Toby Keith Drives ‘American Ride’ Tour to Foxwoods

Country singer and prolific songwriter Toby Keith roars into the MGM Grand Theater at Foxwoods Friday, Feb. 11, with his American Ride tour, sponsored by – who else – the Ford F series truck.

Keith has topped the charts for most of his almost 20-year career and has been named Billboard's No. 1 Country Artist of the Decade and No.1 Country Songwriter of the Decade. He is a three-time BMI Country Artist/Songwriter of the Year.

He says he has so many ideas for songs that he carries a recording app on his cell phone, “so I don’t lose a single idea. Not one,” he says.

At Foxwoods, he will perform hits from his recently released 15th album, “Bullets in the Gun,” and start the festivities with the title song. “Bullets” shot to the top of both the Billboard Top 200 and Country Albums charts, as you might guess. Straight-ahead performer Eric Church opens the show.  "Honesty is my No. 1 responsibility,” Church says of his style. “If you listen to this, you'll find out who I am.”

The show starts at 8 p.m. Tickets are $85-125 and can be found at http://www.mgmatfoxwoods.com/tobykeith.aspx, along with other information.

All New Art by Olof Aspelin

Portraitist, illustrator and artistic social commentator Olof Aspelin will open a show of all new artworks Friday, Feb. 11, at Middle Ground Café on Main Street, Stafford Springs. Aspelin, both a studio and outdoor artist, studied art at the Academy of Art University in San Francisco. His unique style will give you plenty to ponder and discuss. It might even haunt you some.

The opening is Friday, 6 p.m. until 9 p.m., and is free. The Middle Ground Café is at 42 Main St. For views of past artwork, visit http://www.myspace.com/olofaspelin.

Aztec Two-Step Turns 40 at Cheney Hall

The classic folk rock duo Aztec Two-Step has been compared to James Taylor and, of course, Simon & Garfunkel, whose music they’ve performed to adoring audiences. But after 40 years of pleasing crowds, they can just be themselves when they come to celebrate that milestone Saturday, Feb. 12, at Cheney Hall in Manchester.

At the time of its 15th anniversary concert, The Hartford Courant said, “Here was music that was honest, that spoke from the heart and soul without guilt or guile, that sang of hope, love and peace without any trace of irony. It was music that had its priorities straight.”  

The 40th Anniversary Concert will rock the historic hall – once a hospital, library, armory and fabric store before hosting presidential speeches and other artistic dramas – as it marks the 20thanniversary year of housing the Little Theatre of Manchester. Cheney Hall is located at 177 Hartford Road, Manchester, in the heart of the Cheney Brothers Historic District.

The music starts at 8 p.m. Tickets are $40 for VIP seating and $30 for general. For information or tickets, call 860-647-9824.

Put Your Big Hair on and Go to E.O.

“Hairspray,” the ’60s-style musical that takes on the injustices of racism against a big-hair backdrop, ran on Broadway for 2,500 performances and closed two years ago. Now, it’s back. At E.O. Smith Regional High School.

Based on the original John Waters film of the same title, the musical showcases ’60s dance music and downtown rhythm and blues in a Baltimore setting. Chubby teenager Tracy Turnblad’s dream is to dance on a local TV show. When she wins a spot, she becomes a local celebrity and launches a campaign to integrate the show.

The E.O. Smith production of this eight-Tony Award treat has performances Friday-Sunday, Feb. 11-13: Friday and Saturday nights at 7:30 p.m., and Saturday and Sunday matinees at 1:30 p.m.. The E.O. Smith auditorium is at 1235 Storrs Road, Mansfield. Tickets are $7-$9. For information, call 860-429-3437 or e-mail DEdominique409@aol.com.

Crème de la Poème at UConn Co-op

Five top student poets from colleges around the state will read their works Wednesday, Feb. 16, at 5 p.m. at the UConn Co-op in a free event sponsored by the Co-op and the Creative Writing Program in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences.

Featured students are Luisa Caycedo-Kimura (Southern Connecticut State University), Kate Lund (Yale University), Tim Pettus (University of Hartford), Hannah Watkins (Middlesex Community College), and Joe Welch (University of Connecticut). For more information, visit http://www.creativewriting.uconn.edu.

Coming Soon: The Takács Quartet

The Grammy-winning Takács Quartet will play a program of Haydn, Bartók and Schubert on Thursday, Feb. 17, at 7:30 p.m. at Jorgensen Center for the Performing Arts. The Hungarian-seeded ensemble has interpreted the world’s great string quartets to audiences around the globe. Michael Lankester, former music director of the Hartford Symphony Orchestra, will provide additional insight about the composers and their music at the free 30-minute concert talk at 6:45 p.m. For tickets or information, call 860-486-4226 or visit Jorgensen.uconn.edu.