made him famous. \nThat longevity ultimately led him somewhere particularly important. \nThe Grand Ole Opry. \nVince Gill Surprised Him With the Invitation\nWills made his Grand Ole Opry debut in 1997. \nMore than two decades later\, on December 21\, 2018\, he was performing at the Opry with Vince Gill when Gill interrupted the evening with a question Wills wasn’t expecting. \nWould he like to become the newest member of the Grand Ole Opry? \nWills dropped to his knees. \nThe invitation carried particular weight for an artist whose career had been built around traditional country institutions even as Nashville changed around him. \nOn January 11\, 2019\, Mark Wills was formally inducted as a member of the Grand Ole Opry. \nHe’s still there. \nIn fact\, Saturday’s Connecticut performance lands directly between Opry appearances. Wills is scheduled to return to the Grand Ole Opry House on September 25 and 26. \nHe’s Also Spent Years Performing for American Troops\nAnother part of Wills’ career happened far from Nashville stages. \nHe has made more than a dozen trips overseas to perform for U.S. military personnel\, traveling to locations including Iraq\, Kuwait\, Afghanistan\, Korea and Italy. \nThose trips weren’t merely a publicity stop attached to one album cycle. \nThey became a recurring part of his work. \nThat experience also fits naturally with the storytelling side of his catalog\, particularly songs centered on ordinary lives rather than celebrity. \nThere’s New Music Coming Too\nSaturday’s concert doesn’t arrive solely as a nostalgia show. \nWills is preparing another project. \nA new 12-song album\, Grand Ole Revival\, is currently scheduled for release November 6\, 2026. \nAmong the music already associated with the project is his recording of the gospel standard I’ll Fly Away featuring Ricky Skaggs and Rhonda Vincent. \nThat puts the forthcoming record firmly within a traditional country\, bluegrass and gospel lineage. \nFor an artist who first hit country radio 30 years ago\, it’s a logical place to be. \nWills isn’t attempting to pretend that 1998 never ended. \nHe’s carrying those songs with him while making music at a different point in his life. \nThe Wolf Den Puts a National Country Artist in a 350-Capacity Room\nThe setting is one of the things that makes Saturday particularly appealing. \nThe Wolf Den holds roughly 350 people. \nThere are no tickets. \nThere is no admission charge. \nAnd the stage sits in the middle of Mohegan Sun’s Casino of the Earth. \nFor an artist whose career includes No. 1 records and Grand Ole Opry membership\, that’s an unusually intimate setup. \nIt also means there is a catch. \nGetting into the casino doesn’t guarantee getting into the show. \nWolf Den seating is limited and first come\, first served. \nGuests may begin lining up no earlier than three hours before showtime\, meaning the line for Saturday’s 8 p.m. concert can begin at 5 p.m. \nOne person may hold up to four places in line\, but everyone has to be physically present when seating takes place. \nThe venue is also restricted to guests 21 and older. \nThree Decades of Country Radio in One Small Room\nWills released Jacob’s Ladder in 1996. \nThirty years later\, he’s still traveling with the songs that followed it. \nSome have aged as straightforward country hits. \nOthers have accumulated second lives. \nI Do (Cherish You) crossed into pop music. \nDon’t Laugh at Me became associated with anti-bullying education. \n19 Somethin’ turned nostalgia into a No. 1 hit and then survived long enough to become nostalgic itself. \nAnd Wish You Were Here remains one of those country story songs where knowing the ending doesn’t necessarily make the ending hit any less. \nSaturday night puts all of that history within a few rows of the audience. \nJust don’t wait until 7:55 to get there. \nDetails\nEvent: Mark Wills at Wolf Den\nDate: Saturday\, September 19\, 2026\nTime: 8 p.m.\nVenue: Wolf Den at Mohegan Sun\nLocation: Casino of the Earth\nAddress: 1 Mohegan Sun Boulevard\, Uncasville\, CT 06382\nArtist: Mark Wills\nMusic: Country\nAdmission: Free\nAge: 21+\nSeating: Limited and first come\, first served\nLine: Guests may line up no earlier than 5 p.m.\, three hours before showtime\nHolding Places: One person may hold up to four places; everyone must be present when seating occurs\nSmoking: The Wolf Den is a non-smoking entertainment venue\nPhone: 1-888-226-7711\nSchedule: Times and performers are subject to change \nMore information is available at the Event Website link below. \n  \n  \nFeatured image is an artistic representation inspired by the event and may not depict the actual people\, location\, or activities shown.
URL:https://thectbeacon.com/event/mark-wills-at-wolf-den-brings-a-run-of-90s-and-early-2000s-country-hits-to-mohegan-sun/
LOCATION:Wolf Den\, 1 Mohegan Sun Blvs\, Uncasville\, CT\, 06382\, United States
CATEGORIES:Mohegan Sun
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://thectbeacon.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/Mark-Wills-at-Wolf-Den-Brings-a-Run-of-90s-and-Early-2000s-Country-Hits-to-Mohegan-Sun.jpg
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20260919T200000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20260919T213000
DTSTAMP:20260917T203050Z
CREATED:20260428T124451Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260917T203050Z
UID:10000095-1789848000-1789853400@thectbeacon.com
SUMMARY:Boyz II Men
DESCRIPTION:There’s a reason Boyz II Men still feel like an event when they hit the stage. Their sound isn’t built on gimmicks… It’s built on harmony\, control\, and emotion that lands right where it’s supposed to. On their current run of tour dates through 2026\, they’re bringing that signature blend of R&B\, soul\, and pop balladry to venues across the country\, mixing standalone shows with larger events and festival appearances. \nAt the center of it all are those songs that don’t really age… “End of the Road\,” “I’ll Make Love to You\,” “On Bended Knee.” They’re not just hits\, they’re moments people carry with them. The group—Nathan Morris\, Wanya Morris\, and Shawn Stockman—still lean into what made them iconic in the first place: tight\, layered vocals and a stage presence that doesn’t need flash to hold attention. And when those harmonies lock in live\, it’s one of those rare things that sounds just as full as you remember. \nDepending on the stop\, the experience shifts a bit. Some dates are more intimate\, others are part of larger tours or special events\, but the core feeling stays the same… nostalgic without feeling stuck in the past. It turns into a shared experience pretty quickly\, especially once the crowd realizes they know *every word*. If you’re looking for a night that leans into timeless R&B and pure vocal chemistry\, this tour delivers in a way that feels both familiar and still worth showing up for.
URL:https://thectbeacon.com/event/boyz-ii-men/
LOCATION:Mohegan Sun\, 1 Mohegan Sun Blvd\, Uncasville\, 06382\, United States
CATEGORIES:Mohegan Sun
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://thectbeacon.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/Boyz-II-Men.jpg
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20260918T200000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20260918T220000
DTSTAMP:20260916T020755Z
CREATED:20260916T020755Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260916T020755Z
UID:10007919-1789761600-1789768800@thectbeacon.com
SUMMARY:The Great Escape at Wolf Den Recreates Journey’s Arena-Rock Sound in an Intimate Room
DESCRIPTION:The Great Escape at Wolf Den brings Journey’s soaring vocals\, melodic guitar lines\, and enormous choruses to Mohegan Sun on Friday\, September 18\, with one of New England’s longest-running Journey tribute bands taking the stage for a free 21+ show. \nThe Great Escape formed in 2008 around a fairly straightforward objective: play Journey’s music with enough precision and energy that the songs retain the impact of the originals. \nNearly two decades later\, the band is still doing it. \nThe current group centers on vocalist Jason Paulino\, whose upper-register voice made Journey an obvious fit\, along with guitarist Rich Vigdor\, keyboardist John Dischert\, bassist and band founder Bob Wheeler\, and drummer Dennis King. \nAt the Wolf Den\, they’ll have one of rock’s deepest catalogs of recognizable songs to work with. \nJourney Made the Opening Notes Enough\nSome bands have hits. \nJourney has songs where a few seconds can identify the entire record. \nThe piano introduction to Don’t Stop Believin’. The keyboard opening of Separate Ways (Worlds Apart). The guitar melody of Lights. The first vocal lines of Faithfully and Open Arms. \nMuch of that music came from Journey’s extraordinary commercial run from the late 1970s through the mid-1980s\, particularly during the years when Steve Perry\, Neal Schon\, Jonathan Cain\, Ross Valory and Steve Smith formed the band’s best-known lineup. \nJourney’s 1981 album Escape became its first No. 1 album in the United States and produced Don’t Stop Believin’\, Who’s Crying Now and Open Arms. \nThe Great Escape’s name leaves little mystery about which period of Journey provides the band’s foundation. \nIt Started With a Bass Player Who Couldn’t Shake the Idea\nThe Great Escape’s origins trace largely to bassist Bob Wheeler. \nWheeler began playing bass at about 16 after some high-school friends wanted to form a band and bass happened to be the instrument nobody else had claimed. \nHe taught himself\, played Boston-area venues including The Channel and The Paradise and eventually stepped away from performing. \nYears later\, Wheeler began playing again. \nDuring that period\, he encountered an advertisement seeking a bassist for a Journey tribute band. The audition never happened\, but the idea stuck with him. \nThen he heard Jason Paulino sing. \nPaulino auditioned for a cover band Wheeler was playing with\, and when the group performed a couple of Journey songs\, Wheeler realized he’d found the voice that could make his old idea work. \nThe two began discussing a Journey project. \nIn 2008\, The Great Escape was born. \nJason Paulino Had the Voice for the Job\nThe hardest part of creating a convincing Journey tribute is also the most obvious. \nYou need somebody who can sing those songs. \nSteve Perry’s voice wasn’t simply high. His combination of range\, control\, phrasing and power became one of the defining sounds of American rock radio. \nPaulino has spent much of his career working in that territory. \nThe Great Escape’s official biography describes his voice as exceptionally close to Perry’s when singing Journey material. Earlier in his career\, Paulino also appeared multiple times as a “Star of the Day” and became a finalist on the New England television talent program Community Auditions. \nMore recently\, he has begun establishing a musical identity outside the tribute-band world. \nPaulino relocated to the Nashville area and has been developing original material as a singer-songwriter while continuing to return for selected Great Escape performances. \nHis original single Don’t Give Up On Me earned a 2026 Josie Music Awards nomination for Song of the Year – Rock Artist\, with the awards scheduled just two days after Friday’s Wolf Den appearance. \nThat makes this particular Great Escape show land at an interesting point in the singer’s career. \nThe Guitar Parts Matter Just as Much\nJourney’s music would be considerably easier to imitate if the challenge stopped with the vocals. \nIt doesn’t. \nNeal Schon’s guitar work is embedded throughout the songs\, often creating recognizable melodies within seconds. \nThat’s where Rich Vigdor comes in. \nThe Great Escape describes its guitarist’s approach as recreating Journey’s riffs and solos note for note. \nFor a tribute band\, that attention to detail matters. \nA song such as Stone in Love doesn’t merely need distortion and a fast solo. Lights needs its particular melodic phrasing. Who’s Crying Now builds toward one of Schon’s most recognizable closing guitar passages. \nThe audience already knows how those moments are supposed to sound. \nKeyboards Are Essential to the Journey Formula\nThen there are the keyboards. \nJourney’s early records grew from the band’s progressive-rock roots\, but Jonathan Cain’s arrival before Escape helped reshape the group into the arena-rock powerhouse most listeners remember. \nPiano and synthesizer became essential parts of the sound. \nThe opening of Don’t Stop Believin’ wouldn’t exist without that piano figure. \nSeparate Ways wouldn’t be Separate Ways without its aggressive synthesizer opening. \nOpen Arms depends on piano to create the space around Perry’s vocal. \nIn The Great Escape\, John Dischert handles keyboard and piano while also contributing vocal harmonies. \nThe rhythm section is anchored by Wheeler on bass and Dennis King on drums. \nTogether\, the five musicians have the pieces required to recreate a catalog that is much more musically layered than its radio-friendly hooks sometimes suggest. \nThe Great Escape Has Been Doing This for Nearly Two Decades\nLongevity separates The Great Escape from the endless cycle of tribute acts that form\, play for a few years and disappear. \nThe band has been performing since 2008. \nIts résumé includes appearances at casinos\, theaters\, clubs and festivals around New England and beyond\, including previous performances at Mohegan Sun. \nThe group was also recognized as New England’s Best Tribute Band at the Limelight Magazine Awards in 2009 and again in 2013\, according to the band’s official biography. \nThat history has allowed the musicians to spend years refining the small details of Journey’s material. \nAnd with a catalog this familiar\, small details are exactly what audiences notice. \nExpect the Big Journey Songs\nMohegan Sun hasn’t published a song-by-song setlist for Friday night\, so there is no reason to pretend we know precisely what the band will play. \nBut The Great Escape’s own material makes its mission clear. \nThis is a Journey tribute. \nThe band’s repertoire has included the songs audiences would expect from that description\, with Escape\, Lights and even Steve Perry’s solo hit Oh Sherrie featured among recordings on its website. \nJourney’s catalog gives the band plenty more to draw from\, including Any Way You Want It\, Wheel in the Sky\, Lovin’\, Touchin’\, Squeezin’\, Stone in Love\, Who’s Crying Now\, Open Arms\, Separate Ways\, Faithfully and\, inevitably\, Don’t Stop Believin’. \nWhich of those make Friday’s final set is up to the band. \nThe singalong potential isn’t. \nThe Wolf Den Makes a Very Big Catalog Feel Small\nJourney built much of its reputation playing arenas. \nThe Wolf Den is essentially the opposite. \nLocated inside Mohegan Sun’s Casino of the Earth\, the venue puts audiences remarkably close to performers and offers its concerts without an admission charge. \nThat intimacy is particularly suited to a tribute act. \nInstead of watching musicians recreate an arena-rock band from the far end of an arena\, audiences can see the playing that goes into recreating the music. \nThere is a tradeoff. \nSpace is limited. \nThe Wolf Den uses first-come\, first-served seating\, and Mohegan Sun specifically recommends arriving early. \nDon’t Line Up Before 5 p.m.\nThere is an important Wolf Den rule for anyone determined to get a seat. \nGuests may begin lining up no earlier than three hours before showtime. \nFor Friday’s 8 p.m. performance\, that means 5 p.m. \nOne person is permitted to hold up to four places in line\, but everyone must be present when seating occurs. A place in line does not allow someone to claim an empty seat for a friend arriving later. \nBecause seating is limited and The Great Escape is playing a catalog filled with familiar radio hits\, arriving well before 8 p.m. is the safer approach for anyone who considers sitting important. \nThe venue is also 21 and older and non-smoking. \nOne Night Before a Very Different Journey for Its Singer\nThere is a fun bit of timing surrounding Friday’s show. \nPaulino has spent nearly two decades singing songs associated with one of rock’s most famous voices. \nNow he’s increasingly putting his own name on the music. \nTwo days after The Great Escape performs at the Wolf Den\, the 2026 Josie Music Awards are scheduled at Nashville’s Grand Ole Opry House\, where Paulino’s Don’t Give Up On Me is among the nominated independent recordings. \nBut first comes Friday night in Uncasville. \nFive musicians. \nA small room. \nNo admission charge. \nAnd a catalog created for rooms many times its size. \nDetails\nEvent: The Great Escape at Wolf Den\nDate: Friday\, September 18\, 2026\nTime: 8 p.m.\nVenue: Wolf Den at Mohegan Sun\nLocation: Casino of the Earth\nAddress: 1 Mohegan Sun Boulevard\, Uncasville\, CT 06382\nBand: The Great Escape\nMusic: Tribute to Journey\nAdmission: Free\nAge: 21+\nSeating: Limited and first come\, first served\nLine: Guests may line up no earlier than 5 p.m.\, three hours before showtime\nHolding Places: One person may hold up to four places in line; guests must be present when seats are assigned\nSmoking: The Wolf Den is a non-smoking entertainment venue\nPhone: 1-888-226-7711\nSchedule: Times and performers are subject to change \nMore information is available at the Event Website link below. \n  \n  \nFeatured image is an artistic representation inspired by the event and may not depict the actual people\, location\, or activities shown.
