It’s a week of reinventions and reconsiderations on Connecticut stages.
Alabama Shakes, or at least three-fourths of the band, got back together last year after eight years apart, during which time vocalist Brittany Howard released two solo albums. The new Alabama Shakes album, the first in over a decade, was released this past Friday.
Tribute bands now rule the world, but the craze for musical impersonation first got going when Elvis Presley was king back in the mid-1950s. Elvis is still the gold standard for tribute acts, with different artists concentrating on each phase of his long career. One of the most revered Elvis acts, Shawn Klush, is now 15 years older than the real Elvis was when he died.
Another tribute to a deceased rock idol is Murder Junkies, the final sidemen of GG Allin, the willfully abhorrent punk rocker who in his prime was barred from playing many Connecticut clubs and who died in 1993. Murder Junkies keeps the Allin legend alive. They return to Cafe Nine, where they last played just a year ago.
Staind vocalist Aaron Lewis announced in 2017 that he couldn’t see the band touring extensively again, and he kept that promise for a while, doing short jaunts or special shows. The band now goes on the road for six or eight weeks at a time, a lot less than the constant gigging these Massachusetts metallists did in their youth but still more than a lot of bands these days are used to. Staind is doing 16 shows in September alone, starting off the month with “An Evening with Staind” show at Mohegan Sun Arena that will differ from the later arena appearances.
A couple of acts visiting Connecticut this week have seen the musical landscape change around them in the more than 50 years they’ve been around. Grand Funk Railroad, from Flint, Michigan, sold millions of records back when AM top 40 radio was still a thing. Marty Stuart was a guitar phenomenon, playing in the bands of legends Johnny Cash, Lester Flatt, Vassar Clements and Doc Watson in his teens and early 20s before going solo in the early ‘80s.
The Reverend Horton Heat, who’s around the same age as Marty Stuart but, like some of those Elvis impersonators, is keen to keep a sound from a time before he was born alive as long as he can. The reverend was a big part of the rockabilly/psychobilly/roots rock revival of the ‘80s and continues to preach that giddy gospel today. When he started, the music he was paying tribute to was about 30 years old and some of its original practitioners were still around. Now they’re pretty much all gone and the Reverend Horton Heat has been doing been his rockabilly revival thing for over 40 years.
Likewise, the birth of the Rebirth Jazz Band was in the early 1980s. The ensemble continues to place traditional New Orleans jazz sounds in a contemporary context.
A classically rich world premiere of sensitive wartime drama ‘The Snow Goose’ coming to Goodspeed
Andrew Keenan-Bolger
Andrew Keenan-Bolger, the Broadway star of “Newsies,” and “Beauty and the Beast” and more, also writes novels and produces TV shows. He brings his concert act to Branford, where it is the final concert of the 2025-26 Sunday Broadway Concert series at the Legacy Theatre. The 2026-27 season starts up in October. Legacy Theatre, 128 Thimble Islands Road, Branford. Aug. 30 at 2 p.m $41.50-$51.50. legacytheatrect.org.
Elvis Tribute Artist Spectacular starring Shawn Klush
Shawn Klush is one of the most acclaimed Elvis impersonators in what is still a very crowded field, and he’s not alone. Mohegan Sun Arena, 1 Mohegan Sun Blvd., Uncasville. Aug. 30 at 7:30 p.m. $52.45-$71.55. mohegansun.com.
Murder Junkies
Murder Junkies were the touring band that backed notorious punk rocker GG Allin from early 1991 until his death in 1993, also recording the album “Brutality and Bloodshed for All” with him. Opening acts include The Cadavers, often cited as one of the first punk bands in Connecticut, and Piss Poor. Cafe Nine, 250 State St., New Haven. Aug. 31 at 8 p.m. $15, $12 in advance. cafenine.com.
Alabama Shakes
The bluesy Americana band Alabama Shakes is back in action. Hannah Cohen, who had a hit with “Summer Sweat” last year, opens. Hartford HealthCare Amphitheater, 500 Broad St., Bridgeport. Sept. 1 at 7:30 p.m. $39.50-$144.05. hartfordhealthcareamp.com.
