Top 10 concerts this week in Sarasota, Bradenton, Venice, Englewood, Punta Gorda
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It'll be another star-studded week of live music this month in the Sarasota area. Those visiting us will include a Tony and Emmy-winning singer and actress headlining Van Wezel Performing Arts Hall, serving as the entertainment for an annual gala, and an actor who once portrayed a fictional country musician on a television show, who's now a country artist himself.
You'll also find numerous Grammy-winning or nominated musicians performing around town this week, including at two music festivals, one of which will be returning after a five-year absence. Here are this week's highlights. Event details are subject to change.
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Kristin Chenoweth
Emmy and Tony-winning actress and singer Kristin Chenoweth will return to Van Wezel, this time performing as part of an annual gala that's featured stars such as Barry Manilow, Harry Connick Jr. and Seal in past years. Chenoweth is known for originating the role of Glinda the Good Witch in the hit musical "Wicked," soon to be made into two movies, with pop star Ariana Grande playing Glinda. Chenoweth's career has also included other stage roles such as her Tony-winning turn in "You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown," film and television including an Emmy-winning role on "Pushing Daisies," and albums such as 2019's "For the Girls," featuring a duet with Grande. 8:30 p.m. Friday; Van Wezel Performing Arts Hall, 777 N. Tamiami Trail, Sarasota; $75-$145; 941-263-6799; vanwezel.org
Jim Lauderdale
Grammy-winning singer-songwriter Jim Lauderdale will visit Fogartyville in Sarasota for a show this weekend. He's twice won the Best Bluegrass Album Grammy: for 2007's "The Bluegrass Diaries," and 2002's "Lost in the Lonesome Pines" with Ralph Stanley & The Clinch Mountain Boys. (Lauderdale teamed up with another bluegrass band, the Po' Ramblin' Boys, for last year's album "The Long and Lonesome Letting Go.") Along with his own releases, Lauderdale has had songs of his recorded by other musicians including George Strait, Elvis Costello, Blake Shelton and The Chicks. 7 p.m. doors, 8 p.m. show Friday; Fogartyville Community Media and Arts Center, 525 Kumquat Court, Sarasota; $30, $25 members, $15 students ages 13 and up; 941-894-6469; fogartyville.org
Palomino Blond
After previously visiting our area for last year's Pride | Be Fabulous Music & Arts Festival in Sarasota and a 2021 Ringling Underground installment, Miami rockers Palomino Blond will again visit our area for a show at Oscura in Bradenton. The group, which describes its heavy-but-catchy style as "sometimes sounds evil, sometimes sounds pretty," released its debut album "ontheinside” in 2021, produced by Jonathan Nuñez of Torche. The band, which is returning to its home state after a recent U.S. tour, will perform with fellow Miami alt-rock artist Mr Floyd Larry and Tampa Bay area acts Pilot Jonezz and The Don't Belongs. 8 p.m. doors, 9 p.m. show Friday; Oscura, 816 Manatee Ave. E., Bradenton; $10; 941-201-4950; oscura.live
Venice Blues Festival
After taking five years off, Venice Blues Festival is set to return this weekend, with Average White Band headlining. The group is best known for their 1974 No. 1 hit "Pick Up the Pieces" that also earned them the first of their three Grammy nominations, and is currently on their farewell tour, with a lineup that still includes original members Alan Gorrie and Onnie McIntyre. They'll perform Saturday along with other acts such as South Florida guitarist/singer-songwriter J.P. Soars and the Red Hots, who earned four Blues Music Awards nominations in 2022, while Friday's lineup features artists including Allman Brothers Band tribute act Steeln' Peaches and Blues Music Award-winning bassist/singer Biscuit Miller. 4-10 p.m. Friday and 11 a.m.-10 p.m. Saturday; Venice Airport Festival Grounds, 610 Airport Ave. E., Venice; $15 Friday, $25 Saturday, $75 VIP each day, free age 12 and under; venicebluesfest.com
Sarasota Jazz Festival