URL:https://thectbeacon.com/event/the-great-escape-at-wolf-den-recreates-journeys-arena-rock-sound-in-an-intimate-room/
LOCATION:Wolf Den\, 1 Mohegan Sun Blvs\, Uncasville\, CT\, 06382\, United States
CATEGORIES:Mohegan Sun
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://thectbeacon.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/The-Great-Escape-at-Wolf-Den-Recreates-Journeys-Arena-Rock-Sound-in-an-Intimate-Room.jpg
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20260918T183000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20260918T230000
DTSTAMP:20260914T230657Z
CREATED:20260914T230657Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260914T230657Z
UID:10007602-1789756200-1789772400@thectbeacon.com
SUMMARY:Party on the Sun Patio Closes the Season With Beatlemania Again at Mohegan Sun
DESCRIPTION:Party on the Sun Patio – Beatlemania Again brings the music of The Beatles to Mohegan Sun on Friday\, September 18\, as the nationally touring tribute show traces the Fab Four from their first American explosion through Sgt. Pepper and the final years at Abbey Road. \nIt’s also the final Party on the Sun Patio of 2026. \nAfter 14 Friday nights of free outdoor music stretching back to June\, Mohegan Sun is closing the series with one of the most ambitious tribute productions on this summer’s schedule. \nDoors open at 6:30 p.m.\, Beatlemania Again takes the stage at 8 p.m.\, and the party continues until 11 p.m. \nAdmission is free. \nYou just have to be 21 or older. \nThis Is More Than a Band Playing Beatles Songs\nBeatlemania Again approaches its shows as a recreation of the Beatles story. \nThe production has been touring the United States and Canada for roughly 20 years\, combining live performances of more than 30 Beatles songs with period instruments\, costumes and three distinct stages representing the band’s rapidly changing career. \nThat means the four musicians don’t walk onto the stage looking like the 1964 Beatles and remain that way all night. \nThe show moves chronologically. \nIt begins with Beatlemania. \nThen everything changes. \nAct One Takes the Audience Back to February 1964\nThe first portion recreates the Beatles of the Ed Sullivan era. \nJohn Lennon\, Paul McCartney\, George Harrison and Ringo Starr arrived in New York on February 7\, 1964\, to find thousands of screaming fans waiting for them. \nTwo days later\, they appeared on The Ed Sullivan Show. \nAn estimated 73 million Americans watched. \nIt remains one of those rare television moments that genuinely divided American popular culture into before and after. \nBeatlemania Again begins there. \nThe musicians appear in the tailored dark suits associated with the band’s early American performances\, playing the music that transformed four young men from Liverpool into an international phenomenon. \nIt’s the world of I Want to Hold Your Hand\, She Loves You\, All My Loving\, A Hard Day’s Night and the other songs that made Beatlemania a word nobody needed explained. \nThey Use the Right Instruments\, Too\nFor a tribute show this committed to recreating a particular era\, a generic electric guitar wouldn’t quite do. \nBeatlemania Again uses instruments and equipment associated with the Beatles themselves. \nThat includes Höfner basses\, Rickenbacker and Gretsch guitars\, Vox amplifiers and a Black Oyster Pearl Ludwig drum kit. \nThose aren’t insignificant details. \nPaul McCartney’s violin-shaped Höfner bass became almost inseparable from his visual identity. John Lennon and George Harrison helped make Rickenbacker guitars part of the British Invasion look and sound. Vox amplifiers lined Beatles stages during the touring years\, while Ringo Starr’s Ludwig kit\, with its famous drop-T Beatles logo\, became one of rock music’s instantly recognizable drum sets. \nThe point isn’t simply to resemble four Beatles. \nIt’s to reconstruct the visual and musical vocabulary of the band. \nThen the Suits Disappear\nTrying to recreate the Beatles presents an unusual problem. \nWhich Beatles? \nThe clean-cut young men who conquered America in 1964 barely resemble the elaborately dressed musicians photographed only a few years later. \nBeatlemania Again embraces the transformation. \nIts second act moves into the psychedelic period surrounding 1967’s Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band. \nOut come the military-inspired colors and psychedelic costumes. \nAnd the music changes with them. \nBy this point\, the Beatles had stopped touring and were using the recording studio itself as an instrument. The straightforward rock-and-roll arrangements of their early career gave way to increasingly ambitious production\, unusual instrumentation and experimentation. \nBeatlemania Again recreates that period onstage\, giving audiences a version of music the Beatles themselves largely never performed for a concert audience. \nThe Final Act Heads for Abbey Road\nThe third section moves into the band’s late period\, covering music from roughly 1968 through 1970. \nBy then\, the four musicians had changed dramatically\, both individually and collectively. \nGeorge Harrison was emerging as a major songwriter. \nJohn Lennon was moving further into experimental and deeply personal music. \nPaul McCartney continued pushing the band toward increasingly ambitious arrangements. \nRingo Starr was developing his own distinctive songwriting voice while remaining one of rock’s most recognizable drummers. \nAlbums including The Beatles\, better known as the White Album\, Abbey Road and Let It Be came out of this period. \nBeatlemania Again carries the story through that final chapter\, including the era of the Beatles’ famous rooftop performance at Apple Corps in London in January 1969. \nThere is a lot of Beatles history to fit into one night. \nThat’s why the show’s chronological approach works. \nInstead of presenting a random playlist of hits\, it lets the audience hear just how much changed in a remarkably short period. \nMeet Beatlemania Again’s Four Beatles\nThe current Beatlemania Again cast brings substantial experience to the production. \nMarty McGowan portrays John Lennon. \nThe New York performer has spent more than 20 years professionally portraying Lennon and has appeared at venues including the Rainbow Room at NBC\, the Friars Club and the Plaza Hotel. \nBob Fitch portrays Paul McCartney. \nFitch’s relationship with McCartney’s music goes back decades. Inspired by McCartney’s Red Rose Speedway\, he taught himself guitar and bass and began professionally performing as McCartney in 1979\, after returning from service in the U.S. Army. \nThat gives him nearly half a century of experience with the role. \nSteve Thompson portrays George Harrison. \nA professional guitarist\, vocalist and music educator\, Thompson studied classical guitar at The College of New Jersey and brings a background spanning rock and blues to Harrison’s parts. \nAnd behind the Black Oyster Pearl Ludwig kit is Rich Morello as Ringo Starr. \nMorello is also Beatlemania Again’s manager and has performed nationally and internationally for more than 25 years. His career has included sharing stages with performers including Billy J. Kramer\, The Lovin’ Spoonful\, Chubby Checker\, Blood\, Sweat & Tears\, The Turtles and Max Weinberg. \nTogether\, they aren’t simply covering a catalog. \nThey’re playing four specific roles. \nBeatlemania Again Has Been Doing This for Two Decades\nThe production says it has performed at thousands of venues during its roughly 20-year run. \nThose performances have taken it throughout the United States and into Canada\, from theaters and casinos to outdoor concert venues. \nThe show has also shared bills or stages with artists connected to the same broad era\, including The Lovin’ Spoonful\, Chubby Checker\, The Turtles and Max Weinberg. \nAnd Mohegan Sun isn’t new territory. \nBeatlemania Again’s own 2026 tour schedule describes the September 18 appearance as a return to Mohegan Sun. \nThis time they’re getting an important spot on the calendar. \nThey’re closing summer. \nFourteen Fridays Led to This One\nMohegan Sun launched the 2026 Party on the Sun Patio season on June 19. \nThe concept is simple: free outdoor music every Friday night during Hot Summer Fun. \nBut the lineup has covered a remarkable amount of musical ground. \nThe season opened with 70’s Rock Parade and continued with tributes to Elton John\, Bruce Springsteen\, Queen\, Kenny Chesney\, Fleetwood Mac\, Journey and the Zac Brown Band\, along with nights devoted to Motown\, yacht rock\, the ’80s and ’90s. \nBeatlemania Again is show number 14. \nAnd September 18 is the scheduled final Friday of the series. \nThat gives the evening a little extra end-of-summer feeling. \nThe calendar may say autumn doesn’t begin for a few more days. \nMohegan Sun’s summer concert season ends when the last Beatles song does. \nThe Sun Patio Got an Upgrade for 2026\nThe Sun Patio isn’t simply an empty outdoor space where Mohegan Sun happens to put a stage. \nThe resort upgraded the venue for 2026 with a new sound system and larger stage\, along with grassy turf\, Adirondack seating areas\, fire pits and the adjacent Sun Patio Bar. \nIt’s located off the Casino of the Earth\, between the Riverview and Indian Summer garages. \nFor Party on the Sun Patio nights\, guests can move between the concert\, bar\, food trucks and seating areas. \nThe dance floor is there for people who have no intention of sitting once the band begins. \nFood Trucks Are Part of the Final Friday\nMohegan Sun has confirmed three food trucks for the Beatlemania Again night: \nYummy Wagon \nFried Dough Nation \nReel Catch \nReel Catch is Mohegan Sun’s own seafood truck and one of the newer additions to the patio. \nIts menu focuses on New England seafood favorites\, including Maine lobster rolls\, lobster pops\, lobster grilled cheese\, lobster bisque\, New England clam chowder and beer-battered fish and chips. \nFood truck availability and menus remain subject to change. \nDrink specials will also be available through the Sun Patio Bar. \nGuests cannot bring outside food\, beverages or coolers into the event. \nYou Can Bring a Chair or Rent One\nGeneral admission is free and seating is first come\, first served. \nGuests are permitted to bring their own chairs. \nFor anyone who doesn’t want to carry one through the resort\, Mohegan Sun rents plastic Adirondack chairs for $10 at the Tiki Hut. \nThere is one restriction. \nRental chairs can’t be brought onto the dance floor or into the fire-pit areas. \nConsidering the evening’s soundtrack\, the dance-floor rule may become relevant. \nOr Reserve a Fire Pit\nThe premium option is a reserved fire pit. \nGeneral Fire Pits cost $30 per person and include one alcoholic beverage per person plus cocktail service. \nThey require a minimum of six and maximum of eight guests. \nVIP Fire Pits cost $45 per person and add prime views of the stage. Those also accommodate six to eight people\, and Mohegan Sun limits the inventory to 10 VIP pits. \nFire-pit reservations must be checked in by 8 p.m. to guarantee the reservation. \nThat happens to be exactly when Beatlemania Again starts. \nSo this isn’t the night to arrive fashionably late. \nWhat Happens if It Rains?\nThere is no rain date for Party on the Sun Patio. \nIf weather forces the outdoor event to be canceled\, Mohegan Sun says cancellation announcements will be made by 2 p.m. on the day of the show. \nBut the music doesn’t necessarily disappear. \nIn the event of an inclement-weather cancellation\, Beatlemania Again is scheduled to perform in the Wolf Den instead. \nThat’s an important distinction for anyone checking the forecast Friday afternoon. \nA patio cancellation doesn’t automatically mean a Beatles cancellation. \nThis One Is Strictly 21+\nUnlike some of Mohegan Sun’s ticketed Sun Patio concerts\, Party on the Sun Patio is restricted to guests 21 and older. \nA valid ID is required. \nThere isn’t a separate under-21 admission area for the September 18 show. \nAdmission itself is free\, and no concert ticket is required for general entry. \nThat makes Beatlemania Again one of those increasingly rare propositions: a full touring tribute production with a $0 admission price. \nFood\, beverages\, chair rentals and reserved fire pits are extra. \nThe Best Parking Is Close to the Patio\nMohegan Sun recommends the Indian Summer Garage and Riverview Parking Garage for Sun Patio events. \nThat’s worth remembering at a resort with more than 13\,000 parking spaces. \nParking in the wrong garage won’t prevent you from getting there. \nIt may simply add a surprisingly ambitious walk before you’ve even started dancing. \nThe Sun Patio sits off the Casino of the Earth between those two recommended garages. \nOne Last Friday Night Under the Stars\nThere may be no rock band better suited to demonstrate how much can happen in a short amount of time than the Beatles. \nTheir first appearance on The Ed Sullivan Show came in February 1964. \nTheir final public performance together came less than five years later. \nIn between\, they went from matching suits and I Want to Hold Your Hand to Revolver\, Sgt. Pepper\, the White Album and Abbey Road. \nBeatlemania Again tries to compress that transformation into a single stage show. \nOn September 18\, they’ll do it outside beneath the night sky in Uncasville. \nAnd when they finish\, so does another summer of Party on the Sun Patio. \nDetails\nEvent: Party on the Sun Patio – Beatlemania Again\nDate: Friday\, September 18\, 2026\nLocation: Sun Patio at Mohegan Sun\nAddress: 1 Mohegan Sun Boulevard\, Uncasville\, CT 06382\nDoors: 6:30 p.m.\nBand: 8 p.m.\nEvent Hours: 6:30–11 p.m.\nAdmission: Free\nAge: 21+ with valid ID\nPerformer: Beatlemania Again – The Beatles Tribute\nShow: More than 30 Beatles songs presented in a chronological stage production spanning the Ed Sullivan\, Sgt. Pepper and late Beatles eras\n2026 Significance: Final Party on the Sun Patio of the season\nFeatured Food Trucks: Yummy Wagon\, Fried Dough Nation and Reel Catch\nSeating: First come\, first served; guests may bring their own chairs\nChair Rental: $10 plastic Adirondack chairs available at the Tiki Hut\nGeneral Fire Pit: $30 per person; 6–8 guests; includes one alcoholic beverage per person and cocktail service\nVIP Fire Pit: $45 per person; 6–8 guests; includes one alcoholic beverage per person\, cocktail service and prime stage views\nOutside Food/Drink: Not permitted\nCoolers: Not permitted\nRecommended Parking: Indian Summer Garage or Riverview Parking Garage\nWeather: No rain date. If inclement weather forces cancellation of the patio event\, an announcement will be made by 2 p.m.; the band is scheduled to perform in the Wolf Den instead.\nFire Pit Check-In: By 8 p.m. for guaranteed entry\nFire Pit Cancellation: At least 24 hours in advance for a refund \n  \n  \nFeatured image is an artistic representation inspired by the event and may not depict the actual people\, location\, or activities shown.
URL:https://thectbeacon.com/event/party-on-the-sun-patio-closes-the-season-with-beatlemania-again-at-mohegan-sun/
LOCATION:Sun Patio at the Mohegan Sun\, 1 Mohegan Sun Blvd\, Uncasville\, 06382\, United States
CATEGORIES:Mohegan Sun
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END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20260918T183000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20260918T230000
DTSTAMP:20260608T002910Z
CREATED:20260606T015151Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260608T002910Z
UID:10005287-1789756200-1789772400@thectbeacon.com
SUMMARY:Party on the Mohegan Sun Patio
DESCRIPTION:Party on the Mohegan Sun Patio is back for another season of complimentary live music featuring tribute bands\, outdoor entertainment\, food and beverages\, and all the excitement of summer every Friday night from June 19 through September 18. Doors will open at 6:30 p.m. for 8 p.m. showtimes. It’s the perfect opportunity to relax on warm evenings under the stars and listen to music from many of your favorite rock\, pop\, country and classic hits artists. \nEach week throughout the summer\, there will be a different tribute band taking the stage performing hits from artists such as Elton John\, Fleetwood Mac\, Journey\, Billy Joel\, Billy Idol\, Earth Wind & Fire\, Kenny Loggins\, Michael Jackson\, Neil Diamond\, Pat Benatar\, The Eagles\, Motown\, Van Halen and many others. Visitors can grab a drink\, pick up food from one of the many on-site food vendors\, and enjoy relaxed outdoor fun with live entertainment. \nFire pit reservations are available to purchase for preferred seating and cocktail service.\nWhether you are a music fan\, a couple looking to spend some quality time together on a Friday night\, or a group of friends wanting to start your weekend off right\, Party on the Mohegan Sun Patio has something for you. With a wide variety of free shows representing multiple decades and genres of music\, you will find something new and exciting every week this summer. \n2026 Band Schedule\nJune 19\n70’s Rock Parade – 70s Tribute \nJune 26\nCaptain Fantastic – Elton John Tribute \nJuly 3\nMike DelGuidice \nJuly 10\nLadies of the 80s Night Out – 80s Tribute \nJuly 17\nB Street Band – Bruce Springsteen Tribute \nJuly 24\nQueen Flash – Queen Tribute \nJuly 31\nThurston Howell Band – Yacht Rock Tribute \nAugust 7\nRedneck Castaway Band – Kenny Chesney Tribute \nAugust 14\nBe Kind & Rewind – 90s Tribute \nAugust 21\nFleetwood Macked: The Ultimate Tribute to Fleetwood Mac \nAugust 28\nSoul Sound Revue – Motown Tribute \nSeptember 4\nThe Journey Tribute Show \nSeptember 11\nZac N’ Fried – Zac Brown Band Tribute \nSeptember 18\nBeatlemania Again – The Beatles Tribute \n  \nAdditional Details\n\nEvery Friday from June 19 through September 18\, 2026\nDoors open at 6:30 p.m.\nBands begin at 8 p.m.\nLocation: Sun Patio at Mohegan Sun\nAdmission is free\nFood and drink options available on-site\nFire pit reservations are available\nVIP Fire Pits include one alcoholic beverage per guest\, cocktail service\, and stage views\nGeneral Fire Pits include one alcoholic beverage per guest and cocktail service\nGuests must be 21 or older and have valid ID\nOutside food and beverages are not permitted\nIn the event of inclement weather\, cancellations will be announced by 2 p.m. and performances will move to the Wolf Den when applicable\nDates\, performers\, and times are subject to change without notice
URL:https://thectbeacon.com/event/party-on-the-mohegan-sun-patio/2026-09-18/
LOCATION:Sun Patio at the Mohegan Sun\, 1 Mohegan Sun Blvd\, Uncasville\, 06382\, United States
CATEGORIES:Mohegan Sun
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END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20260917T200000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20260917T220000
DTSTAMP:20260915T233120Z
CREATED:20260915T233120Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260915T233120Z
UID:10007873-1789675200-1789682400@thectbeacon.com
SUMMARY:Erykah Badu & Special Guests Bring De La Soul\, The Alchemist and Smino to Mohegan Sun Arena
