Top 10 concerts this week in Sarasota, Bradenton, Palmetto, Punta Gorda

We're only about a week away from Christmas, when December's local events calendar briefly slows down, but before then, we have another full week of live music taking place in our area.

It's yet another big week for blues music lovers, with two winners of multiple Blues Music Awards in town along with other BMA and Blues Blast Music Award-nominated acts. And as we get closer to Christmas, there are multiple concerts among the local winter holiday season events, including a Billboard 200 chart-topping group visiting on their holiday tour and at least two concerts celebrating a classic Christmas album. Here are this week's highlights. Event details are subject to change.

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Daniel O’Donnell

Van Wezel will kick off another busy week with a concert by Irish singer Daniel O'Donnell. With his sound blending country and Irish folk, O'Donnell holds the record for the artist with the most consecutive years where an album of theirs has appeared on the United Kingdom's albums chart, starting with 1988's "From the Heart," and every year since 1991's "The Very Best of Daniel O'Donnell," one of his albums has landed in the Top 40 of that chart. That record continued with his most recent release, this year's full-length "How Lucky I Must Be." 7:30 p.m. Friday; Van Wezel Performing Arts Hall, 777 N. Tamiami Trail, Sarasota; $35-$80; 941-263-6799; vanwezel.org

J.P. Soars and the Red Hots

After recently playing this year's Bradenton Blues Festival and Englewoods on Dearborn, South Florida blues guitarist and singer-songwriter J.P. Soars will next visit Punta Gorda's Celtic Ray with his band the Red Hots. The group received four Blues Music Awards nominations last year, including Band of the Year, B.B. King Entertainer and Instrumentalist — Guitar for Soars, and Instrumentalist — Drums for his bandmate Chris Peet. Soars also plays in the supergroup Southern Hospitality with Grammy-nominated pianist Victor Wainwright and fellow Floridian Damon Fowler. 8 p.m. Friday; Celtic Ray Public House, 145 E. Marion Ave., Punta Gorda; 941-916-9115; celticray.net

Hymn for Her

Alt-Americana act Hymn for Her will return to one of their favorite area venues, Cafe in the Park in downtown Sarasota's Payne Park. Featuring husband and wife Wayne Waxing and Lucy Tight — and recently expanding the lineup to include their daughter, Diver — the group performs locally, nationally and even internationally, including when they played England's massive music festival Glastonbury in 2017. Hymn for Her has also earned recognition from Rolling Stone, which named the track "Blue Balloons" from their 2018 album "Pop-n-Downers" one of the 10 best country and Americana songs of that week. 7 p.m. Friday; Cafe in the Park, 2010 Adams Lane, Sarasota; 941-361-3032; cafeinthepark.org

Doug Deming & the Jewel Tones

Bradenton blues group Doug Deming & the Jewel Tones will play Palmetto's Riviera Dunes Dockside this weekend, as well as Sarasota's Big Top Brewing Company for its Sunday Blues & Brews concert series. The group was nominated for four Blues Blast Music Awards this year: Blues Band and Bass Guitarist of the Year, Live Blues Album for "Groovin' at Groove Now!" recorded in Basel, Switzerland, and Historical or Vintage Recording for the 20th anniversary reissue of their debut "Double Down." 6 p.m. Friday; Riviera Dunes Dockside, 102 Riviera Dunes Way, Palmetto; 941-304-3689; rivieradunesdockside.com; 3 p.m. Sunday; Big Top Brewing Company, 975 Cattlemen Road, Sarasota; 941-371-2939; bigtopbrewing.com

Gabe Stillman

Shortly after playing a string of Florida dates with fellow blues guitarist and singer-songwriter Anson Funderburgh, Gabe Stillman will headline a show at Bradenton restaurant and venue Cottonmouth. Stillman most recently released 2021's "Just Say the Word," which was produced by Funderburgh (who is also one of the album's guest musicians) and earned a Blues Music Award nomination for Best Emerging Artist Album last year. He also received the Gibson Guitar Award at 2019's International Blues Challenge. 7 p.m. Saturday; Cottonmouth Southern Soul Kitchen, 1114 12th St. W., Bradenton; $10 advance, $15 day of; 941-243-3735; facebook.com/cottonmouthsoul

