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Top 6 concerts this week in Sarasota, Bradenton, Englewood, Port Charlotte, Punta Gorda
Now that we're in June, and out of snowbird and tourist season, this concert picks installment is composed almost entirely of musicians from throughout Florida.
We do start with one notable exception, with a Canadian-born, now St. Louis-based blues-rock guitarist and singer-songwriter. The rest of this week's music acts all have ties to the Sunshine State, however — including a returning Sarasota native, a fundraiser concert for the Bradentucky Bombers roller derby team, a Fort Myers ska-reggae-soul group, a Boca Raton-based, Blues Music Award-nominated band, and a Miami sacred steel ensemble. Here are this week's highlights. Event details are subject to change.
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Although Joyland is primarily associated with country music, the Sarasota area venue occasionally holds concerts by musicians from different genres, such as blues-rock guitarist and singer-songwriter Anthony Gomes, who will return there for another show Friday. Born in Toronto to a French-Canadian mother and Portuguese father, and now living in the St. Louis area, Gomes visits the venue shortly after releasing his latest album "Praise the Loud." His other releases include the 2022 full-length "High Voltage Blues," which hit No. 1 on Billboard's blues album chart, with Gomes himself making Total Guitar magazine's list of the 100 greatest blues guitarists of all time last year. 8 p.m. doors, 9 p.m. show Friday; Joyland, 8341 Lockwood Ridge Road, Sarasota; $28 advance, $35 day of; 941-210-4110;
Bradenton venue Oscura will host this concert raising funds for another local institution, the Bradentucky Bombers roller derby team, and their travel to New Orleans to take on the Big Easy Roller Derby. Among the acts performing are Las Nadas, a self-described "gaggle of old people playing punk rock music" that includes Bradentucky Bomber GiGi RaMoan among its members (along with Doug Holland, owner of Bradenton record store Jerk Dog Records). Other musical acts will include No Pants Maurice, Kid Red, Luminosity and GDSOB. 7 p.m. doors, 7:30 p.m. show Friday; Oscura, 816 Manatee Ave. E., Bradenton; $10 advance, $15 day of; 941-201-4950;
Punta Gorda Irish pub and venue Celtic Ray Public House's live music lineup this week will kick off Friday with the return of ska-reggae-soul group The Freecoasters. While the group hails from nearby Fort Myers, they've found fans nationally, playing Washington, D.C.'s famed venue Black Cat in December 2023 with two big names in ska, The Slackers and Mustard Plug. Jesse Wagner of Los Angeles reggae band The Aggrolites also produced their two full-lengths, 2021's "A Different Kind of Heat" and 2016's "Show Up." 8 p.m. Friday; Celtic Ray Public House, 145 E. Marion Ave., Punta Gorda; 941-916-9115;
Guitarist, singer-songwriter and Sarasota native Chris Anderson will play Stottlemyer's Smokehouse this weekend, as well as The Twisted Fork in Port Charlotte. 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 p.m. Friday; Stottlemyer's Smokehouse, 19 E. Road, Sarasota; free; 941-312-5969; 6 p.m. doors, 6:30 p.m. show Saturday; The Twisted Fork, 2208 El Jobean Road, Port Charlotte; $31 VIP including dinner buffet, general admission also available; 941-235-3675;
Miami-based group The Lee Boys, one of the biggest acts of the sacred steel music genre, will return to Sarasota's Big Top Live for a free concert Saturday. Featuring brothers Alvin, Derrick and Keith Lee, 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. Their albums include 2012's "Testify," which features Warren Haynes of the Allman Brothers Band and Gov't Mule and Jimmy Herring of Widespread Panic as guest musicians. 7 p.m. Saturday; Big Top Live, 975 Cattlemen Road, Sarasota; free; 941-371-2939;
Sarasota County restaurant and venue Englewoods on Dearborn will welcome back Boca Raton blues guitarist and singer-songwriter J.P. Soars this week with his band the Red Hots. The group was nominated for four Blues Music Awards in 2022: Band of the Year, B.B. King Entertainer and Instrumentalist — Guitar for Soars, and Instrumentalist — Drums for bandmate Chris Peet, who scored another nomination in the same category this year. Soars also plays in the supergroup Southern Hospitality with Grammy-nominated pianist Victor Wainwright and fellow Floridian Damon Fowler. 6:30 p.m. Thursday, June 12; Englewoods on Dearborn, 362 W. Dearborn St., Englewood; $7; 941-475-7501;
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This article originally appeared on Sarasota Herald-Tribune: Top 6 concerts Sarasota Bradenton Englewood Port Charlotte Punta Gorda