DESCRIPTION:Erykah Badu & Special Guests brings together several generations of soul and hip-hop at Mohegan Sun Arena on Thursday\, September 17\, with Badu joined by De La Soul\, The Alchemist and Smino for the Connecticut stop of her 2026 LIVE tour. \nThe concert begins at 8 p.m. in Uncasville and is one of a limited series of North American dates built around Badu and producer The Alchemist\, with different guests joining them along the way. \nFor Mohegan Sun\, the lineup is particularly deep. Hip-hop pioneers De La Soul are officially billed for the show\, while Mohegan Sun’s tour announcement specifically confirms rapper and songwriter Smino for the Connecticut date. \nNearly 30 years after Baduizm introduced Badu to a mass audience\, she remains difficult to fit neatly into any one musical category. That may be exactly why this particular collection of artists makes sense. \nBaduizm Changed the Conversation in 1997\nWhen Baduizm arrived in 1997\, mainstream R&B was already thriving. \nBadu sounded different. \nHer music drew from soul\, jazz\, hip-hop and funk without sounding like a deliberate exercise in combining genres. The arrangements could be sparse and groove-heavy\, leaving unusual amounts of room for her voice. \nThen there was the voice itself. \nOn & On became Badu’s breakthrough single\, while Baduizm went multi-platinum and helped establish what became known as neo-soul. \nThe label would eventually encompass artists including D’Angelo\, Maxwell\, Jill Scott and others who drew heavily from classic soul while refusing to simply recreate it. \nBadu became one of the movement’s defining figures. \nShe also won Grammys for Baduizm and On & On\, beginning a career that has produced five Grammy Awards. \nThen Came Mama’s Gun\nIf Baduizm introduced Badu\, Mama’s Gun demonstrated how far she was willing to push the idea. \nReleased in 2000\, the album included Bag Lady and Didn’t Cha Know? while moving deeper into funk\, jazz and increasingly adventurous songwriting. \nGreen Eyes stretched beyond ten minutes. \nBadu wasn’t structuring everything around radio. \nThat willingness to let songs expand has carried directly into her concerts. Her performances can involve improvisation and reinterpretation rather than simply reproducing the studio recordings note for note. \nMohegan Sun describes the LIVE tour as a celebration of creativity\, collaboration and improvisation. \nThat’s particularly appropriate for Badu. \nHer catalog provides the framework. \nWhat happens with it onstage can be something else. \nThe Alchemist Connects This Tour to Badu’s Next Chapter\nThe Alchemist isn’t simply an opening act attached to the tour. \nThe veteran producer and Badu have been working together on new music. \nBorn Alan Maman\, The Alchemist has spent decades building one of hip-hop’s most respected production catalogs\, working with artists ranging from Mobb Deep and Nas to Kendrick Lamar\, Freddie Gibbs\, Earl Sweatshirt and Action Bronson. \nHis production often favors unusual samples\, atmospheric loops and deliberately imperfect textures rather than glossy pop construction. \nThat aesthetic makes his collaboration with Badu particularly intriguing. \nThe two released Next to You as part of their developing joint project\, Abi & Alan\, and their 2026 touring has increasingly brought their musical worlds together. \nThat means Thursday’s concert isn’t simply Badu revisiting the 1990s. \nThere’s new music in the equation. \nDe La Soul Brings Nearly Four Decades of Hip-Hop History\nThen there’s De La Soul. \nThe Long Island trio of Posdnuos\, Trugoy the Dove and Maseo changed expectations for what a hip-hop group could sound and look like with the 1989 release of 3 Feet High and Rising. \nAt a moment when hip-hop imagery was moving in several very different directions\, De La Soul arrived with dense sampling\, humor\, surrealism and an album structured almost like its own strange little universe. \nMe Myself and I became the group’s best-known early hit\, but its influence went much deeper. \nDe La Soul became central to the Native Tongues collective alongside A Tribe Called Quest\, Jungle Brothers and others\, helping establish an alternative branch of hip-hop that prized experimentation as much as commercial formulas. \nThe group later won a Grammy through its collaboration with Gorillaz on Feel Good Inc. \nTrugoy\, born David Jolicoeur\, died in 2023. \nPosdnuos and Maseo have continued De La Soul\, making the group’s appearance Thursday both a celebration of its catalog and the continuation of a story that began nearly four decades ago. \nSmino Adds Another Generation to the Bill\nMohegan Sun’s original announcement also confirms Smino as a special guest specifically for the September 17 performance. \nThe St. Louis-born rapper and singer represents a considerably younger branch of the same musical family tree. \nHis work moves between hip-hop\, R&B\, funk and soul\, often treating singing and rapping as parts of the same vocabulary rather than separate modes. \nAlbums including blkswn and Luv 4 Rent established his elastic vocal style and preference for unconventional production. \nThat makes the Mohegan Sun lineup span an unusual amount of musical history. \nDe La Soul emerged in the late 1980s. \nBadu broke nationally in the 1990s. \nThe Alchemist’s production career stretches from that era into contemporary hip-hop. \nSmino represents a generation that grew up with all of it already available. \nBadu and Hip-Hop Have Always Been Closely Connected\nPutting Badu on a bill with hip-hop artists isn’t really crossing genres. \nHip-hop has been embedded in her music from the beginning. \nShe collaborated with The Roots on You Got Me\, which won the Grammy for Best Rap Performance by a Duo or Group. \nCommon appeared on Love of My Life (An Ode to Hip-Hop)\, a song whose title makes the relationship explicit. \nHer records have always treated soul\, jazz and hip-hop less like separate departments and more like neighboring rooms with the doors left open. \nThat helps explain why a producer such as The Alchemist can become a creative partner rather than simply remixing her existing work. \nIt also explains why De La Soul doesn’t feel like a nostalgia act bolted onto an R&B concert. \nThere are decades of musical connections running through this lineup. \nThursday’s Set Could Reach Across Badu’s Career\nBadu’s recent performances have been drawing from both familiar material and her collaboration with The Alchemist. \nThat makes songs such as On & On\, Didn’t Cha Know? and Green Eyes reasonable parts of the musical vocabulary of the current tour\, alongside newer collaborative material. \nBut Badu’s emphasis on improvisation makes predicting an exact Mohegan Sun setlist a bad bet. \nThat’s part of the appeal. \nA Badu concert has never been solely about checking famous songs off a list. \nThe songs can stretch. \nArrangements can change. \nTransitions can become performances themselves. \nThe current tour is being explicitly framed around that live unpredictability. \nOne Night at Mohegan Sun\nThe show arrives at Mohegan Sun Arena\, the resort’s roughly 10\,000-seat concert venue. \nFree self-parking is available in Mohegan Sun’s garages and Winter Lot. Reserved parking in the Riverview Garage can also be purchased in advance. \nArena guests should pay particular attention to the bag policy. \nBackpacks\, string bags\, diaper bags\, shopping bags\, messenger bags\, briefcases and rolling-style bags are prohibited. Anyone planning to carry a bag should check Mohegan Sun’s current arena policy before leaving home. \nTickets remain available through the official ticketing link. \nNearly 40 Years of Musical Evolution on One Stage\nThere is an obvious nostalgia angle to Thursday’s show. \n3 Feet High and Rising is 37 years old. \nBaduizm is approaching 30. \nBoth records belong to eras of hip-hop and R&B that now have their own histories\, anniversaries and generations of younger musicians who grew up studying them. \nBut the more interesting thing about this lineup is that none of the artists needs to remain trapped there. \nDe La Soul is still performing. \nThe Alchemist remains deeply involved in contemporary hip-hop. \nSmino belongs entirely to a later generation. \nAnd Badu is touring with a producer who has helped her make new music rather than simply mounting an anniversary tour around an old album. \nThat’s a pretty good representation of what happens when influential music survives long enough. \nEventually the past\, present and whatever comes next all end up sharing the same stage. \nDetails\nEvent: Erykah Badu & Special Guests\nDate: Thursday\, September 17\, 2026\nTime: 8 p.m.\nVenue: Mohegan Sun Arena\nAddress: 1 Mohegan Sun Boulevard\, Uncasville\, CT 06382\nHeadliner: Erykah Badu\nSpecial Guests: De La Soul\, The Alchemist and Smino\nTour: LIVE\nMusic: R&B\, neo-soul\, hip-hop\, soul\, jazz and funk influences\nTickets: Ticketed event; current prices and availability vary by seat\nParking: Complimentary self-parking is available in Mohegan Sun’s three garages and Winter Lot; reserved Riverview Garage parking is also available for purchase\nBag Policy: Backpacks\, string bags\, diaper bags\, shopping bags\, messenger bags\, briefcases and rolling-style bags are not permitted inside Mohegan Sun Arena\nGeneral Information: 1-888-226-7711 \nMore information is available at the Event Website link below. \nTo purchase tickets\, click the Event Ticketing link below. \n  \n  \nFeatured image is an artistic representation inspired by the event and may not depict the actual people\, location\, or activities shown.
URL:https://thectbeacon.com/event/erykah-badu-special-guests-bring-de-la-soul-the-alchemist-and-smino-to-mohegan-sun-arena/
LOCATION:Mohegan Sun Arena\, 1 Mohegan Sun Blvd\, Uncasville\, 06382\, United States
CATEGORIES:Mohegan Sun
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://thectbeacon.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/Erykah-Badu-and-Special-Guests-Bring-De-La-Soul-The-Alchemist-and-Smino-to-Mohegan-Sun-Arena.jpg
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20260917T200000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20260917T220000
DTSTAMP:20260915T230403Z
CREATED:20260915T230403Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260915T230403Z
UID:10007872-1789675200-1789682400@thectbeacon.com
SUMMARY:Jeff Pitchell and Texas Flood Bring Connecticut Blues Power to the Wolf Den
DESCRIPTION:Jeff Pitchell and Texas Flood bring one of Connecticut’s longtime blues guitarists back to the Wolf Den at Mohegan Sun on Thursday\, September 17\, for a free night of Texas blues\, rock\, soul\, and rhythm and blues. \nThe show begins at 8 p.m. inside the Wolf Den\, where admission is free and seating is first come\, first served. The venue is limited to guests 21 and older. \nFor Pitchell\, this is essentially a hometown show. The Hartford-born guitarist has spent decades building a career that stretches well beyond Connecticut\, recording and performing with musicians including J. Geils\, Clarence Clemons\, Dave Mason\, Rick Derringer and James Cotton. \nBut the names on his résumé tell only part of the story. \nThe reason Pitchell has been able to share stages with musicians of that caliber is much simpler: the guy can play guitar. \nIt Started With a 15-Year-Old Connecticut Guitarist\nPitchell’s career goes back to an unusually early accomplishment. \nAt 15\, he won a competition naming him the best guitarist in Connecticut. \nThe young player was absorbing the blues through musicians including B.B. King\, Buddy Guy\, Robert Cray\, Jimi Hendrix and Stevie Ray Vaughan. \nThose influences remain audible decades later. \nPitchell doesn’t approach blues as a museum piece. His music uses the blues as a foundation before pushing outward into rock\, soul\, funk and R&B. \nThat distinction is important if the word “blues” makes you picture a quiet guitarist playing slow 12-bar standards in the corner of a club. \nTexas Flood is not that band. \nTexas Flood Is Built to Hit Hard\nThe band’s name provides a pretty substantial clue about its musical DNA. \nTexas Flood was the title track of Stevie Ray Vaughan and Double Trouble’s landmark 1983 debut album\, although the song itself originated decades earlier with bluesman Larry Davis. \nPitchell’s band emerged in the 1990s with the electric Texas-blues tradition as one of its foundations. \nToday\, the core Texas Flood lineup includes Steve Peck on drums\, Dave Natale on bass and Dan Fontanella on keyboards and B3 organ\, with Pitchell handling guitar and vocals. \nThe combination gives Pitchell plenty of room to work. \nBass and drums provide the muscle. The organ can fill the space around the guitar without fighting it. Pitchell can then move from rhythm playing into extended leads while the band keeps the song underneath him. \nThe result is what Pitchell’s own biography describes as a mixture of rhythm and blues\, rock\, soul\, pop\, funk and Texas blues. \nIn other words\, expect considerably more than one shade of blue. \nHeavy Hitter Put Pitchell on the National Chart\nPitchell’s breakthrough recording arrived with Heavy Hitter. \nReleased through Pyramid Records/EMI in 2002\, the album reached No. 7 on Billboard’s blues chart. \nIt also demonstrated the company Pitchell was beginning to keep. \nHis recordings have featured musicians including Clarence Clemons\, the saxophonist whose sound became inseparable from Bruce Springsteen’s E Street Band; Dave Mason\, co-founder of Traffic; blues harmonica great James Cotton; and guitarist Rick Derringer. \nPitchell later worked with another particularly important figure in Connecticut music history: J. Geils. \nGeils appeared on Pitchell’s American Girl\, which was produced by David Z\, whose credits included work with Prince and Etta James. \nPitchell wasn’t simply collecting famous names for album covers. \nThose collaborations increasingly connected the Connecticut guitarist to several generations of American blues and roots music. \nJohn Mayall Eventually Recorded a Pitchell Song\nOne of the more interesting endorsements came through songwriting rather than guitar playing. \nPitchell wrote An Eye for an Eye\, a song that earned recognition in the International Songwriting Competition. \nThen John Mayall recorded it. \nThat’s significant company for any blues guitarist. \nMayall’s Bluesbreakers served as one of the great incubators of British blues\, with a revolving cast that included Eric Clapton\, Peter Green and Mick Taylor before each moved on to another chapter of rock history. \nHaving Mayall record one of his compositions put Pitchell’s songwriting alongside the guitar playing that had originally brought him attention. \nThen Came the Allman Brothers Band at the Beacon\nOne of Pitchell’s career highlights happened in New York in 2014. \nHe joined the Allman Brothers Band at the Beacon Theatre. \nIt would be difficult to design a setting more appropriate for his style of guitar playing. \nThe Allman Brothers built their music from blues\, rock\, jazz\, country and improvisation\, many of the same musical borders Pitchell has spent his career crossing. \nHis performance with the band was subsequently released. \nPitchell has also appeared on bills or stages with an extensive collection of artists including B.B. King\, Buddy Guy\, Bo Diddley\, Johnny Winter\, Gregg Allman\, Warren Haynes\, Derek Trucks\, Kenny Wayne Shepherd\, Elvin Bishop\, Joe Cocker and The Fabulous Thunderbirds. \nHe has toured internationally as well\, including appearances with The Commitments. \nThe Connecticut Blues Hall of Fame Eventually Came Calling\nConnecticut formally recognized that career in 2018\, when Pitchell was inducted into the Connecticut Blues Hall of Fame. \nBy then\, he’d come a long way from the teenager winning a statewide guitar competition. \nTexas Flood has earned its own regional recognition\, including being named a top blues act in a six-state New England vote. \nPitchell has continued recording rather than turning the band into a nostalgia act. \nMore recent projects include Playin’ With My Friends and Brown Eyed Blues\, the latter involving another impressive group of collaborators. \nHis output reflects the same pattern that has defined the live band: blues at the center\, but plenty of room around it. \nThe Wolf Den Is Made for a Band Like This\nThere are shows where an arena makes sense. \nJeff Pitchell and Texas Flood may be more interesting when you’re close enough to watch what Pitchell’s hands are doing. \nThe Wolf Den sits in the middle of Mohegan Sun’s Casino of the Earth and has built its identity around intimate\, free performances. \nThere isn’t a distant upper deck. \nThat makes it a particularly good environment for blues\, where the small details of a performance matter. You can watch a guitarist bend a note\, see the band respond and hear an improvisation develop in real time. \nAnd Pitchell is very much a live player. \nHis career was built on performing\, not simply recording. \nFree Comes With One Important Catch: Get There Early\nThere are no tickets to purchase for Thursday’s show. \nWolf Den concerts are free. \nBut free does not mean guaranteed admission. \nThe venue has limited seating\, and seats are distributed first come\, first served. Guests may begin lining up no earlier than three hours before the performance. \nFor an 8 p.m. show\, that means the line can begin forming at 5 p.m. \nOne person may hold as many as four places in line\, but everyone must be physically present when seating is assigned. \nThe Wolf Den is also strictly 21 and older\, and the venue is non-smoking. \nThose rules make arriving early considerably more useful than searching for a ticket that doesn’t exist. \nA Connecticut Guitar Player Comes Home\nThere’s something fitting about seeing Jeff Pitchell at the Wolf Den. \nHis career has taken him onto stages with musicians whose records helped define American blues and rock. \nHe’s played with the Allman Brothers Band at the Beacon. \nHe’s recorded with Clarence Clemons\, J. Geils\, Rick Derringer\, Dave Mason and James Cotton. \nJohn Mayall recorded one of his songs. \nBut Pitchell’s story started here\, as a 15-year-old Connecticut kid who was apparently already pretty dangerous with a guitar. \nMore than four decades later\, he’s still playing. \nOn Thursday night\, you don’t have to travel very far to hear why. \nDetails\nEvent: Jeff Pitchell and Texas Flood\nDate: Thursday\, September 17\, 2026\nTime: 8 p.m.\nVenue: Wolf Den at Mohegan Sun\nAddress: 1 Mohegan Sun Boulevard\, Uncasville\, CT 06382\nAdmission: Free\nAge: 21+\nSeating: First come\, first served; limited seating available\nLineup: Guests may line up no earlier than three hours before the show\nLine Policy: One person may hold up to four places\, but everyone must be present when seats are assigned\nMusic: Blues\, rock\, soul\, R&B\, funk and Texas blues\nSmoking: Wolf Den is a non-smoking venue\nGeneral Information: 1-888-226-7711\nSchedule: Times and performers are subject to change \nMore information is available at the Event Website link below. \n  \n  \nFeatured image is an artistic representation inspired by the event and may not depict the actual people\, location\, or activities shown.
