COMEDY
Warning: Adult Language
Comedian Dave Attell
Big Jay Oakerson
At The Klein Memorial Auditorium
Friday, September 12, 8pm
Buy Tickets: $17-$42
FTC Members: Discount 
Doors Open at 7pm
Dave Attell was named one of the 25 Funniest People in America by Entertainment Weekly. His caustic wit, rapid-fire delivery and his choice of material that can best be described as "very adult" has earned him the reputation as a "comic's comic."
Jon Stewart, who came up with Attell on the Village comedy scene, calls him "the funniest man in New York." Dave Attell simply shines as a club comic. His ability to take some of the shock value out of sex and drugs material and replace it with something a little more abstract lifts him above comics mining the same subjects.
Opening is Big Jay Oakerson.
ROCK DIVA
Unplugged: "Love Is A Battlefield"
Pat Benatar & Neil Giraldo
Lindsey Rush
At The Klein Memorial Auditorium
Sunday, August 31, 8pm
Buy Tickets: $37-$77
FTC Members: $10 Discount
Doors Open at 7pm
Pat Benatar is a certified rock'n'roll superstar, a four-time Grammy winner with six platinum and four gold albums to her credit as well as such hit singles as "I Need A Lover," "Heartbreaker," "Fire and Ice," and "Hit Me With Your Best Shot." Touring with her is producer, guitarist and husband Neil Giraldo.
Opening is singer-songwriter Lindsey Rush.
BLUES FOLK ROCK
"Luckiest Man"
The Wood Brothers
Carsie Blanton
Wednesday, September 3, 8pm
Buy Tickets: $22
FTC Members: $17
Doors Open at 7pm
"A testament to two musicians whose chemistry is so potent it ought to be bottled." -All Music Guide
Opening is Carsie Blanton.
FASHION
Jennifer Butler Fall Fashion Show
Thursday, September 4, 7:30pm
Buy Tickets: $27
FTC Members: $17
Doors Open at 7pm
Fairfield clothing designer Jennifer Butler is back for the third time with her popular seasonal fashion show. Butler previews her Fall 2008 collection for women, men and children on FTC's stage, with all proceeds to benefit FTC. Show hair by Moda Capelli, make-up by Leslie Atiles, and Peter Baker Studios shooting the models on the catwalk. Check out Jennifer's website and her blog and track the collection's progress.
ROCK
"Hockey Monkey"
The Zambonis
Tragedy and Corn Mo
Friday, September 5, 7:30pm
Buy Tickets: $22
FTC Members: $17
Doors Open at 7pm
The Zambonis' power-pop hit "Avalanche" is the Colorado Avalanche's official anthem. Few rock bands have been featured in both Sports Illustrated and Billboard.
"On paper, it sounds like a novelty: an album of songs that celebrate hockey. But in the hands of The Zambonis, the concept is elevated to an art form." -Billboard
"It's the earnest sweetness of the songwriting and catchy melodies that draw one to the Zambonis." -All Music Guide
Tragedy is the greatest All-BeeGees Heavy Metal Tribute band you will ever see!!
Corn Mo is an amazing talent fresh off a European tour with Ben Folds and gigs with David Bowie, They Might Be Giants and Andrew W.K. What you get when your cross Queen and Guns N' Roses and throw in a little accordian.
SINGER-SONGWRITER
"Lido Shuffle"
Boz Scaggs
David Jacobs-Strain
At The Klein Memorial Auditorium
Sunday, September 7, 8pm
Buy Tickets: $32-$82
FTC Members: $10 Discount
Doors Open at 7pm
After first finding acclaim as a member of the Steve Miller Band, Grammy Award winning artist, Boz Scaggs, went on to enjoy considerable solo success in the 1970s. Scaggs combines rock, jazz, R&B and blues to create his trademark sound.