Also taking place Friday and Saturday will be Sarasota Jazz Festival, concluding after kicking off last weekend. Cuban pianist Chucho Valdés — one of the most celebrated musicians in Latin jazz with seven Grammy wins, most recently Best Latin Jazz Album in 2022 for "Mirror Mirror" with Eliane Elias and Chick Corea — will perform with his quartet Saturday, along with Paul Gavin & Mosaic. Friday will feature drummer Jeff Hamilton — also co-leader of the Clayton-Hamilton Jazz Orchestra, which earned a Best Large Jazz Ensemble Album Grammy nomination for 2014's "The L. A. Treasures Project" — as well as pianist Akiko Tsuruga, guitarist Steve Kovalcheck, and Valerie Gillespie. Along with these main stage shows at Sarasota Municipal Auditorium, there'll be late night jazz open jams held at Cohen Hall. Friday-Saturday; various venues; event prices vary; sarasotajazzfestival.com
Ben Prestage
Florida-raised, self-described "Deep South Swamp Music" performer Ben Prestage will play both Myakka River State Park and Celtic Ray this weekend. Prestage grew up in rural Florida and later lived in Memphis, where as a street performer he started playing drums with his feet while simultaneously singing and playing other instruments, a setup he'd bring back to his home state. His repertoire of instruments he plays includes the diddley bow, which earned him a Blues Music Award nomination for Instrumentalist — Other in 2012. 7 p.m. Friday; Myakka River State Park, 13208 State Road 72, Sarasota; $25, $20 members; 941-202-3296; friendsofmyakkariver.org; 2 p.m. Saturday; Celtic Ray Public House, 145 E. Marion Ave., Punta Gorda; 941-916-9115; celticray.net
Charles Esten
Country musician and actor Charles Esten will return to Sarasota's Big Top Brewing Company this weekend. After appearing in the TV show "Nashville," which aired on ABC and CMT from 2012 to 2018 and followed the lives of fictional country musicians, Esten pursued his own career in country music, releasing his debut album "Love Ain't Pretty" earlier this year. More recently, Esten has appeared in the Netflix series "Outer Banks," set in the North Carolina community of the same name. Fellow country musician Maggie Baugh will open for Esten, before returning to Big Top on May 8 for her own headlining show. 7 p.m. Saturday; Big Top Brewing Company, 975 Cattlemen Road, Sarasota; $30, $125 VIP meet-and-greet; 941-371-2939; bigtopbrewing.com
Mugshot/Kaonashi
Also visiting Oscura this week will be a co-headlining tour featuring two out-of-state metalcore bands signed to national labels. San Jose, California's Mugshot, which released the EP "Cold Will" on Pure Noise Records last year, will perform with Philadelphia's Kaonashi, which put out its own new EP "The 3 Faces Of Beauty: A Violent Misinterpretation of Morgan Montgomery" earlier this year on Equal Vision Records. Colorado Springs' Mouth of War and Oklahoma City's CELL will also perform, with Florida's Gas rounding out the lineup. 6:30 p.m. doors, 7 p.m. show Sunday; Oscura, 816 Manatee Ave. E., Bradenton; $15 advance, $20 day of; 941-201-4950; oscura.live
Bill Evans
McCurdy's Comedy Theatre continues its Music Monday concert series with saxophonist Bill Evans. He's performed with Miles Davis (who of course played with another Bill Evans of no relation, including on the 1959 classic "Kind of Blue"), The Allman Brothers Band and Herbie Hancock, among others. Evans has also earned two Best Contemporary Jazz Album Grammy nominations for 2000's "Soul Insider" and 2005's "Soulgrass," with the latter — as its name suggests — incorporating bluegrass and featuring musicians from the genre such as Béla Fleck and Sam Bush. 7 p.m. Monday; McCurdy's Comedy Theatre, 1923 Ringling Blvd., Sarasota; $44; 941-925-3869; mccurdyscomedy.com
Terry Hanck Band
Another saxophonist, Terry Hanck, will make his return to Sarasota County restaurant and blues venue Englewoods on Dearborn this week. Hanck has won three Blues Music Awards for Instrumentalist — Horns and earned several more nominations in the category, as well as in Song of the Year for his track "Appreciate What You Got." Along with his solo career, Hanck performed with Elvin Bishop of "Fooled Around and Fell in Love" fame for more than a decade, later appearing as a guest on Bishop's 2011 live album "Raisin' Hell Revue." 6:30 p.m. Tuesday; Englewoods on Dearborn, 362 W. Dearborn St., Englewood; $5; 941-475-7501; englewoodsondearborn.com
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This article originally appeared on Sarasota Herald-Tribune: Top 10 concerts in Sarasota Bradenton Venice Englewood Punta Gorda
