Top 8 concert picks in Sarasota, Bradenton, Englewood, Punta Gorda
We fully enter March this week, and its lengthy list of local events, including noteworthy concerts. A single show at Sarasota's Van Wezel Performing Arts Hall, for instance, will feature two groups that've both been inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame and named one of the 100 Greatest Artists by Rolling Stone.
As with most weeks in the Sarasota area, there'll also be plenty of blues music, including a three-day, free admission festival featuring a multi-Blues Music Award-nominated band. You'll also find notable country, jazz, indie and even "Siberian surf rock" musicians. Here are this week's highlights. Event details are subject to change.
Looking for fun, free things to do?Top 5 events in Sarasota, Bradenton area this weekend
More fun this month:100-plus things to do in March in Sarasota, Manatee and Charlotte counties
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Corey Kent
Before opening for country superstar Jason Aldean on tour later this year, Corey Kent plays a headlining show at Sarasota brewery Big Top. Kent appeared on season eight of "The Voice" in 2015, making it to the final eight contestants while competing on the team of country star Blake Shelton, and has continued to pursue a music career in the same genre. He scored his biggest hit yet last year with his rendition of the song "Wild as Her," with the single earning a platinum certification. SIRSY, an upstate New York pop-rock band whose song "Cannonball" appeared on the Showtime series "Shameless" that's been playing local shows in recent weeks, opens. 7 p.m. Friday; Big Top Brewing Company, 975 Cattlemen Road, Sarasota; $12; 941-371-2939; bigtopbrewing.com
Chiara Izzi
Jazz singer Chiara Izzi, who has previously performed at Sarasota Jazz Festival and various local venues, returns to the area for a show at Fogartyville. The Italian-born, now New York City-based Izzi was awarded first prize at the Montreux Jazz Festival Vocal Competition by Quincy Jones in 2011. She has performed and recorded both as a solo musician and with other artists, including Grammy-nominated Brazilian jazz guitarist Diego Figueiredo, who she played with at Sarasota Jazz Festival. Izzi will be joined by guitarist Chuck Stevens at Friday's concert. 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
Downtown Sarasota Blues Festival
The locally based Paragon Festivals, known for its area seafood and music fests, also hosts this free, three-day event featuring barbecue, other food and drink, and live music. The Miami-based The Lee Boys, one of the biggest names in the sacred steel genre, top the bill Saturday. Other notable acts include South Florida blues guitarist and singer-songwriter J.P. Soars with his group the Red Hots, who last year received four Blues Music Awards nominations including Band of the Year, on Sunday. 4-10 p.m. Friday, 11 a.m.-10 p.m. Saturday and 11 a.m.-6 p.m. Sunday; J.D. Hamel Park, 199 Bayfront Drive, Sarasota; free admission; 941-487-8061; paragonfestivals.com
Damon Fowler
Guitarist, singer-songwriter and former Anna Maria Island resident Damon Fowler returns to the area to play Bradenton's Birdrock Taco Shack and Big Top's Blues & Brews series. Earlier this year, Fowler released the album "Live at the Palladium," recorded at the titular St. Petersburg venue. It's the follow-up to his 2021 full-length "Alafia Moon," which topped the Billboard blues album chart and was nominated for a Blues Rock Album Blues Music Award. 7 p.m. Friday; Birdrock Taco Shack, 1213 13th Ave. W., Bradenton; $20 advance, $25 day of; 941-545-9966; facebook.com/birdrocktaco; 3 p.m. Sunday; Big Top Brewing Company, 975 Cattlemen Road, Sarasota; 941-371-2939; bigtopbrewing.com
MeteorEYES, The Tilt, Mosephine
Baysound Studios and Moxie Productions SRQ present this "the pop-up of all pop-ups" show featuring three indie music acts with ties to Sarasota. Among them is electro-rock-synth-pop trio MeteorEYES, whose members include Fabulous Arts Foundation executive director/founder and Moxie Productions SRQ head Shannon Fortner. Also performing are avant-pop group The Tilt, which released its debut album "Up the Gospel" last year, and Mosephine, of Sarasota indie-pop band The Equines. 7 p.m. Saturday; Baysound Studios, 2074 17th St., Sarasota; $5; facebook.com/baysoundstudios
Crystal Shawanda and Dewayne Strobel
Bradenton restaurant and venue Cottonmouth welcomes blues musician Crystal Shawanda, along with her husband and guitarist Dewayne Strobel, for a Sunday brunch event. Hailing from Canada, Shawanda started out as a country musician before switching to the blues, a genre she's continued to perform in, most recently on last year's album "Midnight Blues." Shawanda has been nominated for multiple Juno Awards (Canada's equivalent of the Grammys), winning two including Blues Album of the Year for her previous full-length, 2020's "Church House Blues." Noon Sunday; Cottonmouth Southern Soul Kitchen, 1114 12th St. W., Bradenton; $5; 941-243-3735; facebook.com/cottonmouthsoul
Igor and Red Elvises
"Siberian surf rock" group Igor and Red Elvises plays Englewoods on Dearborn and Celtic Ray this week, kicking off a lengthy string of Florida dates that includes return visits to both, plus other local venues. The group is fronted by Igor Yuzov, who grew up in the former Soviet Union, seeking out the forbidden sounds of rock 'n' roll. He later moved to America and formed the Red Elvises, which has released albums including 1996's "Grooving to the Moscow Beat" and 1997's "Surfing in Siberia," and is still going strong. 6 p.m. Tuesday; Englewoods on Dearborn, 362 W. Dearborn St., Englewood; $10; 941-475-7501; englewoodsondearborn.com; 8 p.m. Thursday, March 9; Celtic Ray Public House, 145 E. Marion Ave., Punta Gorda; 941-916-9115; celticray.net
The Temptations and the Four Tops
Two Motown groups that have both been inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame and named one of the 100 Greatest Artists by Rolling Stone, team up for this double-bill at Van Wezel. The Temptations are known for No. 1 hits including "My Girl," "Just My Imagination (Running Away with Me)" and their rendition of "Papa was a Rollin' Stone," while the Four Tops' biggest hits include "I Can't Help Myself (Sugar Pie Honey Bunch)," "Reach Out I'll Be There" and "It's the Same Old Song." Both groups also still feature a founding member among their current lineups: Otis Williams in the Temptations, and Abdul "Duke" Fakir in the Four Tops. 7:30 p.m. Wednesday; Van Wezel Performing Arts Hall, 777 N. Tamiami Trail, Sarasota; sold out as of press time; 941-263-6799; vanwezel.org
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This article originally appeared on Sarasota Herald-Tribune: Best live music concerts in Sarasota Bradenton Englewood Punta Gorda