At his show at The Klein, you can expect to hear the best known songs of Scagg's career including "Lido Shuffle," "Look What You've Done To Me," "Miss Sun," "Jo Jo," "Heart Of Mine," "Lowdown," "Harbor Lights," "We're All Alone" among others
Opening is David Jacobs-Strain. "Jacobs-Strain is set to become a major figure in music, not just blues." (All Music Guide)
LOUISIANA BLUES-ROCK
An Evening with Marc Broussard
Serena Ryder
Sunday, September 14, 7:30pm
Buy Tickets: $32
FTC Members: $22
Doors Open at 7pm
Son of a legendary Louisiana guitarist, singer-songwriter Marc Broussard was seemingly destined for a life as a music man. His upbringing instilled in him an affinity for R&B and Cajun swamp rock. Drawining on influences as diverse as Otis Redding, Brian McKnight, John Hiatt and Dr. John.
"A talented songwriter and storyteller, and an astonishingly gifted and unique vocalist." -All Music Guide
Opening is Canadian singer-songwriter Serena Ryder. She recently won a Juno Award for "2008 New Artist of the Year".FREE: ALL DAY STREET FESTIVAL
The Big Chill
Christopher Robin Band
River City Slim & The Zydeco Hogs
FREE: Saturday, September 20, 10am-6pm
All Day Street Festival: 10am-6pm
Music, art, hands-on crafts, "The Hottest Dog in Town" Dog Show (bring your own dog), Bouncy Bounce for kids and great food.
MUSIC
4:30pm: Christoper Robin Band
2:30: River City Slim & The Zydeco Hogs
1pm: The Unknowns
Noon: Jim Wolf
COMMUNITY PARTNERS
Welcome Club Annual Fall Party
Welcome Club of Fairfield and Easton
Sunday, September 21, noon to 3pm
FREE
Join The Welcome Club of Fairfield and Easton for an afternoon of Live music, entertainment, crafts and food (and a farmer's market!). Fun for the whole family! Members and non-members are welcome.
The Welcome Club provides opportunities for all resident, men, women, and families to meet. The object of the club is to develop friendships among new and existing residents and to introduce its members to the civic and social activities of their community.
Martini and a Movie
Desperate Characters
Hosted by CT Post critic Joe Meyers
Tuesday, September 23, 8pm
FREE ADMISSION | Get Free Tickets
Cash Bar Opens at 7pm
A terrific but almost completely unknown 1971 film version of Paula Fox's highly regarded novel about the early gentrification of Park Slope, Brooklyn. Shirley MacLaine and Kenneth Mars star as a settled married couple who decide to become urban pioneers only to find that the stress of their new life accurately reflects their troubled marriage. MacLaine gives one of her best performances in this memorable portrait of New York City in the bad old days more than two decades before Disney came to town. Sada Thompson contributes a hilarious performance as a quintessential Upper West Side intellectual of the period.
ALTERNATIVE ROCK
"Shooting Star and the Ambulance"
Pete Francis of Dispatch
Barefoot Truth
Wednesday, September 24, 7:30pm
Buy Tickets: $22
FTC Members: $17
Doors Open at 7pm
Pete Francis Heimbold gained a following as one-third of the beloved Boston band, Dispatch. Dispatch was the first independent band to headline the Garden when they reunited for three sold-out nights benefiting charities to combat famine, disease, and social injustice in Zimbabwe.
"Possesses the gifts that make a great and unique songwriter." -All Music Guide
Opening is roots-rock band Barefoot Truth. Their heartfelt, melodic songs are performed with a wide array of instruments including upright bass, lap steel guitar, congas, didgeridoo and lead harmonica.
BLUES
"The Thrill is Gone"
B.B. King
Joel Zoss
Special Member Discount: $20-off Golden Circle Seats for this extraordinary event.