URL:https://thectbeacon.com/event/jeff-pitchell-and-texas-flood-bring-connecticut-blues-power-to-the-wolf-den/
LOCATION:Wolf Den\, 1 Mohegan Sun Blvs\, Uncasville\, CT\, 06382\, United States
CATEGORIES:Mohegan Sun
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://thectbeacon.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/Jeff-Pitchell-and-Texas-Flood-Bring-Connecticut-Blues-Power-to-the-Wolf-Den.jpg
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20260913T193000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20260913T220000
DTSTAMP:20260909T220058Z
CREATED:20260909T220058Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260909T220058Z
UID:10007531-1789327800-1789336800@thectbeacon.com
SUMMARY:Brandon Lake at Mohegan Sun Arena
DESCRIPTION:Brandon Lake at Mohegan Sun Arena brings one of contemporary Christian music’s biggest stars to Uncasville on Sunday\, September 13\, for a 7:30 p.m. arena concert with special guest Ben Fuller. \nCalling Lake a successful worship artist understates what has happened to his career over the past few years. His 2025 album King of Hearts debuted at No. 7 on the all-genre Billboard 200; he’s accumulated six Grammy Awards\, and his collaboration with Jelly Roll on Hard Fought Hallelujah pushed him beyond Christian radio and onto the Billboard Hot 100. \nHis concerts have expanded accordingly. \nLake’s current music mixes contemporary worship with rock\, country\, gospel\, pop\, and the kind of massive singalong choruses designed for arenas rather than church sanctuaries. At the 10\,000-seat Mohegan Sun Arena\, that means Sunday night’s show will be much closer to a modern arena-rock production than the quieter image the words “Christian music” may suggest. \nFrom Worship Pastor to Arena Headliner\nBrandon Lake grew up in South Carolina as the son of a pastor. \nMusic was part of his life early. His father showed him some basic guitar chords\, and Lake continued teaching himself\, including learning songs by Christian artists such as Third Day and Chris Tomlin. \nHe eventually became a worship pastor at Seacoast Church in South Carolina and began releasing his own music independently. \nThe major turning point came after Lake joined Bethel Music in 2019. \nHis version of This Is a Move\, co-written with Tasha Cobbs Leonard\, brought him his first Grammy nomination and a GMA Dove Award. From there came a succession of songs and collaborations that increasingly made Lake one of the recognizable voices in contemporary worship music. \nHouse of Miracles followed in 2020\, including I Need a Ghost\, Just Like Heaven and the title track. \nThen came songs that spread well beyond Lake’s own recordings. \nYou May Know His Songs Without Knowing His Name\nContemporary worship music operates differently from most popular genres. \nSongs regularly move between artists and churches. One songwriter may help create a song\, another group records it\, and thousands of worship teams eventually perform it. \nLake has thrived in that environment. \nHe’s closely associated with songs including Graves Into Gardens\, RATTLE!\, Gratitude\, Praise You Anywhere\, Count ‘Em and That’s Who I Praise\, while also contributing as a writer or performer to music released by Bethel Music\, Elevation Worship\, Maverick City Music and other major contemporary Christian acts. \nGratitude became particularly important to his solo career\, reaching No. 1 on Billboard’s Hot Christian Songs chart. \nBut Lake’s career took another leap with a song about praising God when praise doesn’t come easily. \nHard Fought Hallelujah Changed Everything\nHard Fought Hallelujah wasn’t conceived as a cheerful song about everything going right. \nIts central idea is almost the opposite. \nSometimes faith comes through struggle. Sometimes gratitude is difficult. Sometimes a hallelujah has to be fought for. \nThat theme found an unlikely second voice in Jelly Roll. \nThe Nashville singer had built his own career around addiction\, incarceration\, regret\, redemption and faith\, first moving through hip-hop and rock before becoming one of country’s biggest crossover stars. \nLake and Jelly Roll’s version of Hard Fought Hallelujah connected those worlds. \nThe collaboration gave Lake his first appearance on the all-genre Billboard Hot 100 and helped expose his music to listeners who might never turn on a contemporary Christian station. \nThen\, at the 2026 Grammy Awards\, Hard Fought Hallelujah won Best Contemporary Christian Music Performance/Song. \nThat brought Lake’s career Grammy total to six wins from 15 nominations. \nIt also illustrated something that’s becoming increasingly noticeable in contemporary Christian music: the walls around the genre aren’t as high as they once were. \nChristian Music Is Crossing Into Country\nJelly Roll isn’t Lake’s only connection to country music. \nHe’s performed with Thomas Rhett. His recent music has leaned openly into country and Southern rock influences. And his collaborations have increasingly put him alongside artists who aren’t confined to Christian radio. \nThat includes a 2026 collaboration with Bailey Zimmerman\, Just Believe\, which topped the Christian Digital Song Sales chart\, as well as The Jesus I Know with Lainey Wilson. \nThe crossover makes musical sense. \nModern country and contemporary Christian music increasingly share production styles\, songwriters and audiences\, particularly when songs deal with redemption\, addiction\, family\, struggle and faith. \nLake’s voice helps the transition. \nHe doesn’t sing like a traditional choir-based gospel performer. There’s grit in it\, and his records frequently borrow from rock and country as readily as contemporary worship. \nThat becomes even more obvious on King of Hearts. \nKing of Hearts Reached No. 7 in America\nReleased in June 2025\, King of Hearts is Lake’s fifth studio album and the record that pushed his commercial career into another category. \nIt debuted at No. 7 on the Billboard 200\, Lake’s first Top 10 album on the all-genre chart. \nThe 16-song record deliberately moves around stylistically. \nThere’s pop-rock on But God\, gospel on I Know a Name with CeCe Winans\, hip-hop influence through Hulvey on Right in the Middle\, the crossover country connection of Hard Fought Hallelujah with Jelly Roll and arena-ready worship throughout the record. \nThe title itself carries Lake’s central idea for the album. \nRather than concentrating on the image of God as a distant ruler\, Lake has explained that King of Hearts is about a God concerned with individuals: broken people\, lonely people\, hopeless people\, misfits and even critics. \nFor Lake\, that’s also tied to how he views his own increasingly large platform. \nHe told the Recording Academy that he isn’t interested in simply becoming a rock star. He sees his role as caring for people and pointing them toward Jesus. \nThat may sound like a traditional worship leader speaking. \nThe setting in which he’s doing it is increasingly anything but traditional. \nA Worship Show Built for an Arena\nLake’s recent concerts demonstrate just how much contemporary Christian touring has changed. \nA 2026 King of Hearts performance in Charleston included King of Hearts\, Count ‘Em\, That’s Who I Praise\, Plans\, RATTLE!\, Rest on Us\, Tear Off the Roof\, DADDY’S DNA\, House of Miracles and I Know a Name\, along with acoustic portions and collaborations. \nThe presentation combines the communal participation of worship music with the production scale of an arena rock concert. \nAudiences don’t simply watch. \nThey sing. \nThat’s fundamental to understanding the genre if you’ve never attended a large contemporary Christian show. A song like Gratitude may have a lead singer onstage\, but once thousands of people know every word\, the relationship between performer and audience becomes different from a conventional concert. \nMohegan Sun Arena should amplify that considerably. \nBen Fuller Opens the Night\nLake won’t be alone in Uncasville. \nMohegan Sun and Live Nation list Ben Fuller as the special guest for the September 13 show. \nFuller’s path into Christian music is markedly different from the polished worship-school route someone might expect. \nRaised on a dairy farm in Vermont\, he has spoken publicly about a past involving substance abuse and the deaths of people close to him before his conversion to Christianity redirected his life and music. \nThat history became part of his songwriting. \nHis breakout Who I Am reached No. 1 at Christian radio\, while songs including If I Got Jesus continued his autobiographical approach to faith\, recovery and redemption. \nIt’s a natural pairing with Lake\, particularly as both artists increasingly make Christian music that borrows from country without disguising its spiritual purpose. \nSix Grammys and Counting\nLake’s awards history has become substantial. \nThe Recording Academy currently credits him with six Grammy wins and 15 nominations. \nHis Grammy-winning work includes collaborations connected to Maverick City Music and worship projects as well as his own Hard Fought Hallelujah. \nHe’s also accumulated GMA Dove\, K-LOVE and ASCAP recognition\, while becoming a prominent songwriter for other performers. zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz \nThe numbers help explain why a Sunday-night Christian concert is landing in one of Connecticut’s major arenas rather than a church or small theater. \nBut they don’t completely explain Lake’s growth. \nThe more interesting story is where contemporary Christian music itself is going. \nThe Line Between Worship\, Rock and Country Is Getting Thin\nThere was a period when contemporary Christian music largely operated as its own parallel industry. \nIt had its own radio stations\, record labels\, festivals\, magazines and stars. An artist could become enormous within Christian music while remaining almost invisible to the mainstream audience. \nThat’s changing. \nJelly Roll can appear on a Brandon Lake record. \nCeCe Winans and a Christian hip-hop artist can appear on the same album. \nCountry stars can record explicitly faith-centered collaborations without treating them as side projects. \nAnd a contemporary worship singer can debut at No. 7 on the same Billboard chart measuring every other major album in America. \nLake sits directly in the middle of that shift. \nHis music doesn’t hide what it is. These aren’t secular pop songs with vaguely inspirational lyrics designed to cross over unnoticed. \nThey’re explicitly Christian. \nWhat’s changing is the sound and the audience around them. \nOn September 13\, that evolution arrives at Mohegan Sun Arena. \nDetails\nEvent: Brandon Lake at Mohegan Sun Arena\nDate: Sunday\, September 13\, 2026\nTime: 7:30 p.m.\nHeadliner: Brandon Lake\nSpecial Guest: Ben Fuller\nMusic: Contemporary Christian / worship / rock / country\nVenue: Mohegan Sun Arena\nAddress: 1 Mohegan Sun Boulevard\, Uncasville\, CT 06382\nPit: Standing general admission; no chairs are permitted in the pit\nParking: Free self-parking is available at Mohegan Sun; reserved Riverview Garage parking is also available for purchase\nBag Policy: Backpacks\, string bags\, diaper bags\, shopping bags\, messenger bags\, briefcases and rolling-style bags are not permitted in the arena\nArena Box Office: 860-862-8499 \nTo purchase tickets\, click the Event Ticketing link below. \n  \n  \nFeatured image is an artistic representation inspired by the event and may not depict the actual people\, location\, or activities shown.
URL:https://thectbeacon.com/event/brandon-lake-at-mohegan-sun-arena/
LOCATION:Mohegan Sun Arena\, 1 Mohegan Sun Blvd\, Uncasville\, 06382\, United States
CATEGORIES:Mohegan Sun
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://thectbeacon.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/Brandon-Lake-at-Mohegan-Sun-Arena.jpg
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20260913T190000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20260913T203000
DTSTAMP:20260909T213839Z
CREATED:20260909T213839Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260909T213839Z
UID:10007530-1789326000-1789331400@thectbeacon.com
SUMMARY:Candy-O: The Premier Tribute to The Cars at Wolf Den
DESCRIPTION:Candy-O: The Premier Tribute to The Cars at Wolf Den brings the music of one of New England’s most important rock bands back to southeastern Connecticut on Sunday\, September 13\, with a free 7 p.m. performance at Mohegan Sun. \nThis isn’t the long-running California tribute band that also performs under the Candy-O name. The group coming to Wolf Den is a New England-based five-piece devoted to recreating The Cars’ recordings with the synthesizers\, guitar tones\, vocal arrangements\, and deliberate precision that made the originals instantly recognizable. \nCandy-O puts particular emphasis on The Cars’ first two albums\, 1978’s The Cars and 1979’s Candy-O\, but reaches across the band’s catalog for songs including Just What I Needed\, My Best Friend’s Girl\, Good Times Roll\, Let’s Go\, Shake It Up\, Magic\, You Might Think\, Drive\, Moving in Stereo and Tonight She Comes. \nCandy-O Is About the Sound\, Not the Costumes\nThere are two basic approaches to a tribute band. \nOne is impersonation. Find musicians who resemble the original members\, dress them appropriately and recreate the visual experience along with the music. \nCandy-O deliberately takes the other route. \nThe band says it gives a nod to the visual style of the late-’70s proto-new-wave period but doesn’t present itself as a costumed look-alike act. Its focus is on what it calls “hyper-accurate” analog tones and note-for-note performances. \nThat’s a particularly interesting challenge with The Cars. \nAt first listen\, many of their biggest songs seem almost impossibly simple. A synthesizer figure. A tight drumbeat. A few carefully placed guitar chords. Ric Ocasek or Benjamin Orr singing a melody without a lot of unnecessary decoration. \nBut those records were meticulously constructed. \nCandy-O’s lineup mirrors the five-piece structure that produced them: Steve Werner handles lead vocals and rhythm guitar\, Meg Browning plays bass and sings\, Gerry Giaimo handles lead guitar and vocals\, Dave Branning plays keyboards and sings\, and Mike Genovese is on drums. \nThat combination matters. The Cars’ identity depended as much on Greg Hawkes’ keyboards and Elliot Easton’s economical guitar work as it did on the singers standing out front. \nThe Cars Came Out of Boston\nFor a New England tribute band\, this isn’t imported nostalgia. \nThe Cars belong to the region’s music history. \nRic Ocasek and Benjamin Orr had spent years playing together before The Cars existed\, eventually settling in Boston and working through several musical configurations. Guitarist Elliot Easton joined them\, followed by keyboardist Greg Hawkes and drummer David Robinson\, who had played with Jonathan Richman’s Modern Lovers and Boston punk band DMZ. \nRobinson suggested the name. \nBy 1977\, The Cars were working the Boston club circuit and recording demos. Then something happened that seems particularly appropriate given the history of New England radio. \nWBCN started playing them. \nDJ Maxanne Sartori put the demo of Just What I Needed on the air\, and listeners responded. The song became heavily requested before The Cars even had a record contract. Elektra eventually signed the band. \nTheir self-titled debut arrived in June 1978. \nIt didn’t sound quite like the rock bands that came before it\, and it didn’t completely belong to the punk and new-wave underground developing around it either. \nThe Cars found the middle. \nA Debut Album That Barely Needed a Greatest-Hits Collection\nLook at the track list of The Cars today and it borders on ridiculous. \nSide one opens with Good Times Roll. \nThen comes My Best Friend’s Girl. \nThen Just What I Needed. \nAnd those aren’t the only songs that became rock-radio staples. You’re All I’ve Got Tonight\, Bye Bye Love and Moving in Stereo were on the same record. \nThe album eventually sold more than six million copies in the United States and remained on the Billboard album chart for 139 weeks. \nIt also established the formula Candy-O is trying to reproduce nearly half a century later. \nThe Cars took guitar rock\, power pop\, punk’s economy and increasingly prominent synthesizers and fit them together without allowing any one element to take over. \nOcasek’s songs had enormous hooks but often carried an emotional distance that kept them from becoming conventional pop. \nThe Rock & Roll Hall of Fame later described that combination as a meeting of new wave and classic rock that helped move underground sounds into the mainstream. \nThen Came Candy-O\nCandy-O takes its name from The Cars’ second album\, released in 1979. \nFollowing a debut that successful should have been a nearly impossible assignment. \nInstead\, Candy-O reached No. 3 on the Billboard album chart and eventually went quadruple Platinum in the United States. Let’s Go\, sung by Benjamin Orr\, became The Cars’ first single to reach the Billboard Top 15. \nIt’s also why the tribute band’s emphasis on those first two records makes sense. \nTogether\, The Cars and Candy-O contain a remarkable concentration of the band’s defining material: Good Times Roll\, My Best Friend’s Girl\, Just What I Needed\, Moving in Stereo\, You’re All I’ve Got Tonight\, Let’s Go\, It’s All I Can Do\, Candy-O and Dangerous Type. \nCandy-O lists all of them among the songs it performs. \nBut the Wolf Den show isn’t limited to 1978 and 1979. \nThe Cars Became an MTV Band Before MTV Bands Were Everywhere\nThe Cars continued evolving through Panorama in 1980 and Shake It Up in 1981\, but 1984’s Heartbeat City gave the group an entirely new wave of popularity. \nBy then\, MTV had changed how pop music was marketed. \nThe Cars were perfectly suited for it. \nYou Might Think became an early landmark of computer-assisted music video\, while Magic\, Hello Again and Drive helped turn Heartbeat City into one of the biggest albums of the band’s career. \nAnd Drive demonstrated something that can get lost when people remember The Cars primarily as Ric Ocasek’s band. \nOcasek wrote the song. \nBenjamin Orr sang it. \nThe two men shared lead-vocal duties throughout The Cars’ career\, and some of the group’s most recognizable recordings were Orr performances. In addition to Drive\, his lead vocals included Just What I Needed\, Let’s Go and Moving in Stereo. \nOrr’s smoother\, more melodic voice created a useful contrast with Ocasek’s unmistakably detached delivery. Years later\, Elliot Easton and Greg Hawkes both spoke about just how important Orr’s voice had been to the band’s sound. \nOrr died of pancreatic cancer in 2000. \nThey Were New Wave Without Really Fitting in New Wave\nTrying to put The Cars into one genre has always been difficult. \nThey arrived at roughly the same moment as punk and new wave\, used synthesizers extensively and looked unlike the denim-and-long-hair rock establishment of the early 1970s. \nBut they also wrote songs with the kind of hooks that worked on mainstream pop radio. \nThere was power pop in there. Art rock. Electronic music. Straight rock & roll. A little punk minimalism. \nGreg Hawkes once described The Cars as a “pop-art band\,” a description that may fit them better than most genre labels. \nThey could sound futuristic without abandoning guitars. \nThey could make extremely polished records without sanding away all their weirdness. \nAnd Ocasek understood the value of leaving space in a song. The Cars rarely sounded as though five musicians were fighting to prove how much they could play. \nThat’s part of what makes faithfully recreating the records more complicated than simply learning the chords. \nThe spaces count\, too. \nFrom Just What I Needed to Drive\nCandy-O’s published repertoire covers all six of The Cars’ original Elektra-era studio albums: The Cars\, Candy-O\, Panorama\, Shake It Up\, Heartbeat City and Door to Door. \nThe band lists: \nDrive\, Just What I Needed\, Let’s Go\, You Might Think\, My Best Friend’s Girl\, Magic\, Good Times Roll\, Hello Again\, Shake It Up\, Tonight She Comes\, Since You’re Gone\, It’s All I Can Do\, Bye Bye Love\, Moving in Stereo\, Dangerous Type and You’re All I’ve Got Tonight among the songs in its repertoire. \nThat’s a substantial portion of the music that ultimately carried The Cars into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2018. \nOcasek\, Orr\, Easton\, Hawkes and Robinson were all inducted as members. The surviving Cars performed together at the ceremony\, with Brandon Flowers of The Killers doing the induction. \nOcasek died the following year. \nThat makes a Cars tribute different today than it would have been when all five members were still around. \nThere is no possibility of seeing the classic lineup again. \nThe records are the permanent version now. \nA Connecticut Band Playing Boston Music at Wolf Den\nCandy-O has already built a history with Wolf Den. \nThe band lists Mohegan Sun among the venues it has played\, alongside Connecticut rooms including the Bijou Theatre\, Kinsmen Brewing Co.\, Crystal Bees\, Small Batch Cellars\, New Britain Museum of American Art and Woodbury Brewing. \nSunday’s show runs from 7 to 8:30 p.m. \nLike other Wolf Den performances\, admission is free\, but seating is limited and available on a first-come\, first-served basis. The venue sits in the center of Mohegan Sun\, making this one of the easier ways to catch a full tribute show without buying a concert ticket. \nAnd The Cars may be particularly well matched to a 90-minute set. \nThere isn’t much need for filler. \nWhen a band’s first album alone gives you Good Times Roll\, My Best Friend’s Girl\, Just What I Needed\, You’re All I’ve Got Tonight\, Bye Bye Love and Moving in Stereo\, the problem isn’t finding enough songs to play. \nIt’s deciding what you can possibly leave out. \nDetails\nEvent: Candy-O: The Premier Tribute to The Cars at Wolf Den\nDate: Sunday\, September 13\, 2026\nTime: 7–8:30 p.m.\nPerformer: Candy-O\nMusic: Tribute to The Cars / new wave / rock / power pop\nBand: Steve Werner\, lead vocals and rhythm guitar; Meg Browning\, bass and vocals; Gerry Giaimo\, lead guitar and vocals; Dave Branning\, keyboards and vocals; Mike Genovese\, drums\nAdmission: Free\nVenue: Wolf Den at Mohegan Sun\nAddress: 1 Mohegan Sun Boulevard\, Uncasville\, CT 06382\nSeating: Limited; Wolf Den seating is first come\, first served\nAge: Wolf Den guests must be 21 or older unless accompanied by a parent\, legal guardian or spouse\nParking: Free parking is available at Mohegan Sun \n  \nFeatured image is an artistic representation inspired by the event and may not depict the actual people\, location\, or activities shown.
URL:https://thectbeacon.com/event/candy-o-the-premier-tribute-to-the-cars-at-wolf-den/
LOCATION:Wolf Den\, 1 Mohegan Sun Blvs\, Uncasville\, CT\, 06382\, United States
CATEGORIES:Mohegan Sun
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://thectbeacon.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/Candy-O-The-Premier-Tribute-to-The-Cars-at-Wolf-Den.jpg
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20260912T210000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20260912T230000
DTSTAMP:20260428T123823Z
CREATED:20260428T123823Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260428T123823Z
UID:10000094-1789246800-1789254000@thectbeacon.com
SUMMARY:ZZ Top with special guest George Thorogood & The Destroyers
DESCRIPTION:If you’re looking for a night that feels like straight-up American rock history hitting the stage at full volume\, this tour delivers it. ZZ Top are out on their ongoing *The Big One!* Tour\, stretching across the U.S. with dates running through late summer and into the fall\, bringing that unmistakable Texas blues-rock sound to arenas and amphitheaters everywhere. ([Pollstar News][1]) The trio’s groove is instantly recognizable… thick guitar tone\, driving rhythms\, and that laid-back swagger that somehow still feels effortless after decades. \nSharing the bill\, George Thorogood & The Destroyers bring a raw\, boogie-blues energy that pairs perfectly with ZZ Top’s style. Their sets are built on hard-driving riffs and crowd-ready staples like “Bad to the Bone\,” the kind of songs that don’t just play… they hit. ([georgethorogoodtour.us][2]) When these two acts come together\, it turns into more than just a concert… it feels like a double-shot of classic rock\, where every song lands with familiarity and force. \nThe tour itself has been expanding with additional dates\, including stops across the country and select shows where both bands share the stage\, like their scheduled appearance together in Uncasville\, Connecticut\, this September. ([Ultimate Classic Rock][3]) Live\, it’s all about the feel… big sound\, no frills\, just guitars\, rhythm\, and a crowd that knows exactly why they showed up. If you’re chasing that old-school rock experience… loud\, loose\, and unapologetically real… this is one of those nights that delivers exactly what you came for.
