Top 8 concert picks this week in Sarasota, Bradenton, Englewood and Punta Gorda

Sarasota's biggest performing arts venue, Van Wezel, has another busy weekend in store, starting Friday with a concert by "Joy to the World" rockers Three Dog Night. That'll be followed by a hip-hop and holiday music mash-up recently showcased in a Disney+ special, featuring pioneering rapper Kurtis Blow.

The list of winter holiday season events taking place locally onstage (as well as off-stage) this week also includes a Grammy-nominated saxophonist and vocalist visiting Charlotte County on her Christmas tour. Other notable concerts taking place include Grammy-winning and nominated performers playing Fogartyville in Sarasota, as well as shows featuring some of Florida's most acclaimed blues musicians. Here are this week's highlights. Event details are subject to change.

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Three Dog Night

Van Wezel’s 2022-23 season continues this week, kicking off with a concert by rockers Three Dog Night. The group scored multiple No. 1 hits in the early 1970s with their renditions of songs including “Mama Told Me (Not to Come),” “Joy to the World” and “Black and White,” in the process introducing renowned songwriters such as Randy Newman and Paul Williams to a larger audience. Three Dog Night’s current lineup still features Danny Hutton from its founding trio of lead vocalists, with Chuck Negron no longer performing with the group and Cory Wells dying in 2015. 8 p.m. Friday; Van Wezel Performing Arts Hall, 777 N. Tamiami Trail, Sarasota; $47-$92; 941-263-6799; vanwezel.org

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Seth Glier

Fogartyville, one of the top venues locally to see shows by singer-songwriter acts, will welcome the Grammy-nominated Seth Glier this week. The Massachusetts-based singer-songwriter, producer and multi-instrumentalist earned a Best Engineered Album, Non-Classical Grammy nomination for his 2011 sophomore full-length "The Next Right Thing," recording his vocals in his parents' basement. Glier has released numerous other albums since then, most recently last year's "The Coronation." 7 p.m. doors, 8 p.m. show Friday; 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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Damon Fowler

Guitarist, singer-songwriter and former Anna Maria Island resident Damon Fowler will return to Manatee County this weekend for a show at Bradenton restaurant and venue Birdrock Taco Shack. Fowler's latest full-length, 2021's "Alafia Moon," both topped the Billboard blues albums chart and earned him a Blues Music Award nomination earlier this year in the Blues Rock Album category. Along with his solo career, Fowler has also played in the bands of founding Allman Brothers Band members Dickey Betts and the late Butch Trucks, and in the supergroup Southern Hospitality with Grammy-nominated pianist Victor Wainwright and fellow Floridian J.P. Soars. 7 p.m. Friday; Birdrock Taco Shack, 1213 13th Ave. W., Bradenton; $15; 941-545-9966; facebook.com/birdrocktaco

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The Hip Hop Nutcracker with Kurtis Blow

Van Wezel's lineup this week also includes a holiday season show with a hip-hop twist. The Hip Hop Nutcracker, a mashup of Tchaikovsky's Christmastime classic with a cast of a dozen hip-hop dancers, a DJ and a violinist, will visit the venue while celebrating its 10th anniversary as well as the recent release of a Disney+ special. MC Kurtis Blow, known for his pioneering rap single "The Breaks" as well as his track "Christmas Rappin'" that ranks among the best hip-hop holiday songs (both included on his 1980 self-titled debut album), will open the show with a short set. 7 p.m. Saturday; Van Wezel Performing Arts Hall, 777 N. Tamiami Trail, Sarasota; $42-$92; 941-263-6799; vanwezel.org

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Jason Carter and Bronwyn Keith-Hynes

Fogartyville's live music lineup this week will also include two acclaimed fiddlers. Jason Carter has played in renowned bluegrass act Del McCoury Band for 30 years, winning five Fiddle Player of the Year International Bluegrass Music Association Awards and three Bluegrass Album Grammys, out of 12 overall Grammy nominations. He'll be joined by Bronwyn Keith-Hynes, who's won the Fiddle Player of the Year IBMA award the past two years, performed with Molly Tuttle & Golden Highway and Mile Twelve, and released the 2020 debut solo album "Fiddler's Pastime." 7 p.m. doors, 8 p.m. show Saturday; Fogartyville Community Media and Arts Center, 525 Kumquat Court, Sarasota; $22, $20 members, $11 students ages 13 and up; 941-894-6469; fogartyville.org

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Mindi Abair

The lineup of local holiday shows will also include this concert by Grammy-nominated saxophonist, vocalist and Florida native Mindi Abair, who'll visit Charlotte County on her I Can't Wait for Christmas Tour. Abair, who has earned dual Contemporary and Pop Instrumental Album Grammy nominations, previously released 2018's "All I Got for Christmas is the Blues" with The Boneshakers. That album features her song "I Can't Wait for Christmas" that gives the tour its name, which Abair re-released as a single this year featuring saxophonist Vincent Ingala, singer Lindsey Webster and guitarist Adam Hawley, who are also set to perform with her live. 7 p.m. Tuesday; Charlotte Harbor Event and Conference Center, 75 Taylor St., Punta Gorda; $80-$117; 941-833-5444; charlotteharborecc.com

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Selwyn Birchwood

Sarasota County restaurant and blues venue Englewoods on Dearborn will feature another of the top musicians in the genre who calls Florida home, guitarist and singer-songwriter Selwyn Birchwood, this week. Birchwood was this year's Song of the Year Blues Music Award winner for "I'd Climb Mountains" off his Billboard blues album chart-topping 2021 full-length "Living in a Burning House," his latest for renowned blues label Alligator Records. He previously won a Best New Artist Debut Blues Music Award for his first album with Alligator, 2014's "Don't Call No Ambulance." 6 p.m. Wednesday; Englewoods on Dearborn, 362 W. Dearborn St., Englewood; $10; 941-475-7501; englewoodsondearborn.com

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The Lee Boys with Melody Trucks

Englewood on Dearborn's live music lineup this week also includes the Miami-based group The Lee Boys with special guest Melody Trucks. Featuring brothers Alvin, Derrick and Keith Lee along with their nephews, the group plays in the sacred steel tradition, originating from church services featuring steel guitar for a sound that blends gospel with a hard-driving, blues-based beat. Percussionist/vocalist Melody Trucks also hails from a musical family, as the daughter of Butch Trucks and cousin of Derek Trucks. Can't make this show? The Lee Boys are also set to play Sarasota's Big Top Brewing Company the following night. 6 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 15; Englewoods on Dearborn, 362 W. Dearborn St., Englewood; $10; 941-475-7501; englewoodsondearborn.com

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This article originally appeared on Sarasota Herald-Tribune: Best live music concerts in Sarasota, Bradenton, Punta Gorda area