Concert News: English Beat, Kristin Hersh, Kate Voegele, Regina Spektor

Lots of concert news in the New York area...

First off, the English Beat is following up its NYC shows from a few months back with three shows at Maxwell's in Hoboken. Tonight's show is a $75 benefit (tickets still available), but tomorrow's show is $25. Friday's show at Maxwell's is sold out.

Young singer-songwriter Kate Voegele returns to the area to promote her new album, "A Fine Mess," due out May 18th. She's at the Highline Ballroom in NYC tonight, and at the School of Rock in South Hackensack, NJ on May 15th.

Some upcoming shows from a couple of other female singer-songwriters that are favorites of mine: Brooklyn Vegan notes that Regina Spektor is coming to the Beacon Theatre for a show on June 17th. A pre-sale began this afternoon, and Warner Bros. is giving away two free song downloads from Spektor's upcoming album "Far" with each ticket purchased.

BV also mentions that Kristin Hersh is going on the road this week, touring Europe for the second half of May. There's one gig scheduled in June, in Brooklyn at The Bell House (a venue I'm not familiar with) on June 18th. Hersh is also doing a couple of shows in Europe with her old mates, Throwing Muses. As Hersh noted on her Twitter account, there was some tense last-minute wrangling to get band member Bernard Georges into the UK, but all has been resolved.

The Donnas greatest hits CD and tour dates mentioned here a few days ago have now been confirmed by the band. More on that later.

Singer Kate Voegele Wrapping Up "Back to School" Tour

Kate Voegele is nearing the end of her Summer/Fall "Back to School" Tour, which has seen the young pop singer-songwriter headlining on a busy tour schedule around the country. The 21-year-old Ohio native has been out promoting her impressive debut full-length album, "Don't Look Away," and she gotten some valuable exposure from the CW Network TV show "One Tree Hill."

But she isn't just having her songs featured on the show. She is getting attention that most musicians in her position would die for: as a recurring character named Mia who is a budding singer-songwriter, which puts her songs and her face in front of the TV audience. (Ironically the character of Mia is rather shy, which Voegele says is the exact opposite of her own outgoing personality.)

After being on tour earlier this year opening for Natasha Bedingfield, Voegele is finishing her run of headlining gigs on the East Coast this coming week. You can find all the upcoming Kate Voegele tour dates at her special MySpace tour page. Here are the final dates listed for the "Back to School" Tour:

9/27/08 : New Haven, CT
9/28/08 : South Hackensack, NJ
9/30/08 : Baltimore, MD
10/1/08 : Falls Church, VA
10/3/08 : West Chester, PA
10/5/08 : Salisbuty, MD