URL:https://thectbeacon.com/event/zz-top-with-special-guest-george-thorogood-the-destroyers/
LOCATION:Mohegan Sun\, 1 Mohegan Sun Blvd\, Uncasville\, 06382\, United States
CATEGORIES:Mohegan Sun
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://thectbeacon.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/ZZ-Top.jpg
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20260911T183000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20260911T230000
DTSTAMP:20260908T000844Z
CREATED:20260908T000844Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260908T000844Z
UID:10007506-1789151400-1789167600@thectbeacon.com
SUMMARY:Party on the Sun Patio – Zac N' Fried
DESCRIPTION:Party on the Sun Patio – Zac N’ Fried brings the music of Zac Brown Band to Mohegan Sun on Friday\, September 11\, as the Connecticut-based tribute band takes over the outdoor Sun Patio for one of the final concerts of the 2026 summer series. \nDoors open at 6:30 p.m.\, with Zac N’ Fried taking the stage at 8 p.m. Admission is free\, and the party continues until 11 p.m. with food trucks\, drinks and an open-air concert beneath the night sky. \nThe show is for guests 21 and older and is part of Mohegan Sun’s 14-week Party on the Sun Patio series\, which has filled Friday nights throughout the summer with tribute bands covering everyone from Queen and Fleetwood Mac to Bruce Springsteen and Journey. \nZac N’ Fried Brings Zac Brown Band to Connecticut\nZac N’ Fried isn’t traveling far for this particular tribute. \nThe Newtown\, Connecticut-based band was created by lead vocalist Randall John as a live tribute to Zac Brown Band\, with an emphasis on recreating both the sound of the group’s recordings and the energy of its concerts. \nJohn came to the project after more than two decades of performing for audiences with The Zoo\, a Connecticut cover band with a history stretching back to the 1990s. When he assembled Zac N’ Fried\, he selected a younger group of musicians to build a full-band tribute around Zac Brown Band’s mix of country\, Southern rock and roots music. \nIt’s a deceptively demanding catalog to reproduce. \nZac Brown Band broke nationally with Chicken Fried\, which reached No. 1 on Billboard’s Hot Country Songs chart in 2008. The group followed with songs including Toes\, Highway 20 Ride\, Free\, Colder Weather\, Knee Deep and Keep Me in Mind\, establishing a sound that could move from radio country to acoustic harmonies and Southern rock without staying neatly inside one lane. \nThe real Zac Brown Band’s concerts push those boundaries even further\, frequently incorporating rock covers\, extended instrumental passages and influences far outside mainstream country. \nThat’s the experience Zac N’ Fried is built to recreate rather than simply playing a collection of Zac Brown songs. \nThe tribute has grown beyond its Connecticut home base\, performing throughout New England\, New York and farther down the East Coast. The band’s 2026 schedule has included appearances in Connecticut\, Massachusetts and New York\, with performances ranging from breweries and waterfront venues to municipal concert series and larger stages. \nThe September 11 date also marks a return to Mohegan Sun for the group. \nMeet Randall John\nAt the center of Zac N’ Fried is singer and band creator Randall John. \nJohn spent more than 20 years performing in front of live audiences before assembling the Zac Brown Band tribute. His other major musical home has been The Zoo\, a Connecticut party and cover band known for moving freely across rock\, dance and popular music. \nThat experience matters in a tribute built around Zac Brown. \nThis isn’t a catalog where standing at a microphone and mimicking a handful of radio singles necessarily captures the original act. Zac Brown Band’s live reputation comes partly from musicianship\, vocal harmonies and an ability to turn a country concert into something closer to a jam-oriented rock show. \nZac N’ Fried was assembled with that broader live experience in mind\, with John handpicking the musicians around him rather than creating a solo-frontman tribute backed by interchangeable players. \nThe result is a Connecticut band paying tribute to one of modern country’s most successful live acts while approaching the material as a band itself. \nParty on the Sun Patio\nZac N’ Fried arrives during the closing stretch of Mohegan Sun’s Party on the Sun Patio\, a Friday-night summer tradition that returned in 2026 with 14 consecutive weeks of outdoor concerts. \nThe series began June 19 and runs through September 18\, making Zac N’ Fried the second-to-last performance of the season. Beatlemania Again closes the series the following Friday. \nThe setup is closer to an outdoor summer party than a conventional theater concert. \nDoors open at 6:30 p.m.\, giving guests 90 minutes before the band begins at 8 p.m. The Sun Patio includes a bar\, food trucks\, standing and dancing areas and limited seating\, with the concert taking place outside. \nGeneral admission is free. \nSeating is first come\, first served\, and guests can bring their own chairs. Plastic Adirondack chairs are also available to rent at the Tiki Hut for $10. \nFood Trucks and Drinks\nThree food trucks are scheduled for Zac N’ Fried’s September 11 Party on the Sun Patio date: Twin Beaks Fried Chicken\, Ta’ Deliciozo and Reel Catch. \nReel Catch is Mohegan Sun’s own seafood food truck\, created around portable seafood dishes and fresh coastal flavors. The rotating truck lineup gives guests the option of having dinner at the Patio rather than leaving before the concert begins. \nDrink specials are also offered during Party on the Sun Patio. \nOutside food\, beverages and coolers aren’t allowed\, so guests planning to eat or drink during the show will need to purchase them on site. \nReserve a Fire Pit for the Show\nGeneral admission doesn’t require a ticket\, but guests looking for reserved space can book one of the Sun Patio’s fire pits. \nVIP Fire Pits cost $45 per person and include one alcoholic beverage per guest\, cocktail service and a location with prime views of the stage. Each pit requires a minimum of six guests and accommodates up to eight. Only 10 VIP pits are available. \nGeneral Fire Pits cost $30 per person and also include one alcoholic beverage per guest and cocktail service. They have the same six-person minimum and eight-person maximum. \nFire pit reservations must be checked in by 8 p.m. to guarantee the reservation. After that point\, the party is considered a no-show and its seating is no longer guaranteed. \nGuests who reserve fire pits should also know that rental Adirondack chairs can’t be brought into the fire pit areas. \nWhat Happens if It Rains?\nParty on the Sun Patio doesn’t schedule rain dates. \nIf inclement weather prevents the outdoor event from taking place\, Mohegan Sun says cancellations will be announced by 2 p.m. on the day of the event. When conditions require the show to move indoors\, bands perform at the Wolf Den. \nThat makes the September date less vulnerable to becoming a completely lost night if late-summer weather refuses to cooperate. \nParking and What to Know Before You Go\nThe most convenient parking for the Sun Patio is available in the Indian Summer Garage and Riverview Parking Garage. \nGuests must be at least 21 years old and present valid identification to enter. Seating is first come\, first served\, although personal chairs are permitted. \nCoolers and outside food and beverages aren’t allowed. \nFor purchases at the Tiki Hut\, including chair rentals and Party on the Sun Patio merchandise\, accepted payment methods include credit cards\, debit cards and Momentum Dollars. \nWith Zac N’ Fried scheduled for 8 p.m.\, arriving when doors open also gives guests time to find a spot\, grab dinner from one of the food trucks and get settled before the Zac Brown Band catalog takes over the Patio. \nDetails\nEvent: Party on the Sun Patio – Zac N’ Fried\nDate: Friday\, September 11\, 2026\nTime: 6:30–11 p.m.\nDoors: 6:30 p.m.\nBand Starts: 8 p.m.\nPerformer: Zac N’ Fried\nMusic: Zac Brown Band tribute; country\, Southern rock and roots music\nVenue: Sun Patio at Mohegan Sun\nAddress: 1 Mohegan Sun Boulevard\, Uncasville\, CT 06382\nAdmission: Free\nAge Requirement: 21+ with valid ID\nSeating: First come\, first served; guests may bring their own chairs\nChair Rentals: Plastic Adirondack chairs available for $10\nFood Trucks: Twin Beaks Fried Chicken\, Ta’ Deliciozo and Reel Catch\nOutside Food & Drinks: Not permitted; coolers are also prohibited\nVIP Fire Pits: $45 per person; includes one alcoholic beverage\, cocktail service and prime stage views; 6-person minimum and 8-person maximum\nGeneral Fire Pits: $30 per person; includes one alcoholic beverage and cocktail service; 6-person minimum and 8-person maximum\nFire Pit Check-In: By 8 p.m. for guaranteed seating\nParking: Indian Summer Garage and Riverview Parking Garage are the most convenient options\nWeather: No rain dates or makeup dates. Weather-related cancellations are announced by 2 p.m.; performances move to the Wolf Den when applicable\nSeries Finale: Party on the Sun Patio concludes September 18 with Beatlemania Again \n  \n  \nFeatured image is an artistic representation inspired by the event and may not depict the actual people\, location\, or activities shown. \n  \n 
URL:https://thectbeacon.com/event/party-on-the-sun-patio-zac-n-fried/
LOCATION:Sun Patio at the Mohegan Sun\, 1 Mohegan Sun Blvd\, Uncasville\, 06382\, United States
CATEGORIES:Mohegan Sun
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://thectbeacon.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/Party-on-the-Sun-Patio-–-Zac-N-Fried.jpg
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20260911T183000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20260911T230000
DTSTAMP:20260608T002910Z
CREATED:20260606T015151Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260608T002910Z
UID:10005286-1789151400-1789167600@thectbeacon.com
SUMMARY:Party on the Mohegan Sun Patio
DESCRIPTION:Party on the Mohegan Sun Patio is back for another season of complimentary live music featuring tribute bands\, outdoor entertainment\, food and beverages\, and all the excitement of summer every Friday night from June 19 through September 18. Doors will open at 6:30 p.m. for 8 p.m. showtimes. It’s the perfect opportunity to relax on warm evenings under the stars and listen to music from many of your favorite rock\, pop\, country and classic hits artists. \nEach week throughout the summer\, there will be a different tribute band taking the stage performing hits from artists such as Elton John\, Fleetwood Mac\, Journey\, Billy Joel\, Billy Idol\, Earth Wind & Fire\, Kenny Loggins\, Michael Jackson\, Neil Diamond\, Pat Benatar\, The Eagles\, Motown\, Van Halen and many others. Visitors can grab a drink\, pick up food from one of the many on-site food vendors\, and enjoy relaxed outdoor fun with live entertainment. \nFire pit reservations are available to purchase for preferred seating and cocktail service.\nWhether you are a music fan\, a couple looking to spend some quality time together on a Friday night\, or a group of friends wanting to start your weekend off right\, Party on the Mohegan Sun Patio has something for you. With a wide variety of free shows representing multiple decades and genres of music\, you will find something new and exciting every week this summer. \n2026 Band Schedule\nJune 19\n70’s Rock Parade – 70s Tribute \nJune 26\nCaptain Fantastic – Elton John Tribute \nJuly 3\nMike DelGuidice \nJuly 10\nLadies of the 80s Night Out – 80s Tribute \nJuly 17\nB Street Band – Bruce Springsteen Tribute \nJuly 24\nQueen Flash – Queen Tribute \nJuly 31\nThurston Howell Band – Yacht Rock Tribute \nAugust 7\nRedneck Castaway Band – Kenny Chesney Tribute \nAugust 14\nBe Kind & Rewind – 90s Tribute \nAugust 21\nFleetwood Macked: The Ultimate Tribute to Fleetwood Mac \nAugust 28\nSoul Sound Revue – Motown Tribute \nSeptember 4\nThe Journey Tribute Show \nSeptember 11\nZac N’ Fried – Zac Brown Band Tribute \nSeptember 18\nBeatlemania Again – The Beatles Tribute \n  \nAdditional Details\n\nEvery Friday from June 19 through September 18\, 2026\nDoors open at 6:30 p.m.\nBands begin at 8 p.m.\nLocation: Sun Patio at Mohegan Sun\nAdmission is free\nFood and drink options available on-site\nFire pit reservations are available\nVIP Fire Pits include one alcoholic beverage per guest\, cocktail service\, and stage views\nGeneral Fire Pits include one alcoholic beverage per guest and cocktail service\nGuests must be 21 or older and have valid ID\nOutside food and beverages are not permitted\nIn the event of inclement weather\, cancellations will be announced by 2 p.m. and performances will move to the Wolf Den when applicable\nDates\, performers\, and times are subject to change without notice
URL:https://thectbeacon.com/event/party-on-the-mohegan-sun-patio/2026-09-11/
LOCATION:Sun Patio at the Mohegan Sun\, 1 Mohegan Sun Blvd\, Uncasville\, 06382\, United States
CATEGORIES:Mohegan Sun
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://thectbeacon.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/Party-at-the-Sun-Pation-every-Friday-Night-This-Summer-Bands-Start-at-8pm-must-be-21-years-of-age-or-older.jpg
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20260910T200000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20260910T220000
DTSTAMP:20260502T025958Z
CREATED:20260502T025958Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260502T025958Z
UID:10000188-1789070400-1789077600@thectbeacon.com
SUMMARY:The Australian Pink Floyd Show
DESCRIPTION:at the Mohegan Sun Arena \nThe Australian Pink Floyd Show is widely considered one of the most successful and authentic tribute acts dedicated to the music of Pink Floyd. Formed in 1988 in Adelaide\, Australia\, the group has spent decades refining a live experience that closely recreates the sound\, feel\, and масштаб of Pink Floyd’s legendary tours. Over time\, they’ve grown from small club performances into a global touring production\, selling millions of tickets and performing in more than 30 countries. ([Wikipedia][1]) \nWhat sets the Australian Pink Floyd Show apart is its focus on delivering a full visual and musical spectacle\, not just the songs themselves. Their performances incorporate detailed lighting\, lasers\, inflatables\, and large-scale video screens inspired by Pink Floyd’s original stage design\, aiming for a near note-for-note recreation of iconic albums and live moments. The result is a concert experience that mirrors the immersive\, atmospheric style that defined Pink Floyd’s rise as one of rock’s most influential bands. \nWith more than 35 years of touring history\, the band continues to draw large audiences across generations\, appealing to longtime fans and newer listeners alike. Their shows typically feature a mix of greatest hits and deeper cuts\, creating a setlist that reflects the breadth of Pink Floyd’s catalog. As one of the few tribute acts to successfully transition into large-scale international touring\, they remain a benchmark for how faithfully and effectively a band’s legacy can be brought to life on stage.
URL:https://thectbeacon.com/event/the-australian-pink-floyd-show/
LOCATION:Mohegan Sun\, 1 Mohegan Sun Blvd\, Uncasville\, 06382\, United States
CATEGORIES:Mohegan Sun
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://thectbeacon.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/The-Australian-Pink-Floyd-Show.jpg
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20260906T193000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20260906T210000
DTSTAMP:20260428T051212Z
CREATED:20260428T051212Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260428T051212Z
UID:10000093-1788723000-1788728400@thectbeacon.com
SUMMARY:Goo Goo Dolls with special guest Neon Trees
DESCRIPTION:There’s a certain kind of summer-night soundtrack that just feels right the second it starts… and Goo Goo Dolls have been writing that kind of music for decades. Songs like “Iris\,” “Slide\,” and “Name” don’t just play\, they linger… the kind you catch yourself singing without realizing it. On their Summer 2026 tour\, that mix of alt-rock and melody-driven emotion comes through live in a way that feels both nostalgic and completely present. \nFrontman John Rzeznik brings a worn-in\, familiar energy to the stage… not flashy\, just real. The band leans into what they do best: big choruses\, clean guitar lines\, and songs that build into something you can feel across a crowd. It’s the kind of set where one track rolls into the next and suddenly you’re deep into it\, surrounded by people who know every word. \nOpening the night\, Neon Trees bring a brighter\, more upbeat pulse that sets the tone early. With songs like “Animal” and “Everybody Talks\,” they hit that sweet spot between indie pop and rock\, keeping the energy up and the crowd moving. Together\, it makes for a night that shifts naturally… from high-energy singalongs to those quieter\, reflective moments… the kind of show that feels made for warm air\, open skies\, and not wanting it to end too soon.
