Top 12 concerts this week in Sarasota, Bradenton, Anna Maria, Englewood, Punta Gorda

We leave February and its local events lineup at the end of this week, but not before one more week full of notable concerts. Multiple Grammy nominees — including one who competed just earlier this month at this year's Grammys — will play shows in Sarasota and Manatee counties, along with a two-night, multi-genre music festival in Bradenton and an evening-long reggae block party in downtown Sarasota.

Like most weeks in our area, you'll find numerous acclaimed blues musicians performing, including multiple Blues Music Award winners. Yet there'll also be rock, reggae, shoegaze, power-pop, metal, hardcore, folk, jazz and Celtic music represented. Here are this week's highlights. Event details are subject to change.

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John Primer

After playing last year's Bradenton Blues Festival, competing at this year's Grammys and performing recently at Englewoods on Dearborn, John Primer will next visit Cottonmouth in Bradenton. The blues guitarist and singer-songwriter has played with Muddy Waters, Willie Dixon and Magic Slim, along with a successful solo career that's included four Blues Music Awards wins and three Grammy nominations. His most recent nomination was in the Traditional Blues Album category for "Teardrops for Magic Slim: Live at Rosa's Lounge," which was also recently nominated for Album of the Year at this year's Blues Music Awards. 7 p.m. Friday; Cottonmouth Southern Soul Kitchen, 1114 12th St. W., Bradenton; $25 advance, $30 day of; 941-243-3735; facebook.com/cottonmouthsoul

Guess Who Alumni

After a touring version of The Guess Who (without founding members Randy Bachman and Burton Cummings, which has become a point of legal contention) performed at Van Wezel earlier this year, another show featuring the Canadian rock band's music will visit our area. Guess Who Alumni will feature rhythm guitarist Donnie McDougall and bassist Bill Wallace, who played in the group from 1972 until 1974 and 1975, respectively, and Carl Dixon, who was lead singer of the newer iteration of the band in 1997-2000 and 2003-2008. The Guess Who's catalog includes the No. 1 hits "American Woman" and "No Sugar Tonight/New Mother Nature" as well as Top 10 tracks such as "These Eyes" and "Clap for the Wolfman," co-written by Wallace. 6 p.m. doors, 7 p.m. show Friday; The Center of Anna Maria Island, 407 Magnolia Ave., Anna Maria; $59 and up; 941-778-1908; centerami.org

Osfest

Local reggae favorites Jah Movement will once again host this eighth annual block party in downtown Sarasota, honoring the late Oswald "Ham" Caines, who used to play in reggae band Democracy with his son and Jah Movement member Damie Caines. This year's live music lineup will include Jamaican reggae artist Everton Blender, known for songs such as "Lift Up Your Head," the title track from his 1994 album. The event will also feature DJs, kids' activities and food and drink vendors, with no outside food/drink allowed but guests encouraged to bring their own chairs. 5 p.m.-midnight Friday; The Gator Club, 1490 Main St., Sarasota; $30, free children under age 12;  jahmovement.com/osfestreggaeblockparty

Double Down Fest

Bradenton's Oscura will host Double Down Fest this weekend, featuring a two-day lineup of musical acts from throughout Florida and Georgia. The first night will feature Orlando shoegaze group Fluxe, Tampa power-pop band The Easy Button, and Bradenton progressive/indie rockers In Transit, whose members include Oscura co-owner Ben Bakker. Meanwhile, the second night will feature a variety of bands in heavier music genres such as hardcore and metal, including Fiends, Southpaw, Tombstone and Downpour. 6:30 p.m. doors, 7 p.m. show Friday and 5 p.m. doors, 5:30 p.m. show Saturday; Oscura, 816 Manatee Ave. E., Bradenton; $20 both days; 941-201-4950; oscura.live

Steve Forbert

Singer-songwriter Steve Forbert will play the second of two shows at Sarasota's Fogartyville this weekend. Forbert had his biggest hit with the 1979 earworm "Romeo's Tune," which reached No. 11 on the Billboard Hot 100 and was later covered by country star Keith Urban and appeared in the 2007 Noah Baumbach film "Margot at the Wedding" along with his other song "Goin' Down to Laurel." Forbert also earned a Best Traditional Folk Album Grammy nomination in 2004 for his album "Any Old Time" paying tribute to country pioneer Jimmie Rodgers. 7 p.m. doors, 8 p.m. show Saturday; Fogartyville Community Media and Arts Center, 525 Kumquat Court, Sarasota; $30, $27 members, $15 students ages 13 and up; 941-894-6469; fogartyville.org