At The Klein Memorial Auditorium
Thursday, September 25, 8pm
Buy Tickets: $32-$147
FTC Members: Discount
Doors Open at 7pm
Universally hailed as the reigning king of the blues, the legendary B.B. King is without a doubt the single most important electric guitarist of the last half century. His archive of honors and achievements is enormous. However, a quick synopsis might render such honors as, a Grammy "Lifetime Achievement Award", Presidential Medal of Freedom, an album and song in the Grammy Hall of Fame, not to mention that Rolling Stone ranked him #3 among the "100 Greatest Guitarists Of All Time."
King's immediately recognizable guitar style, utilizing a trademark trill that approximates the bottleneck sound shown him by cousin Bukka White all those decades ago, has long set him apart from his contemporaries. Add his patented pleading vocal style and you have the most influential and innovative bluesman of the postwar period. There can be little doubt that B.B. King will reign as the genre's undisputed king (and goodwill ambassador) for as long as he lives.
Opening is Joel Zoss. "His lyrics are first-rate poetry." (The Village Voice)
The concert is generously underwritten by Bank New York Mellon.BENEFIT
Band Together
Rock the House to Benefit Pilot House
Thursday, September 25th, 7:30pm
Buy Tickets: $47
FTC Members: $42
Doors Open at 7pm
A Rock & Roll Review to benefit the Pilot House Special Needs Foundation. Rob Fried, Jerry Vigorito and Band Together will once again bring musicians of both national and local acclaim to Stage One for an evening of classic rock music from Woodstock to today. The audience is asked to submit their rock favorites via email to songstorockthehouse@yahoo.com prior to the concert so that submissions can be included in the show.
ROCK
"Little Wing"
Monte Montgomery
Sunday, September 28, 7:30pm
Buy Tickets: $22
FTC Members: $17
Doors Open at 7pm
Named one of the "Top 50 Greatest Guitarists Of All Time" (Guitar Player Magazine), Monte Montgomery has taken the acoustic guitar beyond anyone's expectations. His legendary reputation has spread like wildfire after appearances on Austin City Limits, CD Highway, and Texas Music Cafe.
"His songs suggest the best of Fleetwood Mac, Squeeze and The Police, while just happening to integrate the most mind-boggling guitar work in the state of Texas." -Guitar Player Magazine
"This is the cream, folks. Look for it to rise to the top soon." -All Music Guide
JAM BAND
"Samuel Aging"
Assembly of Dust
Gary Backstrom
Thursday, October 2, 7:30pm
Buy Tickets: $25
FTC Members: $20
Doors Open at 7pm
Opening is Gary Backstrom.
ROCK/FUNK
Tim Reynolds & TR3
Tim Reynolds & TR3
Friday, October 17, 7pm
Buy Tickets: $42
FTC Members: $32
Doors Open at 7pm
Once again things have come full circle and TR3 is back in 2008 to rock and funk your house down. The songs will be a mix of updated Tim classics to wild covers of everything from James Brown to Prince to Tim's newest catalogue of material he is preparing just for this tour.
BLUEGRASS
Tony Trischka, Steve Martin,
Bela Fleck
Tony Trischka
Double Banjo Bluegrass Spectacular
Saturday, October 18, 8pm
Buy Tickets: $32
FTC Members: $22
Doors Open at 7pm
Tony Trischka inspired a whole generation of progressive bluegrass musicians. He was not only considered among the very best pickers, he was also one of the instrument's top teachers and mentors.
He recently released Double Banjo Bluegrass Spectacular, which features Tony picking with the comedian Steve Martin. New Deal album was a bluesy adaptation of bluegrass standards that featured a vocal cameo by Loudon Wainwright III.
SINGER-SONGWRITER
"Careful What You Wish For"
Jonatha Brooke and Glen Phillips
Sunday, October 19, 7:30pm
Buy Tickets: $42
FTC Members: $32
Doors Open at 7pm
Jonatha Brooke - half of the beloved folk-duo, Story - is known for her beautiful, expressive voice and great songwriting. She's added to her acoustic sound an electronic-organic element (think Beth Orton and Aimee Mann) that makes her music intimate, spine-tingling and modern.