URL:https://thectbeacon.com/event/goo-goo-dolls-with-special-guest-neon-trees/
LOCATION:Mohegan Sun\, 1 Mohegan Sun Blvd\, Uncasville\, 06382\, United States
CATEGORIES:Mohegan Sun
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://thectbeacon.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/Goo-Goo-Dolls.jpg
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20260906T100000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20260906T160000
DTSTAMP:20260901T003510Z
CREATED:20260818T193130Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260901T003510Z
UID:10007222-1788688800-1788710400@thectbeacon.com
SUMMARY:East Coast Collectibles Convention at Mohegan Sun 2026
DESCRIPTION:East Coast Collectibles Convention at Mohegan Sun 2026 brings hundreds of dealers and thousands of cards and collectibles to the Earth Expo & Convention Center on Saturday and Sunday\, September 5–6. \nBetter known as EC3CON\, the two-day Connecticut card show has grown into a major regional gathering for sports cards\, Pokémon\, trading card games\, memorabilia and pop-culture collectibles. More than 350 vendor tables are planned for the September convention\, with collectors invited to buy\, sell and trade throughout the weekend. \nThis isn’t limited to serious sports-card collectors hunting expensive vintage cards\, either. Pokémon\, Magic: The Gathering\, One Piece\, Yu-Gi-Oh!\, Disney Lorcana\, Funko Pops\, wrestling\, comics\, anime\, non-sports cards\, fan art and other collectibles are represented alongside traditional baseball\, football and other sports cards. \nMore Than 350 Tables of Cards and Collectibles\nEC3CON is produced by East Coast Collectibles\, the Connecticut collectibles company that also operates a card shop in Middletown. \nThe organization describes its Mohegan Sun conventions as quarterly events drawing vendors and collectors from throughout New England and the Northeast. The move into the larger Earth Expo Center has allowed the convention to expand its number of tables\, programming and special guests. \nFor collectors\, that means a show floor built around browsing. \nSome tables specialize in sports cards. Others concentrate on Pokémon and other trading card games. Visitors can search for individual cards needed to complete a collection\, unopened products\, memorabilia and collectibles while also bringing their own cards to trade. \nAnd you don’t need to arrive looking for a five-figure Mickey Mantle card. \nEC3CON specifically encourages younger and beginning collectors to explore inexpensive value boxes and dollar bins\, talk with dealers and learn how trading works. \nSpecial Guests Coming to EC3CON\nThe September show is also bringing several guests from professional wrestling\, sports and animation. \nKurt Angle is scheduled to appear. The WWE Hall of Famer won a freestyle wrestling gold medal for the United States at the 1996 Olympic Games before becoming one of professional wrestling’s most recognizable performers. \nFormer WWE performer Joseph Sawyer\, better known to wrestling audiences as Joe Gacy\, is also listed among the convention’s guests. Sawyer performed as a member of the Wyatt Sicks during his WWE career. \nFootball fans will have an appearance by Tyler Nubin\, the New York Giants safety who played college football at Minnesota before entering the NFL. \nThe guest list reaches into animation as well. \nGary Littman has provided voices for characters in One Piece\, Yu-Gi-Oh! ZEXAL\, Pokémon and other animated productions\, while David Wills has accumulated voice credits across Yu-Gi-Oh! GX\, Pokémon\, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles\, One Piece and other series. \nGuest appearances\, schedules and autograph opportunities can change\, so collectors interested in meeting a particular guest should check the convention’s current schedule before attending. EC3CON’s ticket policy specifically notes that guest appearances and autograph times are subject to change. \nBring Your Own Collection\nYou don’t have to come solely to shop. \nEC3CON encourages attendees to bring cards to trade\, making the convention useful for collectors who already have boxes or binders sitting at home. \nTrading with other attendees and interacting with vendors is permitted\, although the convention notes that rules governing direct sales may vary. \nFor someone new to collecting\, that’s also part of the appeal of a large card show. Instead of scrolling through listings online\, collectors can handle cards\, compare condition\, ask dealers questions and see dozens of different approaches to the hobby in one room. \nSaturday Night Trade Night\nWhen the convention floor closes Saturday at 6 p.m.\, the collecting doesn’t stop. \nEC3CON will hold a Trade Night from 6:30 to 10 p.m. Saturday\, September 5. \nThe evening is devoted to collectors meeting one another\, showing what they’ve brought and making trades outside the regular show-floor hours. \nBetter still\, Trade Night is free and open to the public. \nThat makes Saturday potentially a very long day for a serious collector: early-bird admission begins at 9 a.m.\, the regular convention runs until 6 p.m.\, and Trade Night continues until 10 p.m. \nGet Autographs Authenticated at the Show\nJames Spence Authentication\, better known as JSA\, is scheduled to provide on-site autograph authentication. \nCollectors can bring signed memorabilia to JSA for examination rather than mailing an item away and waiting for it to be returned. The event listing says authentication can be completed in a matter of hours. \nThat’s particularly useful at a convention where autographs and signed memorabilia are both being bought and sold. \nA Family-Friendly Introduction to Collecting\nEC3CON is explicitly designed as an all-ages event\, and children younger than 12 are admitted free when accompanied by an adult. \nThe organizers encourage children to bring cards of their own to trade and recommend starting younger collectors with inexpensive cards rather than immediately chasing high-value pieces. \nThat gives the convention an interesting second audience beyond veteran collectors. A parent who collected baseball cards years ago can walk into the same room with a child interested in Pokémon\, while someone else may be hunting wrestling autographs\, anime collectibles or modern football cards. \nThey’re different hobbies… until you put 350 tables under one roof. \nAbout EC3CON\nEast Coast Collectibles operates both the convention and the East Coast Collectibles Card Shop in Middletown. \nThe company describes EC3CON as a quarterly Mohegan Sun event serving collectors from Connecticut and throughout the Northeast. Organizers say the convention attracts thousands of attendees and vendors from around the country. \nAnd September isn’t the final show of 2026. \nAnother EC3CON is scheduled at Mohegan Sun for November 28–29\, followed by announced 2027 conventions in January and June. \nEvent Details\nEvent: East Coast Collectibles Convention — EC3CON \nDates: Saturday\, September 5 and Sunday\, September 6\, 2026 \nSaturday: 10 a.m.–6 p.m. \nSunday: 10 a.m.–4 p.m. \nEarly Bird Admission: Saturday at 9 a.m. Early Bird admission must be purchased in advance. \nSaturday Trade Night: 6:30–10 p.m.; free and open to the public. \nLocation: Earth Expo & Convention Center at Mohegan Sun \nAddress: 1 Mohegan Sun Boulevard\, Uncasville\, CT 06382 \nAdmission: Tickets start at $20 according to the current ticketing listing. Children under 12 are admitted free with an accompanying adult. \nParking: Parking at Mohegan Sun is free. The Winter Parking Garage or Winter Parking Lot provides the most convenient access to the Earth Expo & Convention Center. \nVisitors should allow additional time to enter because Mohegan Sun conducts security screenings before events on the property.
URL:https://thectbeacon.com/event/east-coast-collectibles-convention-at-mohegan-sun-2026/2026-09-06/
LOCATION:Earth Expo and Convention Center\, Winter Parking Garage\, 1 Mohegan Sun Blvd\, Uncasville\, CT\, 06382\, United States
CATEGORIES:Mohegan Sun
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://thectbeacon.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/East-Coast-Collectibles-Convention-at-Mohegan-Sun-2026.jpg
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20260905T200000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20260905T220000
DTSTAMP:20260428T050456Z
CREATED:20260428T050456Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260428T050456Z
UID:10000092-1788638400-1788645600@thectbeacon.com
SUMMARY:Matt Rife: Stay Golden Tour
DESCRIPTION:If you’ve spent any time online lately\, you’ve probably come across Matt Rife… and there’s a reason his clips keep blowing up. He’s quick\, sharp\, and leans heavily into crowd work that feels spontaneous in a way most stand-up doesn’t. On the *Stay Golden Tour*\, that energy carries over live\, where no two shows really play out the same. One minute he’s riffing with someone in the front row\, the next he’s spinning it into a bit that pulls the whole room in. \nWhat makes his style hit is that mix of confidence and unpredictability. He’ll jump between observational jokes\, personal stories\, and off-the-cuff moments without it feeling forced. It’s fast-paced\, a little chaotic in the best way\, and very tuned in to the audience… like the show is being built in real time instead of just delivered. That’s a big part of why people keep coming back\, because you’re not just hearing jokes\, you’re part of how the night unfolds. \nLive\, it turns into something closer to an experience than a standard set. The laughs come quick\, but there’s also that underlying tension of not knowing where he’s going to go next or who he’s going to pull into the moment. If you’re into comedy that feels raw\, reactive\, and fully in the moment\, the *Stay Golden Tour* is one of those shows where you just settle in and let it play out.
URL:https://thectbeacon.com/event/matt-rife-stay-golden-tour-2/
LOCATION:Mohegan Sun\, 1 Mohegan Sun Blvd\, Uncasville\, 06382\, United States
CATEGORIES:Mohegan Sun
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://thectbeacon.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/Matt-RIfe.jpg
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20260905T100000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20260905T180000
DTSTAMP:20260911T012527Z
CREATED:20260901T003636Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260911T012527Z
UID:10007221-1788602400-1788631200@thectbeacon.com
SUMMARY:East Coast Collectibles Convention at Mohegan Sun
DESCRIPTION:East Coast Collectibles Convention at Mohegan Sun 2026 brings hundreds of dealers and thousands of cards and collectibles to the Earth Expo & Convention Center on Saturday and Sunday\, September 5–6. \nBetter known as EC3CON\, the two-day Connecticut card show has grown into a major regional gathering for sports cards\, Pokémon\, trading card games\, memorabilia and pop-culture collectibles. More than 350 vendor tables are planned for the September convention\, with collectors invited to buy\, sell and trade throughout the weekend. \nThis isn’t limited to serious sports-card collectors hunting expensive vintage cards\, either. Pokémon\, Magic: The Gathering\, One Piece\, Yu-Gi-Oh!\, Disney Lorcana\, Funko Pops\, wrestling\, comics\, anime\, non-sports cards\, fan art and other collectibles are represented alongside traditional baseball\, football and other sports cards. \nMore Than 350 Tables of Cards and Collectibles\nEC3CON is produced by East Coast Collectibles\, the Connecticut collectibles company that also operates a card shop in Middletown. \nThe organization describes its Mohegan Sun conventions as quarterly events drawing vendors and collectors from throughout New England and the Northeast. The move into the larger Earth Expo Center has allowed the convention to expand its number of tables\, programming and special guests. \nFor collectors\, that means a show floor built around browsing. \nSome tables specialize in sports cards. Others concentrate on Pokémon and other trading card games. Visitors can search for individual cards needed to complete a collection\, unopened products\, memorabilia and collectibles while also bringing their own cards to trade. \nAnd you don’t need to arrive looking for a five-figure Mickey Mantle card. \nEC3CON specifically encourages younger and beginning collectors to explore inexpensive value boxes and dollar bins\, talk with dealers and learn how trading works. \nSpecial Guests Coming to EC3CON\nThe September show is also bringing several guests from professional wrestling\, sports and animation. \nKurt Angle is scheduled to appear. The WWE Hall of Famer won a freestyle wrestling gold medal for the United States at the 1996 Olympic Games before becoming one of professional wrestling’s most recognizable performers. \nFormer WWE performer Joseph Sawyer\, better known to wrestling audiences as Joe Gacy\, is also listed among the convention’s guests. Sawyer performed as a member of the Wyatt Sicks during his WWE career. \nFootball fans will have an appearance by Tyler Nubin\, the New York Giants safety who played college football at Minnesota before entering the NFL. \nThe guest list reaches into animation as well. \nGary Littman has provided voices for characters in One Piece\, Yu-Gi-Oh! ZEXAL\, Pokémon and other animated productions\, while David Wills has accumulated voice credits across Yu-Gi-Oh! GX\, Pokémon\, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles\, One Piece and other series. \nGuest appearances\, schedules and autograph opportunities can change\, so collectors interested in meeting a particular guest should check the convention’s current schedule before attending. EC3CON’s ticket policy specifically notes that guest appearances and autograph times are subject to change. \nBring Your Own Collection\nYou don’t have to come solely to shop. \nEC3CON encourages attendees to bring cards to trade\, making the convention useful for collectors who already have boxes or binders sitting at home. \nTrading with other attendees and interacting with vendors is permitted\, although the convention notes that rules governing direct sales may vary. \nFor someone new to collecting\, that’s also part of the appeal of a large card show. Instead of scrolling through listings online\, collectors can handle cards\, compare condition\, ask dealers questions and see dozens of different approaches to the hobby in one room. \nSaturday Night Trade Night\nWhen the convention floor closes Saturday at 6 p.m.\, the collecting doesn’t stop. \nEC3CON will hold a Trade Night from 6:30 to 10 p.m. Saturday\, September 5. \nThe evening is devoted to collectors meeting one another\, showing what they’ve brought and making trades outside the regular show-floor hours. \nBetter still\, Trade Night is free and open to the public. \nThat makes Saturday potentially a very long day for a serious collector: early-bird admission begins at 9 a.m.\, the regular convention runs until 6 p.m.\, and Trade Night continues until 10 p.m. \nGet Autographs Authenticated at the Show\nJames Spence Authentication\, better known as JSA\, is scheduled to provide on-site autograph authentication. \nCollectors can bring signed memorabilia to JSA for examination rather than mailing an item away and waiting for it to be returned. The event listing says authentication can be completed in a matter of hours. \nThat’s particularly useful at a convention where autographs and signed memorabilia are both being bought and sold. \nA Family-Friendly Introduction to Collecting\nEC3CON is explicitly designed as an all-ages event\, and children younger than 12 are admitted free when accompanied by an adult. \nThe organizers encourage children to bring cards of their own to trade and recommend starting younger collectors with inexpensive cards rather than immediately chasing high-value pieces. \nThat gives the convention an interesting second audience beyond veteran collectors. A parent who collected baseball cards years ago can walk into the same room with a child interested in Pokémon\, while someone else may be hunting wrestling autographs\, anime collectibles or modern football cards. \nThey’re different hobbies… until you put 350 tables under one roof. \nAbout EC3CON\nEast Coast Collectibles operates both the convention and the East Coast Collectibles Card Shop in Middletown. \nThe company describes EC3CON as a quarterly Mohegan Sun event serving collectors from Connecticut and throughout the Northeast. Organizers say the convention attracts thousands of attendees and vendors from around the country. \nAnd September isn’t the final show of 2026. \nAnother EC3CON is scheduled at Mohegan Sun for November 28–29\, followed by announced 2027 conventions in January and June. \nEvent Details\nEvent: East Coast Collectibles Convention — EC3CON \nDates: Saturday\, September 5 and Sunday\, September 6\, 2026 \nSaturday: 10 a.m.–6 p.m. \nSunday: 10 a.m.–4 p.m. \nEarly Bird Admission: Saturday at 9 a.m. Early Bird admission must be purchased in advance. \nSaturday Trade Night: 6:30–10 p.m.; free and open to the public. \nLocation: Earth Expo & Convention Center at Mohegan Sun \nAddress: 1 Mohegan Sun Boulevard\, Uncasville\, CT 06382 \nAdmission: Tickets start at $20 according to the current ticketing listing. Children under 12 are admitted free with an accompanying adult. \nParking: Parking at Mohegan Sun is free. The Winter Parking Garage or Winter Parking Lot provides the most convenient access to the Earth Expo & Convention Center. \nVisitors should allow additional time to enter because Mohegan Sun conducts security screenings before events on the property.
URL:https://thectbeacon.com/event/east-coast-collectibles-convention-at-mohegan-sun-2026-2/
LOCATION:Earth Expo and Convention Center\, Winter Parking Garage\, 1 Mohegan Sun Blvd\, Uncasville\, CT\, 06382\, United States
CATEGORIES:Mohegan Sun
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://thectbeacon.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/East-Coast-Collectibles-Convention-at-Mohegan-Sun-2026.jpg
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20260904T220000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20260905T010000
DTSTAMP:20260826T022503Z
CREATED:20260826T022503Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260826T022503Z
UID:10007272-1788559200-1788570000@thectbeacon.com
SUMMARY:Comedy Roast at the Comix Roadhouse
DESCRIPTION:Comedy Roast at the Comix Roadhouse Friday\, September 4\, when Roast Battle League CT presents Roast at the Roadhouse. \nThe 10 p.m. show replaces the usual stand-up format with head-to-head comedy battles. Instead of comics telling jokes about their own lives\, each competitor comes armed with material written specifically to tear apart the person standing across from them. \nTen comedians. Five matchups. Three judges. \nAnd presumably very few hurt feelings… at least officially. \nFive Head-to-Head Battles\nThe night’s card features five comedy matchups: \nChadd Lennon vs. Mansa Musa \nVictoria Caira vs. Pat McKinstry \nEmily Siero vs. Kevin Boyd \nNick Kochis vs. Dillon Rakowski \nAli vs. Jeff Poirier \nSarah Carroll vs. Dustin Fiore \nBrittany Roarge vs. Zaire Hunt \nActually\, that’s seven battles\, giving the night an even larger lineup than the promotional description initially suggests. \nEach pairing puts two comedians directly against one another\, with insults\, personal jokes and prepared attacks replacing a conventional stand-up set. \nWhat Is a Roast Battle?\nRoast comedy has always depended on a strange agreement. \nSay something absolutely terrible about another person. \nMake it funny enough\, and everybody laughs. \nRoast battles turn that idea into a competition. Two comedians alternate jokes aimed directly at each other\, often digging into appearance\, personality\, career\, relationships or anything else they can turn into a punchline. \nThe point isn’t simply to be mean. \nAnyone can insult somebody. \nThe skill is constructing an insult so unexpected\, specific and well-written that even the person being roasted has to laugh. \nThe Judges Decide Who Survives\nThree judges will oversee the battles at Comix Roadhouse. \nThe announced panel includes Charity Gregory\, Dan Wilkes and Mike Eaton. \nCliff Mula is serving as host\, while Ish Gupta is listed as the show’s booker. \nTheir job is to keep seven battles moving while deciding which comics land the hardest shots. \nAnd unlike an ordinary stand-up show\, somebody gets to win. \nRoast Battle League Comes to Uncasville\nFriday’s show is presented by Roast Battle League CT in partnership with Comix Roadhouse. \nRoast Battle League is built around competitive insult comedy\, with comedians facing one another in organized battles rather than performing unrelated sets. \nThat changes the energy in the room. \nThe person waiting for you to finish a joke isn’t another comic waiting politely for their turn. \nThey’re listening. \nBecause they’re about to answer. \nLate Night at Comix Roadhouse\nComix Roadhouse combines a comedy club with a restaurant\, bar and country-themed entertainment venue inside Mohegan Sun. \nThe September 4 roast begins at 10 p.m.\, making this a late-night show rather than an early-evening comedy performance. \nTickets start at $15 for general admission\, with $25 VIP seating and $35 booth seating. \nTickets are available online and will also be available at the door. \nAnd with seven pairs of comics spending the night trying to find each other’s weakest spots\, sitting close to the stage may come with its own occupational hazard. \nJust don’t make eye contact. \nEvent Details\nEvent: Roast at the Roadhouse\nDate: Friday\, September 4\, 2026\nTime: 10 p.m.\nLocation: Comix Roadhouse at Mohegan Sun\nAddress: 1 Mohegan Sun Boulevard\, Uncasville\, CT 06382\nPresented by: Roast Battle League CT and Comix Roadhouse\nHost: Cliff Mula\nBooker: Ish Gupta\nJudges: Charity Gregory\, Dan Wilkes and Mike Eaton\nFormat: Seven head-to-head comedy roast battles\nGeneral Admission: $15\nVIP: $25\nBooths: $35\nTickets: Available online and at the door \nRoast at the Roadhouse pits Connecticut comedians against one another in seven head-to-head insult-comedy battles at Comix Roadhouse. \nMore information is available at the Event Website link below. \nTo purchase tickets\, click the Event Ticketing link below. \n  \nFeatured image is an artistic representation inspired by the event and may not depict the actual people\, location\, or activities shown.
