Top 5 concerts this week in Sarasota, Bradenton, Punta Gorda

As we leave July and its lineup of local events, and enter August with a fresh roster of fun things to do, this week's concert picks will include shows from both months.

We start with a duo featuring a Blues Music Award-winning singer (who earned another nomination earlier this year) performing Friday in Bradenton, with other award-winning and nominated blues musicians playing shows in our area this week. Not a fan of the blues? There's also a Grammy-nominated jazz guitarist visiting Sarasota, along with a daylong music festival featuring several rock bands. Here are this week's highlights. Event details are subject to change.

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Annika Chambers and Paul DesLauriers

Bradenton's Cottonmouth, one of the top spots locally to see nationally touring blues musicians, welcomes a power couple in the genre when Annika Chambers and Paul DesLauriers perform there this weekend. The Houston-born singer Chambers is a two-time Soul Blues Female Artist Blues Music Award winner, earning another nomination in the category earlier this year, while her husband DesLauriers is a Canadian guitarist-singer and two-time Maple Blues Awards (Canada's equivalent of the BMAs) Entertainer of the Year. The pair also released the full-length "Good Trouble" last year. 7 p.m. Friday; Cottonmouth Southern Soul Kitchen, 1114 12th St. W., Bradenton; $20 advance, $25 day of; 941-243-3735; facebook.com/cottonmouthsoul

Neverfest II

Local brewery and venue Big Top Brewing Company will once again host Neverfest, a free day of all-ages music featuring Sarasota alternative rock/ska-punk band Neverless. They'll be joined by several other Florida acts with similar sensibilities such as Discord Theory, Felicity, Dial Drive, Bay Street, Viewers Like You, Penny Fountain, Audrey Short and Go Read Theory. The festival will feature more than 10 musical performers altogether across two stages, along with games, vendors and more. 3 p.m. Friday; Big Top Brewing Company, 975 Cattlemen Road, Sarasota; free; 941-371-2939; bigtopbrewing.com

Ben Prestage

Cottonmouth's live music lineup this weekend also includes Florida-raised "Deep South Swamp Music" performer Ben Prestage. 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. Saturday; Cottonmouth Southern Soul Kitchen, 1114 12th St. W., Bradenton; $10 advance, $15 day of; 941-243-3735; facebook.com/cottonmouthsoul

Rockin' Jake

Shortly after performing at Englewoods on Dearborn in Sarasota County, harmonica player Rockin' Jake will visit Charlotte County Irish pub and venue Celtic Ray as well. A longtime New Orleans resident, with the city's renowned music magazine OffBeat giving him its Best of the Beat Award for harmonica player numerous years, Rockin' Jake relocated after Hurricane Katrina, settling in the fellow blues hub of St. Louis. He now lives in South Florida, also recording a 2004 live album at Key West's famed bar/venue The Green Parrot. 8 p.m. Saturday; Celtic Ray Public House, 145 E. Marion Ave., Punta Gorda; 941-916-9115; celticray.net

Diego Figueiredo

After performing at this year's Sarasota Jazz Festival, Grammy-nominated Brazilian jazz guitarist Diego Figueiredo returns to the area for a headlining show at Fogartyville in Sarasota. Figueiredo also earlier this year released his latest album "My World," featuring clarinetist/saxophonist Ken Peplowski on multiple tracks. Besides being a guitar player, Figueiredo is a producer, arranger, orchestrator and multi-instrumentalist, earning his Grammy nomination in the Best Arrangement, Instruments and Vocals category for his work on Cyrille Aimée's rendition of "Marry Me A Little." 6:30 p.m. doors, 7:30 p.m. show Tuesday; Fogartyville Community Media and Arts Center, 525 Kumquat Court, Sarasota; $28, $25 members, $14 students ages 13 and up; 941-894-6469; fogartyville.org

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This article originally appeared on Sarasota Herald-Tribune: Top concerts near me in Sarasota, Bradenton, Punta Gorda