Breaking Benjamin
The Pennsylvania rock band Breaking Benjamin has now been around for more than a quarter of a century and are still packing stadiums. There are three other acts on this tour: Chevelle, Kami Kehoe and Starset. Hartford HealthCare Amphitheater, 500 Broad St., Bridgeport. Sept. 3 at 6 p.m. $126.25-$635.65. hartfordhealthcareamp.com.
Yeshua Flores
Breaking Benjamin is at Hartford HealthCare Amphitheater on Sept. 3 with Chevelle, Kami Kehoe and Starset. (Yeshua Flores)
I Set My Friends on Fire
The Florida experimentalist post-hardcore band I Set My Friends on Fire, still featuring founding vocalist Matt Mehana, is still sitting on some unreleased albums from years ago. The Webster, 31 Webster St., Hartford. Sept. 3 at 6 p.m. $32.15, $29.65 in advance. thewebsterct.com.
Rebirth Brass Band
Rebirth Brass Band has been sharing the delights of traditional New Orleans jazz with the world for decades, updating those classic sounds through the modern filters of soul, funk and hip-hop. Infinity Music Hall, 20 Greenwoods Road West, Norfolk. Sept. 3 at 8 p.m. $40.21-$54.64. infinityhall.com.
Marty Stuart and His Fabulous Superlatives
Country/bluegrass traditionalist Marty Stuart is a legendary guitarist who has been playing professionally for over 50 years. Ridgefield Playhouse, 80 East Ridge, Ridgefield. Sept. 3 at 8 p.m. $86-$96. ridgefieldplayhouse.org.
Staind
Decades ago Connecticut saw the Springfield-rooted Staind go from a local band to an internationally renowned rock metal act. It was a show at The Webster that helped move Staind into the big time. Vocalist Aaron Lewis has always had a soft spot for Mohegan Sun, so this “Evening with Staind” is just the latest of many special shows there. Mohegan Sun Arena, 1 Mohegan Sun Blvd., Uncasville. Sept. 3 at 8 p.m. $53.80-$391.80. mohegansun.com.
Grand Funk Railroad
Grand Funk Railroad, the ‘70s rock powerhouse that scored big hits with “We’re an American Band,” “Some Kinda Wonderful” and a cover of “The Locomotion,” are still chugging along with founding members Don Brewer and Mel Schacher. Foxwoods Great Cedar Showroom, 350 Trolley Line Blvd., Mashantucket. Sept. 4 at 8 p.m. $64.25-$107.35. foxwoods.com.
Dave Vann
One of the most popular touring bands on the summer circuit, the Tedeschi Trucks Band, is doing back-to-back shows on Sept. 4 and 5 at the Hartford HealthCare Amphitheater in Bridgeport. (Dave Vann)
The Reverend Horton Heat
Rockabilly revivalist Rev. Horton Heat and his nattily dressed cohorts rock the Katharine Hepburn Cultural Arts Center, 300 Main St., Old Saybrook. Sept. 4 at 8 p.m. $55. thekate.org.
Earth Tongue
The New Zealand psychedelic rock duo Earth Tongue is on a U.S. tour. Softspot opens. Space Ballroom, 295 Treadwell St., Hamden. Sept. 4 at 8 p.m. $432.34, $26.69 in advance. spaceballroom.com.
Magic of Michael Grandinetti
The illusionist Michael Grandinetti does an intimate theater show. Westport Country Playhouse, 25 Powers Court, Westport. Sept. 4 at 8 p.m. $55-$65. westportplayhouse.org.
Jesse McCartney
Jesse McCartney was a soap opera star and a member of a boy band, but he’s been known as a solo singer/songwriter for nearly 25 years. The Palace, 61 Atlantic St., Stamford. Sept. 4 at 8 p.m. $52.75-$64.90. palacestamford.org.
Tedeschi Trucks Band
Tedeschi Trucks Band returns to the Hartford HealthCare Amphitheater at 500 Broad St. in Bridgeport for back-to-back shows Sept. 4 and 5 with Sheryl Crow opening. It’s a point of pride for Tedeschi Trucks that when they two consecutive shows in the same venue, they do different sets each night. $85.75-$349.05. hartfordhealthcareamp.com.