Not only did she turn out one of the pluckiest “Saturday Night Live” hosting stints in recent memory (her Shakira parody was dead-on hilarious), but Taylor Swift isn’t doing so badly in her day job, either.  Tickets to the 15 U.S. 2010 shows for the 20-year-old country-pop singer sold out within minutes last week, including her March 20 date at John Paul Jones Arena in Charlottesville.

Call it fortuitous, but the timing of the Richmond appearance for Who’s Bad, which calls itself “The Ultimate Michael Jackson Tribute Band,“ couldn’t be more perfect with the opening of “This Is It.“  Of the slew of Jackson imitators worldwide, this North Carolina-based outfit—a five-piece band plus Joseph Bell and Taalib York switching off lead Jackson duties—is impressively faithful (check out YouTube or http://www.whosbadmusic.com for some video clips).

Jack Blades wants fans to bring their “singing voices” to the Richmond Coliseum on Tuesday. The bassist/singer for Night Ranger said his band’s current joint tour with Journey is so packed with hits, it will be impossible for concertgoers to resist singing along.

Ticketmaster 2Q net income falls 70 pct

The week after its grand opening, the Carpenter Theatre at CenterStage will host its first two concerts. R&B stars Musiq Soulchild and Ledisi will appear at 8 p.m. Sept. 18. The next night at 8 p.m., country legends The Oak Ridge Boys will bring their harmonies to the new venue, which opens Sept. 12. Tickets for both shows go on sale at 10 a.m. Saturday through Ticketmaster outlets, http://www.ticketmaster.com or by calling (800) 745-3000.

Fourteen local music groups will gather Sunday to celebrate the life of Gary Gerloff in song. Gerloff, a longtime Richmond musician, died May 23 after a brief illness.  The event will take place at Café Diem, 600 N. Sheppard St., from 12:30 to 11 p.m. A donation of $15 is requested, with proceeds benefiting an education fund established for Gerloff’s children.

Kelly Clarkson is finally hitting the road to support her solid “All I Ever Wanted” album. The closest she’ll come to us is the Patriot Center in Fairfax—but it might be worth the drive considering she’s tapped The Veronicas and Parachute (the band formed at U.Va and formerly known as Sparky’s Flaw) to open.

Tomorrow’s Frontiers/Limelight concert at Innsbrook After Hours has been postponed until July 1.

Christian electro-pop band eleventyseven and Christian rock singer Stephanie Smith will perform at Richmond Community Church in Glen Allen at 7 p.m. tomorrow. Tickets are $10 in advance, $15 the day of show and $8 in advance for groups of 10 or more; they can be purchased at Lifeway Christian Store locations and C28 in Short Pump. Tickets are also available online at http://www.itickets.com or by calling (804) 366-4848.

The Lancer Band of Manchester High School will present its 57th annual concert at 7 p.m. May 20 in the school auditorium, 12601 Bailey Bridge Road. The concert will include “Children of the Shrine” by James Swearingen, “March Slav” by P.I. Tchaikovsky, “A Trumpeter’s Lullaby” by Leroy Anderson, “Jupiter From the Planets” by Gustav Holst, “Linden Lea” by Ralph Vaughan Williams, “Fire!“ by Gary P. Gilroy, “La Virgin de la Macarena” by Rafael Mendez and “More Than You Know” by Rose, Eliscu and Youmans.

Concerts by The Virginians Barbershop Chorus 7:30 p.m. today and tomorrow at University of Richmond’s Modlin Center have been canceled. For refunds, visit http://www.virginians.org or call (866) VA-SINGS (827-4647), option 1. Petersburg Festival Chorus concert, “100 Years of Broadway & Then Some,“ will take place at 7 p.m. Sunday at Wesley United Methodist Church, 3701 Conduit Road, Colonial Heights.

The Isaacs, an award-winning family gospel group, will perform a bluegrass gospel concert at 7:30 p.m. May 8 at West End Assembly of God, 401 Parham Road. Advance general-admission tickets are $15 from Harrison Music, Plan 9 Music, Richmond Music Center and the bookstore at West End Assembly of God through May 7. Group discounts are available for 10 or more. Visit JAMinc.org, then click “Events” to charge tickets for will call, or mail a check and a self-addressed stamped envelope to: JAMinc, P.O. Box 8462, Richmond, VA 23226-0462.

She’s the power-lunged Oscar and Grammy winner who has emerged from a family tragedy with unspeakable grace and class.  He’s the blue-eyed soul man whose sexy tunes have nabbed him an ardent female following and critical respect for his muscular funk. 

The band – in typical find-a-marketing-gimmick fashion, has decided to let the fans plan its itinerary for an upcoming fall tour. Right now, Richmond isn’t on the list of top 40 cities with the most votes (and yes, I forced myself to sign up to “Demand it!” for the sake of research.

Old-time guitar legend Wayne Henderson will play a concert tomorrow at Thomas Dale High School auditorium, 3626 W. Hundred Road, Chester.  Henderson will be joined by Helen White, a renowned fiddler and folk singer who lives in Southwest Virginia.  Henderson is well-known for his “pinch-picking” guitar style, as well as the handmade instruments he crafts at his shop in Rugby. The free show begins at 7:30 p.m.