Top 6 concerts this week in Sarasota, Bradenton, Venice, Port Charlotte, Punta Gorda
This week, we bid farewell to May and welcome June's fresh lineup of events in Sarasota, Manatee and Charlotte counties, including live music. A free show featuring a rising star in country music from Canada ranks among this week's most noteworthy concerts, along with a pair of International Bluegrass Music Association Award-winning multi-instrumentalists and a Memorial Day blues festival headlined by a Chicago Blues Hall of Famer.
As for musicians from here in Florida, you'll find two Blues Music Award-nominated acts, as well as a Sarasota County-raised, now Nashville-based musician returning to play a show in this area. Here are this week's highlights. Event details are subject to change.
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John Salaway & the Regulators
Raised in Sarasota County and now based in the music hub of Nashville, singer-songwriter John Salaway returns to the area this weekend to play The Twisted Fork in Port Charlotte. Salaway will be joined at this show by his Florida band the Regulators, whose members include Dave LaGrande of Gainesville-formed rock group Sister Hazel, best known for their '90s hit "All for You." Salaway's most recent album, 2021's "Salvation," featured him collaborating with numerous other musicians including Foo Fighters keyboardist Rami Jaffee and former Cage the Elephant member Lincoln Parish. Kettle of Fish also perform. 6:30 p.m. Saturday; The Twisted Fork, 2208 El Jobean Road, Port Charlotte; free; 941-235-3675; twistedfork.net
J.P. Soars and the Red Hots
South Florida blues guitarist and singer-songwriter J.P. Soars and his band the Red Hots play both Bradenton's Cottonmouth and Punta Gorda's Celtic Ray this week. The group earned four Blues Music Awards nominations last year, including Band of the Year and B.B. King Entertainer and Instrumentalist — Guitar for Soars. Their albums include 2019's "Let Go of the Reins" and 2018's "Southbound I-95," featuring nods to their Sunshine State home on tracks such as "Ain't No Dania Beach" and "Deep Down in Florida." 7 p.m. Saturday; Cottonmouth Southern Soul Kitchen, 1114 12th St. W., Bradenton; $10 advance, $15 day of; 941-243-3735; facebook.com/cottonmouthsoul; 8 p.m. Thursday, June 1; Celtic Ray Public House, 145 E. Marion Ave., Punta Gorda; 941-916-9115; celticray.net
Kettle of Fish with Damon Fowler
Kettle of Fish will also play their regular Sunday gig at Stottlemyer's Smokehouse this week, joined by another of southwest Florida's most popular blues and rock music acts: guitarist, singer-songwriter and former Anna Mara Island resident Damon Fowler. Fronted by Dana Lawrence, Sarasota's Kettle of Fish are a frequent presence at area venues and festivals, including Van Wezel's popular outdoor summertime concert series Friday Fest, which they'll serve as this year's kickoff act for June 16. Fowler, meanwhile, is known for releases such as 2021's "Alafia Moon," which topped Billboard's blues album chart and earned a Blues Music Award nomination for Blues Rock Album. 4 p.m. Sunday; Stottlemyer's Smokehouse, 19 E. Road, Sarasota; 941-312-5969; stottlemyerssmokehouse.com
Myakka River Blues Festival
Myakka River restaurant, bar and venue Snook Haven hosts its annual Memorial Day blues festival, for what it says will be the last time at its original location (The Sarasota County-owned space is scheduled for remodeling starting next year.) Chicago Blues Hall of Fame guitarist and singer-songwriter Liz Mandeville, who's featured Chicago blues legends such as the late Willie "Big Eyes" Smith and Eddie Shaw on her albums, headlines this year's festival. She's joined by Bradenton's Doug Deming & the Jewel Tones, who earned a Blues Blast Music Awards nomination for best band in 2019, and Ocala-born veteran bluesman Joey Gilmore. 11 a.m. Monday; Snook Haven, 5000 E. Venice Ave., Venice; $30 ($50 with commemorative T-shirt); 941-485-7221; snookhaven.com
Tenille Arts
University Town Center holds a special Live on The Green concert at their outdoor event space of the same name, featuring Canadian country artist Tenille Arts. Known for songs including her platinum, No. 3 country airplay hit "Somebody Like That" (which she also performed on "The Bachelor"), Arts has found success both in her home country and the U.S., including nominations for New Female Artist of the Year at the Academy of Country Music Awards and Country Album of the Year at the Juno Awards, Canada's equivalent of the Grammys. The concert also features opener Kevin Mikula and special guests Maverick and Lulu of 92.1 CTQ, with attendees encouraged to bring chairs and blankets. 7 p.m. Wednesday; The Green at UTC, 125 N. Cattlemen Road, Sarasota; free; utcsarasota.com
Mark Schatz and Bryan McDowell
Fogartyville welcomes a pair of International Bluegrass Music Association Award-winning multi-instrumentalists when Mark Schatz and Bryan McDowell visit the venue. Schatz is a two-time IBMA Award winner for Bass Player of the Year and has performed with acts including Nickel Creek, Bela Fleck and The John Hartford Stringband, earning a Traditional Folk Album Grammy nomination with the last group. McDowell won his IBMA Award for Collaborative Recording of the Year, as one of the many musicians on Bobby Osborne's cover of the Bee Gees' "I've Gotta Get a Message to You." 6:30 p.m. doors, 7:30 p.m. show Thursday; Fogartyville Community Media and Arts Center, 525 Kumquat Court, Sarasota; $24, $20 members, $12 students ages 13 and up; 941-894-6469; fogartyville.org
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This article originally appeared on Sarasota Herald-Tribune: Best live music concerts in Sarasota Bradenton Venice Charlotte County
