Top 10 concerts this week in Sarasota, Bradenton, Englewood

January continues to be a busy time for events here in Sarasota-Manatee, including concerts, with multiple Grammy-nominated musicians in town this week. In fact, one such Grammy-nominated folk singer-songwriter will play back-to-back nights of shows in Sarasota, joined by an artist that NPR proclaimed is "poised to become the next queen of Americana-Folk."

They're among the multiple folk musicians set to visit our area this week, along with numerous blues artists, including a Blues Music Award-nominated act who was recently signed to esteemed blues label Alligator Records. This concert picks installment also includes jazz, rock (both of the regular and yacht variety) and classical — with an act up for a Grammy this year representing the latter genre. Here are this week's highlights. Event details are subject to change.

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Claudia Schmidt

Folk singer-songwriter, guitarist and dulcimer player Claudia Schmidt will visit Sarasota's Fogartyville for a concert this weekend. Schmidt has released multiple albums as a solo artist and as a duo with Sally Rogers, with Schmidt's latest album, 2022's "Reimagining," featuring new versions of songs originally recorded between 1981 and 2009. She has also appeared on the radio program "A Prairie Home Companion" and in Tampa-born documentarian Les Blank's film "Gap-Toothed Women." Alice Howe and Freebo will also perform. 7 p.m. doors, 8 p.m. show Friday; Fogartyville Community Media and Arts Center, 525 Kumquat Court, Sarasota; $22, $20 members, $11 students ages 13 and up; 941-894-6469; fogartyville.org

Sauce Boss

Update: Sauce Boss' Cottonmouth show has been postponed to April 19, according to social media.

Swamp-funk slide guitarist Bill Wharton, aka the Sauce Boss, will play Bradenton's Cottonmouth this weekend. Known for serving up gumbo at his shows (he inspired the Jimmy Buffett tune "I Will Play for Gumbo"), Wharton most recently released the 2021 album "Peanuts" that opens with "Let the Big Dog Eat," his signature song that was later recorded by blues-rock favorite Albert Castiglia. "Peanuts" also features some of the music Wharton contributed to the 2020 documentary "Jimmy Carter: Rock & Roll President" directed by his daughter, Mary Wharton. 6:30 p.m. Saturday; Cottonmouth Southern Soul Kitchen, 1114 12th St. W., Bradenton; $12, $15 day of; 941-243-3735; facebook.com/cottonmouthsoul

Mary Gauthier

Grammy-nominated folk singer-songwriter Mary Gauthier will return to Fogartyville for two nights of shows. Releasing albums since the late '90s and earning particular acclaim for 2005's "Mercy Now" (with its tracks "I Drink" and "Wheel Inside the Wheel" covered by Blake Shelton and Jimmy Buffett, respectively), Gauthier most recently released 2022's "Dark Enough to See the Stars." The album was the follow-up to 2018's "Rifles & Rosary Beads," which Gauthier co-wrote with U.S. veterans and their families and earned her first Grammy nomination for Best Folk Album. Fellow singer-songwriter Jaimee Harris will also perform both nights. 7 p.m. doors, 8 p.m. show Saturday, 6 p.m. doors, 7 p.m. show Sunday; Fogartyville Community Media and Arts Center, 525 Kumquat Court, Sarasota; $35, $30 members, $17.50 students ages 13 and up; 941-894-6469; fogartyville.org

The Kennedys

Listening Room of Sarasota, which has brought touring singer-songwriter acts to the area for intimate concerts, will welcome back folk-rock group The Kennedys this weekend. The Kennedys have no relation to the political dynasty of the same name, but are rather named after married members Maura and Pete Kennedy, who both formerly played in Nanci Griffith's band. The two most recently released last year's "Headwinds," with other albums of theirs including 2014's "Dance a Little Closer: The Kennedys Sing the Songs of Nanci Griffith," paying tribute to their former bandmate. 6:30 p.m. doors, 7 p.m. show Sunday; Music Compound, 1751 Cattlemen Road, Sarasota; $25 suggested donation; email lrsrq@yahoo.com