URL:https://thectbeacon.com/event/comedy-roast-at-the-comix-roadhouse/
LOCATION:COMIX Roadhouse\, 1 Mohegan Sun Blvd\, Uncasville\, 06382\, United States
CATEGORIES:Mohegan Sun
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://thectbeacon.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/Comedy-Roast-at-the-Comix-Roadhouse.jpg
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20260904T200000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20260904T220000
DTSTAMP:20260428T050614Z
CREATED:20260428T050318Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260428T050614Z
UID:10000091-1788552000-1788559200@thectbeacon.com
SUMMARY:Matt Rife: Stay Golden Tour
DESCRIPTION:If you’ve spent any time online lately\, you’ve probably come across Matt Rife… and there’s a reason his clips keep blowing up. He’s quick\, sharp\, and leans heavily into crowd work that feels spontaneous in a way most stand-up doesn’t. On the *Stay Golden Tour*\, that energy carries over live\, where no two shows really play out the same. One minute he’s riffing with someone in the front row\, the next he’s spinning it into a bit that pulls the whole room in. \nWhat makes his style hit is that mix of confidence and unpredictability. He’ll jump between observational jokes\, personal stories\, and off-the-cuff moments without it feeling forced. It’s fast-paced\, a little chaotic in the best way\, and very tuned in to the audience… like the show is being built in real time instead of just delivered. That’s a big part of why people keep coming back\, because you’re not just hearing jokes\, you’re part of how the night unfolds. \nLive\, it turns into something closer to an experience than a standard set. The laughs come quick\, but there’s also that underlying tension of not knowing where he’s going to go next or who he’s going to pull into the moment. If you’re into comedy that feels raw\, reactive\, and fully in the moment\, the *Stay Golden Tour* is one of those shows where you just settle in and let it play out.
URL:https://thectbeacon.com/event/matt-rife-stay-golden-tour/
LOCATION:Mohegan Sun\, 1 Mohegan Sun Blvd\, Uncasville\, 06382\, United States
CATEGORIES:Mohegan Sun
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://thectbeacon.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/Matt-RIfe.jpg
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20260904T183000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20260904T230000
DTSTAMP:20260608T002910Z
CREATED:20260606T015151Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260608T002910Z
UID:10005285-1788546600-1788562800@thectbeacon.com
SUMMARY:Party on the Mohegan Sun Patio
DESCRIPTION:Party on the Mohegan Sun Patio is back for another season of complimentary live music featuring tribute bands\, outdoor entertainment\, food and beverages\, and all the excitement of summer every Friday night from June 19 through September 18. Doors will open at 6:30 p.m. for 8 p.m. showtimes. It’s the perfect opportunity to relax on warm evenings under the stars and listen to music from many of your favorite rock\, pop\, country and classic hits artists. \nEach week throughout the summer\, there will be a different tribute band taking the stage performing hits from artists such as Elton John\, Fleetwood Mac\, Journey\, Billy Joel\, Billy Idol\, Earth Wind & Fire\, Kenny Loggins\, Michael Jackson\, Neil Diamond\, Pat Benatar\, The Eagles\, Motown\, Van Halen and many others. Visitors can grab a drink\, pick up food from one of the many on-site food vendors\, and enjoy relaxed outdoor fun with live entertainment. \nFire pit reservations are available to purchase for preferred seating and cocktail service.\nWhether you are a music fan\, a couple looking to spend some quality time together on a Friday night\, or a group of friends wanting to start your weekend off right\, Party on the Mohegan Sun Patio has something for you. With a wide variety of free shows representing multiple decades and genres of music\, you will find something new and exciting every week this summer. \n2026 Band Schedule\nJune 19\n70’s Rock Parade – 70s Tribute \nJune 26\nCaptain Fantastic – Elton John Tribute \nJuly 3\nMike DelGuidice \nJuly 10\nLadies of the 80s Night Out – 80s Tribute \nJuly 17\nB Street Band – Bruce Springsteen Tribute \nJuly 24\nQueen Flash – Queen Tribute \nJuly 31\nThurston Howell Band – Yacht Rock Tribute \nAugust 7\nRedneck Castaway Band – Kenny Chesney Tribute \nAugust 14\nBe Kind & Rewind – 90s Tribute \nAugust 21\nFleetwood Macked: The Ultimate Tribute to Fleetwood Mac \nAugust 28\nSoul Sound Revue – Motown Tribute \nSeptember 4\nThe Journey Tribute Show \nSeptember 11\nZac N’ Fried – Zac Brown Band Tribute \nSeptember 18\nBeatlemania Again – The Beatles Tribute \n  \nAdditional Details\n\nEvery Friday from June 19 through September 18\, 2026\nDoors open at 6:30 p.m.\nBands begin at 8 p.m.\nLocation: Sun Patio at Mohegan Sun\nAdmission is free\nFood and drink options available on-site\nFire pit reservations are available\nVIP Fire Pits include one alcoholic beverage per guest\, cocktail service\, and stage views\nGeneral Fire Pits include one alcoholic beverage per guest and cocktail service\nGuests must be 21 or older and have valid ID\nOutside food and beverages are not permitted\nIn the event of inclement weather\, cancellations will be announced by 2 p.m. and performances will move to the Wolf Den when applicable\nDates\, performers\, and times are subject to change without notice
URL:https://thectbeacon.com/event/party-on-the-mohegan-sun-patio/2026-09-04/
LOCATION:Sun Patio at the Mohegan Sun\, 1 Mohegan Sun Blvd\, Uncasville\, 06382\, United States
CATEGORIES:Mohegan Sun
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://thectbeacon.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/Party-at-the-Sun-Pation-every-Friday-Night-This-Summer-Bands-Start-at-8pm-must-be-21-years-of-age-or-older.jpg
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20260830T193000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20260830T213000
DTSTAMP:20260825T012607Z
CREATED:20260825T012331Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260825T012607Z
UID:10007265-1788118200-1788125400@thectbeacon.com
SUMMARY:Graceland’s First Ultimate Elvis Brings the King Back to Mohegan Sun
DESCRIPTION:Graceland’s First Ultimate Elvis Brings the King Back to Mohegan Sun \nElvis left the building nearly half a century ago. \nOn Sunday\, August 30\, Shawn Klush will try to make 10\,000 people inside Mohegan Sun Arena forget that for a couple of hours. \nThe Elvis Tribute Artist Spectacular starring Shawn Klush brings the music\, costumes and different eras of Elvis Presley’s career to Uncasville for a 7:30 p.m. performance. At the center of the production is a performer whose connection to Elvis goes considerably deeper than putting on a jumpsuit and learning how to curl his lip. \nKlush was the first performer ever crowned Graceland’s Ultimate Elvis Tribute Artist by Elvis Presley Enterprises. \nHe’s also spent years performing with the musicians\, singers and friends who actually knew and worked with Elvis. \nA Kid From a Pennsylvania Coal Town\nShawn Klush grew up in Pittston\, Pennsylvania\, a small coal-mining community between Scranton and Wilkes-Barre. \nElvis became his musical obsession. \nKlush began performing Presley’s music professionally in Pennsylvania’s Poconos before taking his act into Canada. There\, he entered the Worldwide Elvis Competition in Montreal and won its $5\,000 grand prize. \nThat victory opened another door. \nKlush was recruited by Legends in Concert\, the long-running tribute production\, and began performing as Elvis in its showrooms in Myrtle Beach\, Las Vegas\, Branson and Atlantic City. \nWhat began in a Pennsylvania coal town was turning into a career. \nThen came the competitions that changed everything. \nMillions of People Picked Him\nKlush eventually competed on the BBC television program The World’s Greatest Elvis. \nThe international competition put Elvis performers against one another before a massive television audience. \nKlush won. \nApproximately 6.5 million viewers watched as he was named the World’s Greatest Elvis. \nBut another title would carry even greater weight. \nBecause this one came from Graceland. \nThe First Ultimate Elvis\nIn 2007\, Elvis Presley Enterprises launched its Ultimate Elvis Tribute Artist Contest in Memphis. \nThe timing carried special significance. It was being held during Elvis Week\, marking 30 years since Presley’s death. \nOn August 16\, exactly 30 years after Elvis died at Graceland\, Shawn Klush became the competition’s first champion. \nHe was officially named the first Ultimate Elvis Tribute Artist by Elvis Presley Enterprises. \nThat’s why the words attached to Sunday’s Mohegan Sun show matter. \n“Graceland’s Ultimate Elvis” isn’t simply an advertising slogan somebody dreamed up for the poster. \nKlush earned it. \nThen He Met the People Who Were Actually There\nWinning competitions can establish that someone does an extraordinary Elvis. \nKlush’s subsequent career gave him something different. \nAccess. \nHe has performed with an extraordinary collection of people who were part of Presley’s musical world. \nD.J. Fontana was Elvis’ original drummer during the explosive early rock & roll years. \nJerry Scheff played bass in Presley’s touring band beginning with his return to live performances in Las Vegas. \nThe Jordanaires provided those unmistakable backing vocals on scores of Elvis recordings. \nThe Sweet Inspirations sang behind him during his later concert years. \nKlush has performed with all of them. \nHis list of collaborators also includes The Imperials\, J.D. Sumner and the Stamps Quartet\, Charlie Hodge and conductor Joe Guercio. He’s worked with Jerry Schilling and Joe Esposito\, two members of Presley’s inner circle. \nImagine trying to recreate Elvis with the people who stood beside Elvis watching you. \nThey would know when something felt wrong. \nThey would also know when it felt right. \nElvis Wasn’t One Elvis\nThat’s part of what makes the Elvis Tribute Artist Spectacular more interesting than a conventional tribute concert. \nThere isn’t really one version of Elvis Presley to recreate. \nThere’s the young singer who walked into Sun Studio and helped change popular music. \nThere’s the 1950s television phenomenon whose movements generated almost as much attention as his voice. \nThere’s Elvis the movie star. \nThen there’s the man in black leather who reclaimed his musical identity during the 1968 television comeback special. \nAnd finally\, there’s the jumpsuit era: Las Vegas\, enormous concert rooms and the seasoned performer who had become one of the most recognizable people on Earth. \nThe Elvis Tribute Artist Spectacular is built around that evolution\, allowing the audience to move through different periods of Presley’s career rather than spending the entire night in 1970s Las Vegas. \nThe Voice Is Only Half the Job\nElvis tribute artists face an unusual problem. \nAlmost everybody knows what Elvis looks like. \nThey know the stance. The hair. The clothes. The smile. \nAnd within a few seconds\, most people know whether the voice is working. \nKlush has spent decades studying all of it. \nThe physical resemblance certainly helped establish his career\, but recreating Elvis in concert requires something harder than looking convincing in a photograph. \nPresley didn’t perform his songs exactly like the records night after night. His timing could shift. He joked with musicians. He stretched phrases\, reacted to audiences and changed the energy of songs depending on the room. \nKlush’s years performing with Presley’s actual musicians gave him unusual access to that side of Elvis. \nThey weren’t studying old concert footage. \nThey remembered the man standing next to them. \nElvis Beyond the Concert Stage\nKlush’s ability to inhabit the role has also taken him into television. \nHe portrayed Elvis in Shake\, Rattle and Roll\, which aired on CBS and VH1\, and later played Presley in HBO’s Vinyl\, the music-industry drama associated with Martin Scorsese and Mick Jagger. \nHe has appeared on Late Show with David Letterman\, performing with the CBS Orchestra\, and has released five CDs during his career. \nBut the live stage remains where the transformation matters most. \nAnd Sunday night gives him a very large one. \nThis Elvis Show Gets an Arena\nThe Elvis Tribute Artist Spectacular isn’t tucked into one of Mohegan Sun’s smaller performance spaces. \nIt’s taking over Mohegan Sun Arena. \nThe 10\,000-seat venue gives the production something much closer to the scale associated with Presley’s later career. Klush has also developed history with the venue\, including previous Elvis performances at Mohegan Sun \nSunday’s show is part of an unusually busy closing stretch of Mohegan Sun’s 2026 summer entertainment calendar. Demi Lovato plays the Arena Saturday night\, followed by Klush and the Elvis Tribute Artist Spectacular on Sunday. \nFree self-parking is available in Mohegan Sun’s garages and Winter Lot\, with upgraded reserved parking available in the Riverview Garage. Guests should also check the Arena’s bag policy before arriving; backpacks and several other larger bag styles aren’t permitted. \nLong Live the King\nShawn Klush can’t give an audience Elvis Presley. \nNobody can. \nWhat he can do is something more interesting than simple imitation. \nHe can reconstruct pieces of the experience. \nThe young Elvis. The movie star. The black leather. The Vegas years. \nAnd behind Klush’s performance are lessons gathered from people who didn’t learn Elvis from records or YouTube clips. D.J. Fontana sat behind him. Jerry Scheff played beside him. The Jordanaires and Sweet Inspirations sang with him. \nKlush eventually stood beside some of those same people and played the music with them. \nThen Graceland held a competition to find its Ultimate Elvis. \nThey picked him first. \nOn August 30\, he brings all of that history to Mohegan Sun Arena. \nEvent Details\nEvent: Elvis Tribute Artist Spectacular starring Shawn Klush – Graceland’s Ultimate Elvis\nDate: Sunday\, August 30\, 2026\nTime: 7:30 p.m.\nLocation: Mohegan Sun Arena\nAddress: 1 Mohegan Sun Boulevard\, Uncasville\, CT 06382\nHeadliner: Shawn Klush\nShow: Elvis Tribute Artist Spectacular\nAdmission: Ticket required\nParking: Free self-parking available; reserved Riverview Garage parking available for purchase\nBag Policy: Backpacks\, string bags\, diaper bags\, shopping bags\, messenger bags\, briefcases and rolling-style bags aren’t permitted \nThe Elvis Tribute Artist Spectacular follows the different eras of Elvis Presley’s career\, led by Shawn Klush\, the first performer ever named Ultimate Elvis Tribute Artist by Elvis Presley Enterprises. \nMore information is available at the Event Website link below. \nTo purchase tickets\, click the Event Ticketing link below. \n  \nFeatured image is an artistic representation inspired by the event and may not depict the actual people\, location\, or activities shown. \n 
URL:https://thectbeacon.com/event/gracelands-first-ultimate-elvis-brings-the-king-back-to-mohegan-sun/
LOCATION:Mohegan Sun Arena\, 1 Mohegan Sun Blvd\, Uncasville\, 06382\, United States
CATEGORIES:Mohegan Sun
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://thectbeacon.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/Gracelands-First-Ultimate-Elvis-Brings-the-King-Back-to-Mohegan-Sun.jpg
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20260830T190000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20260830T210000
DTSTAMP:20260825T003454Z
CREATED:20260825T003454Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260825T003454Z
UID:10007264-1788116400-1788123600@thectbeacon.com
SUMMARY:The 60’s Explosion Show at the Wolf Den
DESCRIPTION:The 60’s Explosion Show at the Wolf Den brings the decade of The Beatles\, The Beach Boys\, Cream and psychedelic rock back to the Mohegan Sun on Sunday\, August 30. \nThe free 7 p.m. show isn’t built around one legendary band. It takes on an entire decade\, moving through the pop\, rock and dance music that transformed American radio during the 1960s. \nAnd The 60’s Explosion Show doesn’t intend to stand under ordinary stage lights and simply play the old records. \nThis is a five-piece Connecticut band with five-part vocals\, costumes\, props and live psychedelic stage effects designed to turn the music into a full-blown ’60s party. \nOne Decade Changed Everything\nThink about how much popular music changed between 1960 and 1969. \nThe decade began with the polished pop and rock & roll that had carried over from the 1950s. Then came surf music\, girl groups and Motown. \nIn February 1964\, The Beatles stepped onto The Ed Sullivan Show\, and the British Invasion was underway. \nThe Rolling Stones followed. So did The Kinks\, The Animals and scores of others. \nRock got louder. \nThen stranger. \nBy the second half of the decade\, Cream was pushing blues into heavier territory\, psychedelic rock was filling clubs and festival stages\, and musicians were experimenting with sounds that would have seemed almost unimaginable when the decade began. \nThe 60’s Explosion Show has plenty of territory to cover. \nFrom The Beatles to Steppenwolf\nRather than concentrate on one corner of the era\, The 60’s Explosion Show moves around the decade. \nThe band’s published repertoire has included music associated with The Beatles\, The Beach Boys\, The Association\, The Buckinghams\, Cream\, Steppenwolf\, Deep Purple and Spirit. \nOther descriptions of the show add The Rolling Stones\, The Monkees and The Grass Roots to the mix. \nThat means the night can jump from tightly constructed pop harmonies to British Invasion rock before moving into the heavier and more psychedelic sounds that emerged later in the decade. \nIt’s less a tribute to one group than a musical channel surfer stuck permanently somewhere between 1964 and 1969. \nFive Voices Matter\nOne of the more interesting things about The 60’s Explosion Show is its emphasis on vocals. \nThe group describes itself as a five-piece band featuring five-part vocal harmonies. \nThat’s a particularly useful weapon when you’re taking on this decade. \nThe 1960s produced records filled with elaborate harmonies\, layered backing vocals and arrangements that could become surprisingly sophisticated. Reproducing that music live requires more than finding somebody who can sing the lead. \nEverybody has work to do. \nThe band also says its voices\, music and effects are performed live. \nThen They Add the Psychedelia\nThe show isn’t intended to look like five musicians wandered into a bar wearing their normal clothes and happened to know some oldies. \nThe presentation is part of it. \nThe 60’s Explosion Show incorporates costumes and props along with psychedelic stage effects intended to evoke the increasingly colorful visual culture of the late ’60s. \nMohegan Sun describes it as both a concert and a dance-and-party experience. \nThat’s an important distinction. \nThere are tribute acts built around studying every movement of one particular performer. The 60’s Explosion Show is after something broader: the feeling people associate with the decade itself. \nThis Is a Connecticut Band\nThere’s a local connection here\, too. \nThe 60’s Explosion Show is based in the Norwich area and has been playing around southeastern Connecticut for years. \nIn fact\, there’s a public record of the band appearing at Norwich’s Rock the Docks concert series all the way back in July 2016. \nThe group returned to Rock the Docks in subsequent years and has remained active on the regional concert circuit. In 2026 alone\, its schedule has included performances in Connecticut and Rhode Island\, including Sprague’s River Park Music Nights and the Charlestown Rathskeller. \nThat makes the August 30 concert something other than a touring tribute act passing through Connecticut. \nThey’re playing home territory. \nThey’ve Been Here Before\nThe Wolf Den isn’t new territory for The 60’s Explosion Show either. \nMohegan Sun has repeatedly brought the act back to its intimate Casino of the Earth stage. \nThe band appeared there in April 2024 and returned on April 23 of this year. The August 30 date gives the group its second Wolf Den appearance of 2026. \nThat familiarity should help with the kind of show they’re trying to create. \nThe Wolf Den isn’t a sit-down theater where the stage feels removed from the audience. It’s a small room built in the middle of the casino floor\, with the audience wrapped around the performance area. \nWhen the goal is singing\, dancing and turning a Sunday night into a party\, proximity helps. \nAnd It Doesn’t Cost Anything\nHere’s the other appealing part. \nAdmission is free. \nThe Wolf Den has hosted everyone from emerging artists to performers whose careers stretch back decades\, but its shows remain free and first-come\, first-served. \nThere are no advance seat reservations. \nGuests may begin lining up no earlier than three hours before the performance. One person can hold up to four places in line\, but everyone must be present when seating begins. \nCapacity is limited\, so arriving early is a much safer strategy than walking over at 6:55 p.m. and hoping there’s room. \nGuests must be 21 or older to attend. \nSunday Night\, 1960-Something\nNobody walking into the Wolf Den on August 30 actually gets to go back. \nThe Beatles aren’t suddenly going to appear on Ed Sullivan. The Summer of Love isn’t starting over. Woodstock isn’t waiting at the end of the highway. \nBut the music survived all of it. \nThat’s what The 60’s Explosion Show gets to play with. \nFive musicians. Five voices. Costumes\, props and psychedelic effects. Songs that moved from transistor radios to turntables and somehow kept traveling for another half-century. \nFor a couple of hours Sunday night\, the calendar can say 2026. \nThe Wolf Den doesn’t have to. \nEvent Details\nEvent: The 60’s Explosion Show at the Wolf Den\nDate: Sunday\, August 30\, 2026\nTime: 7 p.m.\nLocation: Wolf Den at Mohegan Sun\nAddress: 1 Mohegan Sun Boulevard\, Uncasville\, CT 06382\nAdmission: Free\nAge Requirement: 21+\nSeating: First-come\, first-served; limited seating\nLine Policy: Guests may begin lining up no earlier than three hours before the show\nMusic: 1960s pop\, rock and dance music\nShow: Five-piece band with live vocals\, music and stage effects\nVenue: Non-smoking \nThe 60’s Explosion Show brings the British Invasion\, psychedelic rock and some of the biggest pop and rock sounds of the 1960s together for a free Sunday-night party at the Wolf Den. \n  \nFeatured image is an artistic representation inspired by the event and may not depict the actual people\, location\, or activities shown. \n 
