8 hours ago
Top 6 concerts this week in Sarasota, Bradenton, Venice, Englewood, Port Charlotte
Friday, June 20 marks the official start of summer, and while this week's picks for the top concerts in the Sarasota area might not be quite the same size as some of the blockbuster summer tours set to visit the greater Tampa Bay area over the next few months, there are still a number of notable shows.
This weekend, for instance, a Sarasota venue will feature a Nashville-based singer-songwriter who's appeared on official Spotify playlists and a DownBeat award-winning jazz musician. Another venue in Venice will feature two musicians who also now live in Nashville, but come from the Sarasota area. And two of Sarasota-Manatee's top spots for live blues music will feature a multiple Blues Music Award-winning harmonica player and a Billboard blues album chart-topping singer-songwriter/guitarist. Here are this week's highlights. Event details are subject to change.
Looking for more fun events? Top 5 things to do in Sarasota this holiday weekend (June 19-22)
Biggest concerts, comedians coming to Tampa Bay, Sarasota in July, August, September
75-plus things to do in June in Sarasota, Bradenton, Venice, Punta Gorda
Ticket Newsletter: Sign up to receive restaurant news and reviews plus info on things to do every Friday
Nashville-based singer-songwriter Liz Longley will return to Fogartyville this weekend, after releasing her latest album "New Life" earlier this year. The album documents "her transition into motherhood and the dizzying changes in perspective, routine and peace that followed." Longley's previous releases, which include her self-titled 2015 album, 2016's "Weightless" and 2020's "Funeral for My Past," have landed her on official Spotify playlists such as Deep Dark Indie. 7 p.m. doors, 8 p.m. show Friday; Fogartyville Community Media and Arts Center, 525 Kumquat Court, Sarasota; $26, $22 members, $13 students ages 13 and up; 941-894-6469;
Sarasota County-raised, now Nashville-based singer-songwriter John Salaway will return to the area to play Venice's Troll Music (where he bought his first electric guitar in the late '90s) as well as Port Charlotte's The Twisted Fork. Salaway has released albums such as 2021's "Salvation," which features guest musicians including Foo Fighters keyboardist Rami Jaffee and former Cage the Elephant member Lincoln Parish, who both appear on the opening track "One More Round." Salaway will perform with Sara Stovall of Sarasota alt-Americana group Passerine at the Troll Music show. 7:30 p.m. Friday; Troll Music, 628 E. Venice Ave., Venice; $20; 941-484-8765; 6 p.m. Sunday; The Twisted Fork, 2208 El Jobean Road, Port Charlotte; 941-235-3675;
Troll Music's live music lineup this weekend will also include guitarist, singer-songwriter and Sarasota native Chris Anderson. Anderson is a former member of Tampa-formed Southern rockers the Outlaws, best known for the songs "Green Grass & High Tides" and "There Goes Another Love Song." Anderson also released the 1995 solo album "Old Friend," with its title track co-written with Warren Haynes and later recorded by the Allman Brothers Band as the final song on their final studio album, 2003's "Hittin' the Note." 7:30 p.m. Saturday; Troll Music, 628 E. Venice Ave., Venice; $20; 941-484-8765;
Also playing Fogartyville this weekend will be Miami-based jazz trumpeter and alto saxophonist Fernando Ferrarone with his quartet. Ferrarone is also performing in support of a new release, this year's EP "Now till Forever," which concludes with the track "North Miami" named after his home city. His accolades include winning a Student Music Award in 2013 and 2014 from DownBeat, the Chicago music magazine covering "jazz, blues and beyond." 7 p.m. doors, 8 p.m. show Saturday; Fogartyville Community Media and Arts Center, 525 Kumquat Court, Sarasota; $25, $20 members, $12 students ages 13 and up; 941-894-6469;
Renowned blues harmonica player Jason Ricci will perform with his band The Bad Kind at Bradenton restaurant and venue Cottonmouth this upcoming Thursday. Ricci won his fourth Instrumentalist — Harmonica Blues Music Award last year, along with earning a Contemporary Blues Album nomination for his 2023 full-length "Behind the Veil." Ricci played the same instrument on stage alongside Tom Morello, Zac Brown and the Paul Shaffer Band in tribute to The Paul Butterfield Blues Band during the group's 2015 Rock & Roll Hall of Fame induction. 6:30 p.m. Thursday, June 26; Cottonmouth Southern Soul Kitchen, 1114 12th St. W., Bradenton; $15-$20; 941-243-3735;
Guitarist, singer-songwriter and former Anna Maria Island resident Damon Fowler, who plays with Ricci in the band Desoto Tiger's Testimony, has his own area show Thursday at Sarasota County restaurant and blues spot Englewoods on Dearborn. Fowler's releases include last year's "Barnyard Smile" and 2021's "Alafia Moon," which topped Billboard's blues albums chart and earned a Blues Music Award nomination for Blues Rock Album. Fowler has also played in the groups of the late Allman Brothers Band founding members Dickey Betts and Butch Trucks, and in the supergroup Southern Hospitality with Grammy-nominated pianist Victor Wainwright and fellow Floridian J.P. Soars. 6:30 p.m. Thursday; Englewoods on Dearborn, 362 W. Dearborn St., Englewood; $7; 941-475-7501;
If you would like to be considered for this story, please submit your event to at least 10 days before our Thursday publication date.
Email entertainment reporter Jimmy Geurts at Support local journalism by subscribing.
This article originally appeared on Sarasota Herald-Tribune: Top 6 concerts Sarasota Bradenton Venice Englewood Port Charlotte