Will Galison and Synia Carroll

Jazz Club of Sarasota's Monday Night Jazz Cabaret concert series, held at Florida Studio Theatre's John C. Court Cabaret, will continue with harmonica player and guitarist Will Galison and vocalist Synia Carroll. Although Galison is based in New York City and Carroll in Sarasota, the two are longtime friends, going back to their college days in the '70s and NYC in the '80s. Galison's credits include playing harmonica on the soundtracks for movies such as the Oscar-nominated film "Bagdad Cafe." 6:30 p.m. doors, dinner/drinks, 7:30 p.m. show Monday; John C. Court Cabaret, 1265 First St., Sarasota; $34-$39; 941-260-9951; jazzclubsarasota.org

Chris O'Leary Band

After releasing his latest album "The Hard Line" earlier this month on the esteemed Chicago blues label Alligator Records, singer-songwriter and harmonica player Chris O'Leary will visit Sarasota County restaurant and blues venue Englewoods on Dearborn for a show. Prior to his solo career, O’Leary spent six years fronting the blues group The Barn Burners alongside the late great The Band drummer-singer Levon Helm. He then struck out on his own with the 2010 album “Mr. Used to Be,” which was nominated for a Best New Artist Debut Blues Music Award and won a New Artist Debut Release Blues Blast Music Award. 6:30 p.m. Tuesday; Englewoods on Dearborn, 362 W. Dearborn St., Englewood; $7; 941-475-7501; englewoodsondearborn.com

Big Al and the Heavyweights

Already in the mood for Mardi Gras? Louisiana blues band Big Al and the Heavyweights will head our way for shows this week at Birdrock Taco Shack and Englewoods on Dearborn. The group pays tribute to their Louisiana home on songs such as "Hey, Hey Mardi Gras," "Cajun Roux" and last year's single "Happy Mardi Gras to You." The band is led by "Big Al" Lauro, who played in the ’90s with Warren Haynes of the Allman Brothers Band and Gov’t Mule fame as the Unknown Blues Band. 6 p.m. Tuesday; Birdrock Taco Shack, 1213 13th Ave. W., Bradenton; 941-545-9966; facebook.com/birdrocktaco; 6:30 p.m. Wednesday; Englewoods on Dearborn, 362 W. Dearborn St., Englewood; $5; 941-475-7501; englewoodsondearborn.com

Harlem Quartet

Harlem Quartet, which has performed at venues including Carnegie Hall, the Apollo Theater and the White House, will make their Sarasota Concert Association debut with this show at Riverview Performing Arts Center. The string quartet performed on Chick Corea and Gary Burton's "Mozart Goes Dancing," which won a Best Instrumental Composition Grammy, and are up for a Best Classical Compendium Grammy themselves this year for performing on "Passion for Bach and Coltrane." Their Sarasota show's program will include works by Beethoven, Mendelssohn, Caroline Shaw and Guido López-Gavilán. 7:30 p.m. Wednesday; Riverview Performing Arts Center, 1 Ram Way, Sarasota; $30-$85; 941-966-6161; scasarasota.org

Yacht Rock Revue

If you're a fan of the genre known as yacht rock, you'll want to ride like the wind to Van Wezel for this show. Yacht Rock Revue are coming off a year that saw the group opening for Kenny Loggins for dates on his This is It farewell tour, and releasing the live album "Coast to Coast," featuring renditions of soft rock hits such as "Escape (The Piña Colada Song)," "Ventura Highway" and "Brandy (You're a Fine Girl)." Yacht Rock Revue performs original music as well, as showcased on their 2020 full-length "Hot Dads in Tight Jeans." 7:30 p.m. Wednesday; Van Wezel Performing Arts Hall, 777 N. Tamiami Trail, Sarasota; $35-$65; 941-263-6799; vanwezel.org

The Guess Who

The version of The Guess Who visiting Van Wezel features neither Burton Cummings nor Randy Bachman, the rock group's original frontman and lead guitarist credited with most of the group's biggest hits (their biggest, "American Woman," was credited to all four band members at the time.) Bachman and Cummings have in fact sued the current iteration of the group for false advertising. This version's lineup does feature original drummer Garry Peterson and has released new music, including last year's album "Plein D'Amour." Does that make them a legitimate continuation of the band's legacy, or a "cover band," as the lawsuit says? We'll let you, and the courts, decide. 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 25; Van Wezel Performing Arts Hall, 777 N. Tamiami Trail, Sarasota; $49-$79; 941-263-6799; vanwezel.org

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Email entertainment reporter Jimmy Geurts at jimmy.geurts@heraldtribune.com. Support local journalism by  subscribing.

This article originally appeared on Sarasota Herald-Tribune: Top 10 concerts this week near me in Sarasota Bradenton Englewood