Groovehive Festive Faire

Bradenton cafe and music venue Oscura will host Groovehive Festive Faire, a market that also features a live music lineup of up-and-coming musical acts from throughout Florida. Alternative indie-rock band Youth Antics, whose members met at Manatee School for the Arts in Palmetto, and Englewood experimental rock duo Movie Props will perform along with acts from Orlando and Tampa Bay including Fluxe, Blonde Gentlemen, Radaghast and Soft Bite. The event will also feature more than 80 vendors, food, beer, cocktails and more. Noon-6 p.m. Sunday; Oscura, 816 Manatee Ave. E., Bradenton; free admission; 941-201-4950; oscura.live

'A Charlie Brown Christmas'

Two shows this week will pay tribute to 1965's "A Charlie Brown Christmas" and its Vince Guaraldi soundtrack, later inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame and Library of Congress' National Recording Registry. First, jazz pianist Zach Bartholomew will play as part of Jazz Club of Sarasota's Monday Night Jazz Cabaret series, a few days after performing the same concert at Fogartyville. Then Dan Dembecki Trio and friends will play their own "A Charlie Brown Christmas" show at J.R.'s Old Packinghouse Cafe. 6:30 p.m. doors, food/drinks, 7:30 p.m. show Monday; John C. Court Cabaret, 1265 First St., Sarasota; $34-$39; 941-260-9951; jazzclubsarasota.org; 6 p.m. Wednesday; J.R.'s Old Packinghouse Cafe, 987 S. Packinghouse Road, Sarasota; 941-371-9358; packinghousecafe.com

Il Divo

Classical crossover vocal group Il Divo will return to Van Wezel on their A New Day Holiday Tour, featuring holiday classics in addition to songs from their vast catalog and new member Steven LaBrie, who previously performed as a special guest with the group after founding member Carlos Marín died in 2021. Initially conceived by Simon Cowell as a multinational vocal group — with members hailing from the U.S., France, Switzerland and Spain — Il Divo scored a platinum album with their self-titled debut, a feat they repeated multiple times along with topping the Billboard 200 with the later full-length "Ancora." 7:30 p.m. Wednesday; Van Wezel Performing Arts Hall, 777 N. Tamiami Trail, Sarasota; $73-$160; 941-263-6799; vanwezel.org

Selwyn Birchwood

Florida-based blues guitarist and singer-songwriter Selwyn Birchwood will visit Fogartyville in Sarasota for a solo show. Earlier this year, Birchwood released his latest album "Exorcist" on Alligator Records, his fourth album for the esteemed blues label. It's the follow-up to his 2021 full-length "Living in a Burning House," with its opening track "I'd Climb Mountains" winning Song of the Year at last year's Blues Music Awards, where Birchwood also won Best New Artist Debut for his first Alligator release "Don't Call No Ambulance." 6:30 p.m. doors, 7:30 p.m. show Thursday, Dec. 21; Fogartyville Community Media and Arts Center, 525 Kumquat Court, Sarasota; $24, $20 members, $12 students ages 13 and up; 941-894-6469; fogartyville.org

Mike Zito

Cottonmouth's sister restaurant/music venue in Village of the Arts, Birdrock Taco Shack, will feature blues-rock guitarist and singer-songwriter Mike Zito this week. Zito's numerous accolades include winning back-to-back Blues Music Awards in the Blues Rock Album category, last year for "Resurrection" and in 2021 for "Rock 'n' Roll: A Tribute to Chuck Berry." He also performs as the Blood Brothers with South Floridian and fellow blues-rock favorite Albert Castiglia, with the duo releasing a self-titled debut album earlier this year. 7 p.m. Thursday; Birdrock Taco Shack, 1213 13th Ave. W., Bradenton; $40 advance, $50 day of; 941-545-9966; facebook.com/birdrocktaco

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This article originally appeared on Sarasota Herald-Tribune: Top 10 concerts this week in Sarasota Bradenton Palmetto Punta Gorda