URL:https://thectbeacon.com/event/the-60s-explosion-show-at-the-wolf-den/
LOCATION:Wolf Den\, 1 Mohegan Sun Blvs\, Uncasville\, CT\, 06382\, United States
CATEGORIES:Mohegan Sun
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://thectbeacon.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/The-60s-Explosion-Show-at-the-Wolf-Den.jpg
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20260829T200000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20260829T220000
DTSTAMP:20260826T002851Z
CREATED:20260826T002851Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260826T002851Z
UID:10007269-1788033600-1788040800@thectbeacon.com
SUMMARY:Demi Lovato at the Mohegan Sun Arena
DESCRIPTION:Demi Lovato at the Mohegan Sun Arena brings more than 15 years of pop hits and a dramatically lighter new chapter of her career on Saturday\, August 29\, with special guest BAYLI. \nThe 8 p.m. concert arrives after Lovato spent the spring touring arenas behind her ninth studio album\, It’s Not That Deep\, a record that marked another sharp turn in a career that has rarely stayed in one musical place for long. \nFans can expect the new dance-pop material alongside the songs that made Lovato one of her generation’s biggest voices\, including “Skyscraper\,” “Heart Attack\,” “Cool for the Summer” and “Sorry Not Sorry.” \nFrom Disney to Pop Star\nLong before the Grammy nomination and arena tours\, Lovato was an actor. \nHer breakthrough came through Disney Channel\, first with the short-form series As the Bell Rings and then with Camp Rock in 2008. Lovato starred as Mitchie Torres opposite the Jonas Brothers\, introducing a national audience to the powerful voice that would soon become the center of a recording career. \nHer debut album\, Don’t Forget\, arrived that same year. \nLovato followed it with Here We Go Again in 2009\, beginning a remarkable run: each of her first eight studio albums debuted inside the Top 10 of the Billboard 200. \nThe Disney star had become a pop star. \nA Voice Built for Big Songs\nLovato’s career has crossed pop\, R&B\, electronic music\, pop-punk and rock\, but the voice has remained the constant. \n“Skyscraper” became an early showcase in 2011\, stripping away much of the production and putting Lovato’s vocals front and center. \nThen came “Heart Attack.” \n“Cool for the Summer” pushed toward a bigger\, more provocative pop sound in 2015\, while “Sorry Not Sorry” became another defining hit two years later. \nThose songs helped build the catalog Lovato now brings into an arena alongside music created by a very different version of herself. \nShe Held a Funeral for Pop\nIn 2022\, Lovato appeared ready to leave pop music behind. \nHoly Fvck leaned aggressively into rock and pop-punk\, reconnecting with some of the heavier influences that had appeared earlier in her career. The 2023 project Revamped went even further\, rebuilding older Lovato hits as rock songs. \nShe even jokingly staged a “funeral” for her pop music. \nApparently\, pop wasn’t dead. \nBy 2025\, Lovato was teasing its resurrection. \nThe result was It’s Not That Deep\, her ninth studio album and an abrupt turn away from the distorted guitars of Holy Fvck toward dance floors\, synthesizers and club-pop production. \nThis Time\, It Really Isn’t That Deep\nThe title isn’t accidental. \nLovato has spent much of her career making intensely personal music\, often drawing from difficult periods of her life. \nIt’s Not That Deep was deliberately conceived from a different place. \nRather than turning every song inward\, Lovato wanted to make something fun. \nThe album moves through dance-pop\, house and electronic sounds with executive producer Zhone\, whose previous work includes Troye Sivan’s “Rush” and Kesha’s “Joyride.” \n“Fast” races directly toward the dance floor\, while “Here All Night” pairs a breakup with the decision to go out rather than sit home thinking about it. \n“Kiss\,” “Frequency” and “Sorry to Myself” continue the shift between pure pop release and the flashes of emotional honesty Lovato has never completely abandoned. \nThe original 11-song album arrived in October 2025\, followed by expanded editions with additional material. \nPopvato Came Back to Life\nThe change isn’t simply audible on the record. \nLovato returned to choreography for the “Here All Night” video after years away from dance-heavy performances. \nThat energy carried into the 2026 It’s Not That Deep Tour\, Lovato’s first major headlining tour in three years. \nThe spring arena run included Madison Square Garden in New York\, TD Garden in Boston\, the United Center in Chicago\, the Kia Forum in Los Angeles and other major venues across North America. \nAfter wrapping that run in May\, Lovato returned for additional summer performances. \nShe plays Atlantic City on Friday\, August 28. \nOne night later\, she’s at Mohegan Sun. \nThe Hits Didn’t Disappear\nThe new album may establish the mood\, but Lovato has more than a decade of songs to draw from. \n“Skyscraper.” \n“Heart Attack.” \n“Cool for the Summer.” \n“Sorry Not Sorry.” \nThose records come from different periods of a career that has repeatedly changed direction\, which is part of what makes the current show interesting. \nA Lovato concert in 2026 has to connect the young singer who emerged from Disney Channel\, the powerhouse ballad singer\, the pop hitmaker\, the rock performer of Holy Fvck and the artist currently making glossy dance music. \nIt’s several different Demi Lovato eras sharing one stage. \nMeet BAYLI\nSaturday’s special guest brings a different New York music story to the Arena. \nBAYLI is a Brooklyn singer\, songwriter and rapper whose music moves among pop\, R&B and hip-hop. \nBefore launching her solo career\, she fronted The Skins\, a Brooklyn band she formed with her siblings and friends. The group developed a reputation through New York’s live-music scene before BAYLI stepped forward as a solo artist. \nHer music has since combined melodic pop songwriting with R&B\, rap and electronic production. \nThat genre-hopping background makes BAYLI a particularly natural opener for a headliner who has spent her own career refusing to remain in a single musical lane. \nAn Arena Weekend at Mohegan Sun\nLovato’s concert falls in the middle of a packed late-August run at Mohegan Sun Arena. \nTLC\, Salt-N-Pepa and En Vogue take over the room Friday night. Lovato follows Saturday\, and the Elvis Tribute Artist Spectacular starring Shawn Klush arrives Sunday. \nFor Lovato’s performance\, the pit is general admission and standing room only. There are no chairs in the pit. \nFree self-parking is available in Mohegan Sun’s three garages and Winter Lot. Reserved parking on the ground floor of the Riverview Garage is also available as a paid upgrade. \nGuests should check what they’re carrying before heading toward the Arena. Backpacks\, string bags\, diaper bags\, shopping bags\, messenger bags\, briefcases and rolling-style bags aren’t permitted. \nFifteen Years Later\, Another Version of Demi\nDemi Lovato has spent enough time in public that it’s easy to forget how young she was when it started. \nCamp Rock arrived in 2008. \nThen came albums\, tours\, acting\, enormous singles and repeated musical reinventions. \nRock replaced pop. \nThen pop came back from its own funeral. \nSaturday’s Mohegan Sun show catches Lovato at the other end of that journey\, no longer needing every song or every era to carry the weight of everything that came before it. \nSometimes you can turn up the synthesizers\, switch on the lights and make a pop record because dancing feels good. \nIt doesn’t always have to be that deep. \nEvent Details\nEvent: Demi Lovato with special guest BAYLI\nDate: Saturday\, August 29\, 2026\nTime: 8 p.m.\nLocation: Mohegan Sun Arena\nAddress: 1 Mohegan Sun Boulevard\, Uncasville\, CT 06382\nHeadliner: Demi Lovato\nSpecial Guest: BAYLI\nAdmission: Ticket required\nPit: Standing general admission; no chairs\nParking: Free self-parking available\nReserved Parking: Paid Riverview Garage reserved parking available \nDemi Lovato brings the dance-pop sound of It’s Not That Deep together with more than 15 years of hits for a Saturday-night Arena concert with special guest BAYLI. \n  \nTo purchase tickets\, click the Event Ticketing link below. \n  \nFeatured image is an artistic representation inspired by the event and may not depict the actual people\, location\, or activities shown.
URL:https://thectbeacon.com/event/demi-lovato-at-the-mohegan-sun-arena/
LOCATION:Mohegan Sun Arena\, 1 Mohegan Sun Blvd\, Uncasville\, 06382\, United States
CATEGORIES:Mohegan Sun
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DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20260829T200000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20260829T220000
DTSTAMP:20260824T030219Z
CREATED:20260824T030109Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260824T030219Z
UID:10007262-1788033600-1788040800@thectbeacon.com
SUMMARY:Because He Got High... Afroman Is Coming to Mohegan Sun
DESCRIPTION:Afroman brings one of the most recognizable comedy-rap songs of the early 2000s\, a Grammy-nominated career and more than 25 years of hip-hop to the Sun Patio at Mohegan Sun on Saturday\, August 29. \nThe outdoor concert begins at 8 p.m. and is part of Mohegan Sun’s ticketed Sun Patio Concert Series\, which brings nationally known performers to the outdoor venue throughout the summer. \nAnd yes\, there’s almost no chance Afroman gets through the night without explaining exactly why he didn’t clean his room. \nBefore “Because I Got High”\nAfroman was born Joseph Foreman\, and his DIY approach to making music started remarkably early. \nWhile in eighth grade\, Foreman recorded a homemade song about a teacher who had gotten him kicked out of school for sagging his pants. He began selling copies to classmates\, and according to Afroman’s account\, roughly 400 copies eventually circulated among students and teachers. \nThe experience taught him something. \nEven when he wasn’t physically at school\, his music could be. \nLong before social media allowed an artist to bypass the traditional music business and reach listeners directly\, Afroman had already stumbled onto the basic idea. \nMusic was also part of his life outside hip-hop. As a youngster\, he played drums and guitar in church\, and guitar would remain part of his musical identity after he became known primarily as a rapper. \nA Hit Born on Napster\nAfroman independently released his first album\, My Fro-losophy\, in 1998. \nAfter relocating to Hattiesburg\, Mississippi\, he connected with producer Tim Ramenofsky\, better known as Headfridge\, along with musicians Jody Stallone and Darrell Havard. \nThe resulting album\, Because I Got High\, arrived in 2000. \nThen something happened that could almost only have happened at that particular moment in music history. \nThe title track began spreading through Napster. \nAt the turn of the millennium\, the file-sharing service was disrupting the record industry by allowing millions of people to trade digital music directly. For an independent artist without the promotional machinery of a major label\, it also created an unexpected way for a song to travel. \n“Because I Got High” traveled. \nFast. \nIt Started With a Dirty Room\nThe inspiration wasn’t exactly profound. \nAfroman didn’t want to clean his room. \nThat became the foundation for an escalating series of everyday responsibilities abandoned for the same reason: he got high. \nThe joke was simple enough to understand immediately\, the chorus nearly impossible to forget\, and the song eventually made its way to The Howard Stern Show. \nBy 2001\, Afroman had an international hit. \n“Because I Got High” also appeared in Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back and became permanently attached to the particular strain of stoner comedy that flourished around the beginning of the century. \nThen the Recording Academy came calling. \nFrom Napster to the Grammys\n“Because I Got High” earned Afroman a nomination for Best Rap Solo Performance at the 2002 Grammy Awards. \nHe didn’t win. \nBut consider the route that got him there. \nAn independent musician recorded an absurd song inspired by not cleaning his room\, distributed the album at concerts and through an illegal file-sharing network\, watched the song spread across the Internet and eventually found himself nominated for one of the music industry’s biggest awards. \nA major-label deal followed. \nAfroman joined Cypress Hill’s Smoke Out festival alongside acts including Method Man and Deftones\, and Universal Records signed him to a multi-album deal. \nThe label released The Good Times in 2001\, combining previously recorded material with additional songs and putting Afroman in front of a much larger audience. \nThen There’s “Crazy Rap”\nFor a lot of people\, Afroman has two songs permanently lodged somewhere in their early-2000s memory. \nThe second is officially called “Crazy Rap.” \nPlenty of people know it by another name. \n“Colt 45 and Two Zig-Zags.” \nThe long\, comedic story-song became another enduring Afroman favorite and helped establish that the humor of “Because I Got High” wasn’t a one-time accident. \nComedy became part of his musical identity. \nRather than spend the next 25 years trying to distance himself from the novelty and marijuana humor that made him famous\, Afroman embraced it. \nHis shows combine hip-hop\, storytelling\, comedy\, audience interaction and the guitar-playing that reaches back to his musical beginnings. \nHe Went Independent Again\nThe massive success of “Because I Got High” briefly put Afroman inside the traditional major-label system. \nIt didn’t keep him there. \nHe eventually returned to releasing music independently\, using the Internet to maintain a direct relationship with listeners. \nIn a strange way\, it brought his career back to where it started. \nFirst he sold homemade recordings to classmates. \nThen his music spread through Napster. \nEventually\, digital distribution and social media gave independent musicians the ability to release music directly to audiences without waiting for a traditional record company to decide whether they belonged. \nAfroman had already been doing some version of that since eighth grade. \nStill on the Road 25 Years Later\nThe strangest part of the Afroman story may be its longevity. \n“Because I Got High” became a phenomenon in 2001\, the sort of enormous novelty-infused hit that can easily turn an artist into a pop-culture time capsule. \nAfroman kept going. \nHe’s continued recording and touring independently\, while “Because I Got High” and “Crazy Rap” remain staples of his live performances. \nHis 2026 schedule continues beyond Connecticut with performances around the country. \nSo Saturday’s Sun Patio show isn’t simply an early-2000s nostalgia appearance. \nIt’s another stop in a career that somehow survived the transition from homemade tapes to Napster\, major labels\, streaming and social media. \nA Different Kind of Sun Patio Concert\nIt’s worth distinguishing Saturday’s show from the free Friday-night Party on the Sun Patio concerts at Mohegan Sun. \nAfroman appears as part of the separate Sun Patio Concert Series. \nThese are ticketed concerts featuring nationally known performers\, with the 2026 schedule also including artists such as Rick Ross\, Ying Yang Twins\, Dion and Lakeview. \nThe Afroman concert is open to all ages and takes place rain or shine. \nGeneral admission is standing room only. Guests aren’t permitted to bring chairs\, coolers or outside food and beverages. \nThe Sun Patio Bar is restricted to guests 21 and older with valid identification. \nFood\, Drinks and an Outdoor Stage\nThe Sun Patio is located outside the Casino of the Earth between the Indian Summer and Riverview parking garages. \nMohegan Sun expanded the outdoor venue with a larger stage and upgraded sound system\, creating a space that can shift between its free weekly entertainment and larger ticketed concerts such as Afroman. \nFor Saturday night\, Mohegan Sun currently lists Reel Catch\, Rollin’ Ghost and Yummy Wagon among the food trucks. \nPizza from The Crafty Slice and fresh-popped popcorn are also expected to be available\, while the Sun Patio Bar serves cocktails\, mocktails and other beverages. \nFire pits aren’t available for purchase during Sun Patio Concert Series performances. \nThe Indian Summer Garage and Riverview Parking Garage are the recommended parking locations. \nHe Was Going to Clean His Room…\nThere aren’t many artists whose entire career can be traced back through so many vanished pieces of technology and culture. \nHomemade tapes. \nNapster. \nThe Howard Stern Show. \nEarly-2000s stoner comedies. \nMajor-label record deals. \nThen downloads\, streaming and social media. \nAfroman managed to travel through all of them. \nAnd somehow the song at the center of the whole thing remains a three-word explanation for why absolutely nothing got accomplished. \nTwenty-five years later\, people still know the punchline. \nOn August 29\, they’ll probably sing it for him. \nEvent Details\nEvent: Afroman at the Sun Patio\nDate: Saturday\, August 29\, 2026\nTime: 8 p.m.\nLocation: Sun Patio at Mohegan Sun\nAddress: 1 Mohegan Sun Boulevard\, Uncasville\, CT 06382\nSeries: Sun Patio Concert Series\nAdmission: Ticket required\nAge: All ages\nFormat: General admission\, standing room only\nWeather: Rain or shine\nChairs: Not permitted\nCoolers and Outside Food or Drinks: Not permitted\nSun Patio Bar: 21+ with valid ID\nFeatured Food Trucks: Reel Catch\, Rollin’ Ghost and Yummy Wagon\nRecommended Parking: Indian Summer Garage or Riverview Parking Garage \nAfroman brings “Because I Got High\,” “Crazy Rap” and more than 25 years of hip-hop\, humor and storytelling to Mohegan Sun’s outdoor Sun Patio. \nMore information is available at the Event Website link below. \nTo purchase tickets\, click the Event Ticketing link below. \nRa \nFeatured image is an artistic representation inspired by the event and may not depict the actual people\, location\, or activities shown. \n 
URL:https://thectbeacon.com/event/because-he-got-high-afroman-is-coming-to-mohegan-sun/
LOCATION:Sun Patio at the Mohegan Sun\, 1 Mohegan Sun Blvd\, Uncasville\, 06382\, United States
CATEGORIES:Mohegan Sun
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