• HOT TICKET

Gordon Lightfoot to play the Merrill 

IF GORDON LIGHTFOOT didn’t invent folk rock, he came pretty close. The Canadian singer-songwriter’s career has spanned almost 50 years, including a string of gigantic radio hits in the 1970s — “If You Could Read My Mind,” “Sundown” and “Carefree Highway,” to name a few.

WHEN: 8 p.m. Tuesday

WHERE: Merrill Auditorium, 20 Myrtle St., Portland

HOW MUCH: $52 to $72

INFO: 842-0800; porttix.com

• CHEAP THRILL

Deal on admission, and that’s no joke

THE COMEDY CONNECTION often does a half-priced show on Thursday nights with comedians who are playing there over the weekend. Tonight, it’s comedy veteran Charlie Wiener, known as “The Funniest Man with a Mortgage.”

WHEN: 8:30 p.m. today

WHERE: The Comedy Connection, 16 Custom House Wharf, Portland

HOW MUCH: $7.50

INFO: 774-5554; mainecomedy.com