Pride Month continues with timely tours of bisexual rapper Tokischa (on her “Pride Tour”) and the original five “Queer Eye for the Straight Guy” co-hosts.
But this is also a week of doom metal (Pallbearer, Rezn and The Keening), classic blues rock (John Fogerty with George Thorogood), cutting-edge arena acts like Jay Wheeler and A Boogie Wit Da Hoodie, the return of a reinvigorated Nick Lowe with Los Straitjackets, Afro-Appalachian singer/songwriter Gregory Alan Isakov and much more.
There’s also the Hartbeat Music Festival happening at Riverfront Recapture.
There’s a lot of local pride to be had. Here are some of the top things to see this week in Connecticut.
Out Film’s Connecticut LGBTQ Film Festival celebrates Pride Month with dozens of features, shorts
John Fogerty Mohegan Sun Arena, 1 Mohegan Sun Blvd., Uncasville
The Creedence Clearwater Revival founder and longtime solo artist is on tour with fellow blues-rocker George Thorogood and the Destroyers and Hearty Har. That’s a lot of swampy rootsy guitar riffs. June 16 at 7 p.m. $81.20-$271.40. mohegansun.com.
James Hunter Katharine Hepburn Cultural Arts Center, 300 Main St., Old Saybrook
The acclaimed British R&B/soul singer/songwriter, who began his career with Howlin’ Wilf and the Vee-Jays in the 1980s, has been compared to Van Morrison and has earned the encomium “The United Kingdom’s Greatest Soul Singer” from MOJO Magazine. Hunter is on a U.S. tour which brings him to The Kate in Old Saybrook on June 16 at 7 p.m. $52. thekate.org.
Niall Horan Hartford HealthCare Amphitheater, 500 Broad St., Bridgeport
Niall Horan may have become world-famous as a member of One Direction, but he’s been a formidable solo act for eight years now. His new tour is based around his album “The Show,” which was released around a year ago. June 18 at 7:30 p.m. $163.25-$243.40. hartfordhealthcareamp.com.
Pallbearer Space Ballroom, 295 Treadwell St., Hamden
The respected Arkansas doom metal band Pallbearer has been around since 2016 and released its fifth album “Mind Burns Alive” The Pallbearer show on June 18 at 8 p.m. at Space Ballroom in Hamden also features sets by fellow doom metal acts Rezn (from Chicago) and Portland’s The Keening (featuring Rebecca Vernon of SubRosa). $32.34. spaceballroom.com.
The Wood Brothers Infinity Hall, 32 Front St., Hartford
The May Infinity Hall show by the Wood Brothers — namely siblings Chris Wood (from Medeski Martin and Wood) and Oliver Wood (who released a new solo album last month) plus drummer/keyboardist Jano Rix — had to be postponed and is now happening June 20 at 8 p.m., a few days after the Wood Brothers play Levitt Pavilion in Westport on June 16. $45. infinityhall.com.
Jay Wheeler Hartford HealthCare Amphitheater, 500 Broad St., Bridgeport
Puerto Rican singer/songwriter Jay Wheeler of “La Curiosidad” fame has a new album out, “Música Buena Para Días Malos,” and a major tour that hits Hartford HealthCare Amphitheater on June 20 at 7:30 p.m. $85.50-$223.25. hartfordhealthcareamp.com.
Tokischa The Webster, 31 Webster St., Hartford
Tokischa, the sexually liberated Dominican rapper known for her infectious dembow beats and the inspiration for the Madonna single “Hung Up on Tokischa” brings her “Nací Perra Pride Tour” to The Webster. June 21 at 8 p.m. $50, $55 early entrance, $800 VIP Booth, $1500 VIP Suite. thewebsterct.com.
Countess Luann: ‘Marry F Kill!’ Shubert Theatre, 247 College St., New Haven
“Real Housewives of New York” stalwart Luann de Lesseps, aka Countess Luann, is on tour with her latest cabaret entertainment, “Marry F Kill!” The Shubert in New Haven is ideal for such a mix of pop standards, original numbers about her Countessy habits and lots of banter. June 21 at 8 p.m. $38-$267. shubert.com.
Cedric the Entertainer Mohegan Sun Arena, 1 Mohegan Sun Blvd., Uncasville
Those “Barbershop” films were over 20 years ago, but Cedric the Entertainer is still with the TV series “The Neighborhood,” and his prowess as a stand-up comic has been secure since the 1990s, especially since his tours as one of the “Kings of Comedy” in the mid-2000s. Cedric the Entertainer entertains June 22 at 7:30 p.m. $47.70-$114.45. mohegansun.com.