Bruce Katz Band

Fogartyville's live music lineup this weekend will also include blues pianist and organist Bruce Katz. He's a seven-time nominee for Instrumentalist — Piano at the Blues Music Awards, where he also won Acoustic Blues Album for his 2018 collaboration “Journeys to the Heart of the Blues” with guitarist Joe Louis Walker and harmonica player Giles Robson (and was nominated in the same category for his 2019 solo piano album "Solo Ride.") Katz has also played in the respective bands of founding Allman Brothers Band members Gregg Allman, Butch Trucks and Jaimoe. 6 p.m. doors, 7 p.m. show Sunday; Fogartyville Community Media and Arts Center, 525 Kumquat Court, Sarasota; $25, $20 members, $12.50 students ages 13 and up; 941-894-6469; fogartyville.org

Enuff Z'Nuff

Sarasota brewery and music venue Big Top will welcome back Illinois glam rockers Enuff Z'Nuff this weekend. The group rose to fame with their 1989 self-titled debut album, featuring the charting hits "New Thing" and "Fly High Michelle," and both songs' music videos, with The New York Times naming the former one of 15 Essential Hair-Metal Videos and Beavis and Butt-Head lampooning the latter. The group still features founding member and bassist Chip Z'Nuff, who's also picked up frontman duties in recent years, including on 2022's full-length "Finer Than Sin" and 2021's Beatles covers album "Hardrock Nite." Bad Marriage and Kamenar will also perform. 6 p.m. Sunday; Big Top Brewing Company, 975 Cattlemen Road, Sarasota; $17.50; 941-371-2939; bigtopbrewing.com

The Four Freshmen

Famed jazz/vocal group The Four Freshmen's current iteration will visit Glenridge Performing Arts Center in Sarasota this weekend. As one might imagine for a band that dates back to 1948, the lineup no longer features any original members, but it does still include bass vocalist/drummer Bob Ferreira, who has been with the group since the early 1990s, when the last original member Bob Flanigan retired. Over its nearly 80-year-history, The Four Freshmen has earned six Grammy nominations (including at the very first Grammys ceremony in 1959) and influenced musicians such as Brian Wilson of The Beach Boys, who said "they taught me harmony." 2 p.m. Sunday; Glenridge Performing Arts Center, 7333 Scotland Way, Sarasota; $35-$40; 941-552-5325; gpactix.com

Biscuit Miller

Blues bassist and singer-songwriter Biscuit Miller, who regularly performs locally (including a recent birthday bash at Englewoods on Dearborn), will play at Leroy's Southern Kitchen & Bar in Punta Gorda this week. A two-time winner of the Blues Music Award for Instrumentalist — Bass, Miller has released albums including 2019's "Chicken Grease" and 2010's "Blues with a Smile," a fitting title for the charismatic performer. Along with leading his own group, Miller performed for years in the bands of other blues musicians such as Lonnie Brooks and Anthony Gomes. 8 p.m. Wednesday; Leroy's Southern Kitchen & Bar, 201 W. Marion Ave., Punta Gorda; 941-505-2489;  facebook.com/leroyspg

Celtic Woman

Grammy-nominated group Celtic Woman will return to Sarasota's Van Wezel Performing Arts Hall while on a tour celebrating their 20th anniversary. Along with the tour, the all-woman Irish music ensemble marked their 20th anniversary earlier this year with an album and DVD — filmed at The Helix in Dublin — featuring original members Chloë Agnew, Lisa Kelly, Méav Ní Mhaolchatha and Máiréad Nesbitt as special guests. Celtic Woman's previous releases include "Destiny," which earned the group a Best World Music Album Grammy nomination. 7 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 29; Van Wezel Performing Arts Hall, 777 N. Tamiami Trail, Sarasota; $55-$170; 941-263-6799; vanwezel.org

J.P. Soars and the Red Hots

South Florida guitarist and singer-songwriter J.P. Soars, along with his band the Red Hots, will close out February at Englewoods on Dearborn. The group received four Blues Music Awards nominations in 2022 including Band of the Year, B.B. King Entertainer and Instrumentalist — Guitar for Soars, and Instrumentalist — Drums for his bandmate Chris Peet. Along with leading his own band, Soars also plays in the supergroup Southern Hospitality with Grammy-nominated pianist Victor Wainwright and fellow Floridian Damon Fowler. 6:30 p.m. Thursday; Englewoods on Dearborn, 362 W. Dearborn St., Englewood; $7; 941-475-7501; englewoodsondearborn.com

Paleface

Indie-folk musician Paleface will return to Celtic Ray in Punta Gorda after releasing the new single "If I Could Make You Smile" on Valentine's Day (and the new album "Beyond the Bells" last year.) Now based in North Carolina, Paleface started out in the New York City music scene, befriending Daniel Johnston and Beck toward the start of the ’90s and singer-songwriters Regina Spektor and The Moldy Peaches in the ’00s, then North Carolina folk group The Avett Brothers, who recorded his track “Dancin Daze." He tours as a duo with his partner and drummer Mo Samalot. 7 p.m. Thursday; Celtic Ray Public House, 145 E. Marion Ave., Punta Gorda; 941-916-9115; celticray.net

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This article originally appeared on Sarasota Herald-Tribune: Top 12 concerts in Sarasota Bradenton Anna Maria Englewood Punta Gorda