"An artist challenging her sound without losing her voice." -All Music Guide
Opening is Glen Phillips, former lead singer of Toad the Wet Sprocket.
"Phillips has reinvented himself in the style of the '70s singer-songwriter with the same pop savvy he brought to Toad the Wet Sprocket." -Hybrid Magazine
CD RELEASE PARTY
"New Blue Sea"
P.J. Pacifico
Thursday, October 23, 7:30pm
Buy Tickets: $17
FTC Members: $12
Doors Open at 7pm
After 8 years of touring with the Connecticut based band Sunflower, P.J. Pacifico, ventures out on his own with the release of Well I'll Be on Viper Records and a CD Release Party on StageOne. P.J. and his 8 piece band have a sound that's been described as "a jam session between James Taylor, Matthew Sweet and Jason Mraz."
"His hooks don't miss and his voice contains an everyman warmth...following in the footsteps of John Mayer and Stephen Kellogg." -Stamford Advocate
SINGER-SONGWRITER
"Miss Chatelaine"
k.d. lang
At The Klein Memorial Auditorium
Tuesday, October 28, 8pm
Buy Tickets: $43-$83
FTC Members: Discount
Doors Open at 7pm
Canadian singer-songwriter k.d. lang's gorgeous voice - from her early Patsy Cline-influenced country albums to her Dionne Warwick-era Bacharach pop albums - makes every song her own. Each having just the right amount of torch, twang or swing.
Winner of four Grammy Awards (including her 2003 collaboration with Tony Bennett, A Wonderful World). The years have added warmth to her singing, depth to her songwriting and a graceful, simple beauty to her arrangements.
"Spans country, bossa nova and a few different shades of vintage pop." -The New York Times
"One of popular music's most beloved stylists."-Popmatters
"k.d. lang does what the gifted and the lucky always should: improve as time passes. "-Rolling Stone
ROCK
"Call Any Vegetable"
Zappa Plays Zappa
At The Klein Memorial Auditorium
Saturday, November 1, 8pm
Buy Tickets: $22-$57
FTC Members: Discount
Doors Open at 7pm
Zappa Plays Zappa is total truth in advertising: a fantastic band led by guitarist Dweezil Zappa, dedicated to performing the music of his late father with exacting precision. "People think they know everything about him because they've heard 'Don't Eat the Yellow Snow,'" says Dweezil, 38, referring to his dad's comic 1974 single. "They don't." In fact, a Zappa Plays Zappa show is usually more than three hours long, as the band zigzags through every era of Frank's three-decade legacy. That spread also means military-like preparation for a tour. "Frank typically rehearsed a band for three months," says Dweezil, who spent a few months mastering "The Black Page" — a daunting piece originally written for percussion — on guitar.
Zappa Plays Zappa will have a busy '08, with a U.S. tour that kicks off in June and includes their Bonnaroo debut. "Most of the band didn't have a background in Frank's music," Dweezil notes. "Now they enjoy it. That's the audience I was hoping for."
"Once you hear this music, the more you want it." -David Fricke, Rolling Stone
SINGER-SONGWRITER
Richard Shindell & Lucy Kaplansky
Richard Shindell
Sunday, November 2, 7:30pm
Buy Tickets: $32
FTC Members: $22
Doors Open at 7pm
An expatriate New Yorker now living in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Richard Shindell is a meticulous craftsman. Shindell's songwriting is truly eclectic, ranging from lighthearted ballads and love songs, to dirges and diatribes that skillfully skewer politics, prejudice, war and religion. He has a unique ability to morph into the soul of the many and varied personalities he casts as narrators in certain songs.