A Boogie Wit Da Hoodie Xfinity Theatre, 61 Savitt Way, Hartford
In recent months the rapper/singer/songwriter A Boogie Wit Da Hoodie released the EP “Alone” and the album “Better Off Alone,” and now he’s on his “Better Off Alone Tour.” He won’t feel alone on June 22 at 8 p.m. at Hartford’s spacious Xfinity Theatre. $54.35-$254. concerts.livenation.com.
Comedy Night Playhouse on Park, 244 Park Road, West Hartford
Playhouse on Park’s production of “Toni Stone” closed on June 16 and the musical “The Prom” opens on July 10. Good time for one of the theater’s regular Comedy Night stand-up shows. The featured funny men are Kevin Lee and Paul Nardizzi. June 22 at 8 p.m. $20. playhouseonpark.org.
Nick Lowe and Los Straitjackets Infinity Hall, 32 Front St., Hartford
Nick Lowe has toured through Connecticut regularly for years, backed by the exemplary masked musicians Los Straitjackets. But this time the punk rock and “pure pop” pioneer, who produced iconic hits by The Damned, Wreckless Eric and Elvis Costello for the legendary Stiff Records label then had a few pop hits himself (“Cruel to Be Kind,” “So It Goes”) has just released his first album in over a decade, “Indoor Safari.” Los Straitjackets play on it and it is a return to the rock and roll sounds of Lowe’s youth. June 22 at 8 p.m. $38-$68. infinityhall.com.
Hartbeat Music Festival Mortensen Riverfront Plaza, 300 Columbus Blvd., Hartford
The annual Hartbeat Music Festival fills three outdoor stages at the Riverfront Recapture area in Hartford with dozens of top Connecticut-based bands, rocking in the summertime on June 22 from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. This year’s diverse lineup for the 10-hour multistage festival, with overlapping sets due to the three stages, includes a local School of Rock set (11 a.m.), Balkun Brothers (11:30 a.m.), Khay Larhon (11:45 a.m.), Mixed Company (12:15 p.m.), A Marquise & Friends (12:30 p.m.), Nathaniel Hintz (12:30 p.m.), Righteous Continental (1:15 p.m.), Bryan Alfred (1:30 p.m.), JOATA (1:40 p.m.), Ysanne (2:15 p.m.), Undercover Cameo (2:30 p.m.), Stattic (2:45 p.m.), Jason Lapierre (3:15 p.m.), Charmagne Tripp (3:30 p.m.), Nikita (3:55 p.m.), Adversity (4 p.m.), Jake Kulak & the Modern Vandals (4:30 p.m.), The Sparkle & Fade (5 p.m.), Ian D’Arcangelo (5 p.m.), Bap Pack (5:45 p.m.), Esor Rose (6 p.m.), festival founders The Professors of Sweet, Sweet Music (6:45 p.m.), The KC Sisters (7 p.m.) and a concluding set by “The Voice” Season 1 winner Javier Colon (8 p.m.). Adelaide Pumpkin and A Marquise also act as stage hosts. Free. hartford.com.
The Original Fab Five Foxwoods Resort Casino, 350 Trolley Line Blvd., Mashantucket
Some famous “Fab” groups never were able to reunite, but the original “Fab Five” co-hosts from “Queer Eye for the Straight Guy” are back together and on tour. That includes food and wine expert Ted Allen, grooming professional Kyan Douglas, designer Thom Filicia, fashion stylist Carson Kressley and culture maven Jai Rodriguez. Expect things to get catty at Foxwoods’ Great Cedar Showroom. June 22 at 8 p.m. $71.95-$132.15. foxwoods.com.
Nikki Glaser Foxwoods Resort Casino, 350 Trolley Line Blvd., Mashantucket
Comedian Nikki Glaser has played casinos for years, had her own TV series, hosted reality shows and had comedy specials and dozens of acting roles, but her career leaped to a new level this year when she nailed her section of Netflix’s “The Roast of Tom Brady.” A second show was added to her latest Foxwoods appearance at the Premier Theater. June 22 at 8 p.m., June 23 at 7 p.m. $67.80-$847.85. foxwoods.com.
Gregory Alan Isakov College Street Music Hall, 238 College St., New Haven
South African-born Colorado-based singer/songwriter Gregory Alan Isakov has developed a unique blend of indie rock and European traditional folk sounds. His eighth album “Appaloosa Bones” was released last year. Isakov is at College Street Music Hall on June 22 at 7:30 p.m. with Liberian refugee and self-described Afro-Appalachian artist Mon Rovîa opening. $65.29-$75.59. collegestreetmusichall.com.
