It's finally official.
Sugarland will play the Tullio Arena on Oct. 18 with special guests Kellie Pickler and Ashton Shepherd. Tickets are $50.50 and $43.50 and will go on sale Friday, Aug. 22 at 10 a.m. at the Tullio Arena box office, Ticketmaster outlets, by phone at 452-4857 or 456-7070, and online at www.ticketmaster.com.

Erie's Sonic Medusa will throw a CD release party for "American Standard" on Aug. 22 at the Beer Mug. Special guests include the Laundromat and Hard Luck Story.

Mercyhurst College has unveiled the list of films for September in the Guelcher Film Series.
"Young@Heart" will open it up on Sept. 10. It's the story of a a group of New England senior citizens who cover songs by the Clash, Coldplay, and more.

Also coming: "The Band's Visit" on Sept. 17 and "The Counterfeiters" on Sept. 24. Show times are at 2 and 8 p.m.

Oh, yeah: Mercyhurst will also feature the Dirty Dozen Brass Band with Trombone Shorty on Sept. 19. Tickets are $40 for gold circle, or $35 for adults. Put this one on your don't-miss list.

I am not the world's biggest Foreigner fan, but, man -- they delivered a blistering, impressive show in front of perhaps the largest CelebrateErie crowd in history on Saturday. New singer Kelly Hansen not only sounded a lot like Lou Gramm but was a terrific front man as well -- confident, energetic, and totally in command.
What a treat, too, to catch Jason Bonham on drums, who slyly reminded us of his huge Led Zeppelin gig by adding a dash of "Kashmir" to his drum solo. Later, Foreigner segued into "Whole Lotta Love," too. They also turned in white-hot versions of their own songs -- including a ripping "Dirty White Boy" and stellar "Urgent" with Jeff Pilson shining on the all-important sax part which Junior Walker played on record.
That was the highlight of the weekend for me. Neal McCoy, unfortunately, I found a lot less satisfying. He smiles a lot and sure has an engaging personality but the band and McCoy did way too much audience pandering, serving doses of Village People (?), Commodores, and other surprising covers that felt out of place for a country band.
With Souled Out, you got what they promised: Slick, entertaining Motown and R&B covers. They worked hard, and actually asked the city if they could play longer, so you know they were having fun. So did we.

Of course, with Souled Out -- and McCoy -- we also got our singing Mayor, Joe Sinnott. He was in heaven singing "My Guy" on Friday, then engaged in Garth Brooks' "Friends in Low Places" with McCoy. He didn't make it out on stage with Foreigner but that's only because plans hit a snag. The city tried to find a boys choir to augment "I Want to Know What Love Is" but that didn't work out. The mayor, I believe, was going to join the choir for that, but no matter. Foreigner didn't miss a beat.

The crowds felt extra large this year -- not only at the main stage, but around Taste of Erie, and evening in the late afternoon and early evenings. The city deserves high marks for how well organized the event was, and how much it truly delivered. Remember, it's free but only because sponsors galore muster up a little civic duty by pitching in.

Nice job, all around.