VOCALIST
"Don't Cry Out Loud"
Melissa Manchester
Thursday, November 6, 7:30pm
Buy Tickets: $67
FTC Members: $57
Doors Open at 7pm
FTC proudly presents hitmaker, singer-songwriter and actress Melissa Manchester in her second FTC performance. Responsible for dozens of top 10 adult contemporary songs produced in the last few decades including "If It Feels Good (Let It Ride)", "Easy" "Bright Eyes," "Midnight Blue," "Through The Eyes ofLove", "Whenever I Call You Friend" and "Walk on By." Manchester has also starred in films and on stage. Don't miss the chance to be one of 200 lucky people experiencing her music live.
NEW DATE
James Naughton & Christine Ebersole
At The Klein Memorial Auditorium
New Date: Thursday, November 20, 8pm
Buy Tickets: $22-57
FTC Members: Discount
Doors Open at 7pm
Award winning performers Christine Ebersole and James Naughton bring their individual, and collective, talents to The Klein for a cabaret performance. TV, film and stage actress Ebersole is coming off her recent showstopping performance as Little Edie in the Broadway musical Grey Gardens. James Naughton is known for everything from acting in Broadway musicals and dramas, City of Angels, Chicago, I Love My Wife, films, The Good Mother, The First Wives Club, and more recently with his cabaret act offering everything from country to classics. Ebersole and Naughton bring a small band and play show tunes like you have never heard them.
Award winning performers Christine Ebersole and James Naughton bring their individual, and collective, talents to The Klein for a cabaret performance. TV, film and stage actress Ebersole is coming off her recent showstopping performance as Little Edie in the Broadway musical Grey Gardens. James Naughton is known for everything from acting in Broadway musicals and dramas, City of Angels, Chicago, I Love My Wife, films, The Good Mother, The First Wives Club, and more recently with his cabaret act offering everything from country to classics. Ebersole and Naughton bring a small band and play show tunes like you have never heard them.
Tickets for the August 8 performance will be honored on the new date. Ticket holders who are unable to attend on the new date will be entitled to a full refund, or may receive credit towards any future FTC event at the Klein Auditorium in Bridgeport, or on StageOne in Fairfield.
GRATEFUL DEAD RECREATION
Dark Star Orchestra
Hot Buttered Rum
At The Klein Memorial Auditorium
Sunday, November 23, 7pm
Buy Tickets: $36
FTC Members: $5 Discount
Doors Open at 6pm
It's really about the sound that's created. It's about a sense of familiarity. It's about a feeling that grabs listeners and takes over. It's about a contagious energy: it's about the experience.
Dark Star Orchestra has been delivering this experience to old and new Grateful Dead fans for 10 years performing complete Grateful Dead shows out of history.
"Fanatical attention to detail." -Rolling Stone
"Dark Star Orchestra takes its act to a level of detail that befits a rock band famous for its fanatical following." -Associated Press
Opening is Hot Buttered Rum.
BENEFIT
Band Together: Home For The Holidays
Proceeds to benefit Habitat For Humanity Of Coastal Fairfield County.
Pre-Sale for FTC Members
Member pre-sale starts now and ends Sunday at midnight when sales open to general public.
Thursday, December 4, 7:30pm
Buy Tickets: $32
FTC Members: $27
Doors Open at 7pm
Band Together: "Helping Connecticut Families One At A Time"
Jen Durkin, Chris Coogan, Jerry Vigorito, Rob Fried and a variety of the areas top performers come to FTC's Stage One to bring you "Home For The Holidays", a musical trip around the world.
VOCALIST
"Bridge Over Troubled Water"
Art Garfunkel
At The Klein Memorial Auditorium
Thursday, March 19, 8pm
Buy Tickets: $35-$75
FTC Members: Discounted Tickets
Doors Open at 7pm
Although it has been over 35 years since "Bridge Over Troubled Water" was recorded, Art Garfunkel's image and signature vocal remain among the most instantly recognizable in popular music. On his own, Garfunkel exhibits many of the same strengths that marked his work with Paul Simon - an angelic tenor voice, a fine sense of understatement and subtlety, and a genius for harmony vocals. A five-time Grammy winner, Garfunkel has earned himself a reputation that doesn't depend on an ampersand.
