Top 10 concerts this week in Sarasota Bradenton Anna Maria Englewood
by themoneyoffice2.com@gmail.com April 6, 2024 · Concerts
As we fully enter April and its lengthy local events lineup this week, and as the spring/summer concert season starts, it’ll be another star-studded roster of musicians visiting the Sarasota area. We have multiple Rock & Roll Hall of Fame inductees in town this weekend, as a double-bill of hip-hop pioneers plays the second of two local shows Friday and a founding member of one of the most famous bands of all time performs a solo show Saturday.
We’ll also have multiple national names in country music and Blues Music Award-winning acts in town. And while touring musicians comprise all this week’s concert picks, some have ties to Sarasota-Manatee, including a Grammy-nominated bluegrass musician who was born in Sarasota and a former Bradenton resident who recently appeared on a Grammy-winning album. Here are this week’s highlights. Event details are subject to change.
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Sugarhill Gang, Melle Mel and Scorpio
Rap pioneers the Sugarhill Gang and Melle Mel and Scorpio of the Furious Five will play a second night at Sarasota’s Big Top, backed by a live band. Sugarhill Gang’s 1979 song “Rapper’s Delight” was the first rap single to be a Billboard Top 40 hit and has since been inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame and Library of Congress’ National Recording Registry. Melle Mel and Scorpio are both Rock & Roll Hall of Fame inductees as members of Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five, whose 1982 track “The Message” was named the greatest hip-hop song of all time by Rolling Stone (with “Rapper’s Delight” coming in at No. 2.) Undr8ed will also perform at the show, where a Rapper’s Delight — The Message Vanilla Milkshake IPA and commemorative T-shirts will be available as well. 6 p.m. Friday; Big Top Brewing Company, 975 Cattlemen Road, Sarasota; $40, $82.50 VIP; 941-371-2939; bigtopbrewing.com
Appalachian Road Show
Bluegrass group Appalachian Road Show, featuring multiple Grammy-nominated members, will return to Sarasota’s Fogartyville this weekend. Fiddler Jim VanCleve was born in Sarasota, going on to a musical career that’s included playing with Doyle Lawson & Quicksilver, cofounding Mountain Heart and earning Grammy nominations for Best Bluegrass Album and Country Instrumental Performance. Banjo player Barry Abernathy, another Grammy-nominated alum of Doyle Lawson & Quicksilver and Mountain Heart, also plays in Appalachian Road Show, which in 2021 won International Bluegrass Music Association awards for New Artist and Instrumental Group of the Year. 7 p.m. doors, 8 p.m. show Friday; Fogartyville Community Media and Arts Center, 525 Kumquat Court, Sarasota; $28, $24 members, $14 students ages 13 and up (sold out as of press time); 941-894-6469; fogartyville.org
Easton Corbin, Chase Matthew
Cleetus McFarland, the YouTuber and owner of the Bradenton track Freedom Factory, will celebrate his birthday this weekend with the Freedom 500 and Burnout Rivals, two days of car races and live performances by country musicians. Friday will feature the Trenton, Florida-born Easton Corbin, who rose to fame in the late 2000s/early 2010s with No. 1 country hits “A Little More Country Than That” and “Roll with It,” and who released his first full-length in eight years, “Let’s Do Country Right,” last year. Chase Matthew, known for songs such as his platinum-certified single “County Line” and the gold “Love You Again,” will perform Saturday. 9:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday; Freedom Factory, 21050 E. State Road 64, Bradenton; ticket prices vary; freedomfactoryusa.com
Al Jardine
The Center of Anna Maria Island’s Bradenton Gulf Island Concert Series will fittingly feature a Beach Boy, Al Jardine, this weekend. As a founding member of the Beach Boys, Jardine has been inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, received a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award and played on classic records, occasionally providing lead vocals, most notably on the group’s 1965 No. 1 hit “Help Me, Rhonda.” In recent years, Jardine has released the 2010 solo album “A Postcard from California,” toured with Beach Boys mastermind Brian Wilson and appeared along with his son Matt Jardine on John Mayer’s 2017 song “Emoji of a Wave.” Jardine’s band features Matt, former Beach Boys members Ed Carter and Bobby Figueroa, and Debbie Shair, formerly of Heart. 6 p.m. doors, 7 p.m. show Saturday; The Center of Anna Maria Island, 407 Magnolia Ave., Anna Maria; $59; 941-778-1908; centerami.org
Jon Langston
Big Top will also host a concert featuring another national name in country, Jon Langston, this weekend. Langston is known for songs such as his gold-selling singles “All Eyes on Us” and “Forever Girl,” the latter appearing on his 2015 self-titled EP that topped Billboard’s Heatseekers Album chart for new and developing artists. After multiple EPs, Langston released his debut full-length “Heart on Ice” last year, featuring fellow rising country music star Travis Denning on the ironically titled track “I Ain’t Country.” 7 p.m. Saturday; Big Top Brewing Company, 975 Cattlemen Road, Sarasota; $20 early bird; 941-371-2939; bigtopbrewing.com
Nick Moss Band featuring Dennis Gruenling
A month before this year’s Blues Music Awards ceremony, where they’re nominated in several categories, the Nick Moss Band featuring Dennis Gruenling will visit Birdrock Taco Shack for a concert. Their nominations include Band, Album and Song of the Year (the latter two for last year’s full-length “Get Your Back Into It!” and its opening track “The Bait in the Snare”), Traditional Blues Male Artist for Moss, and Instrumentalist — Harmonica for Gruenling. They’ve won multiple Blues Music Awards before, including Band of the Year, Song of the Year and Traditional Blues Album in 2020. 7 p.m. Tuesday; Birdrock Taco Shack, 1213 13th Ave. W., Bradenton; $25; 941-545-9966; facebook.com/birdrocktaco
Lil’ Ed & the Blues Imperials
Before they perform at this year’s Tampa Bay Blues Festival, Lil’ Ed & the Blues Imperials from Chicago will play a headlining date at Englewoods on Dearborn. Frontman Lil’ Ed Williams is up once again for B.B. King Entertainer of the Year at this year’s Blues Music Awards, which have also nominated the group for Band of the Year numerous times, with wins in 2009 and 2007. The band is also a longtime mainstay of Alligator Records, most recently releasing 2016’s “The Big Sound of Lil’ Ed & the Blues Imperials” on the renowned Chicago blues label. 6:30 p.m. Tuesday; Englewoods on Dearborn, 362 W. Dearborn St., Englewood; $15; 941-475-7501; englewoodsondearborn.com
Lauren Mitchell
A former Bradenton resident, now based in New Orleans, blues singer Lauren Mitchell will return to the Friendly City for two shows. Mitchell appeared on Count Basie Orchestra’s 2023 album “Basie Swings the Blues,” performing with Keb’ Mo’ on the track “Down Home Blues,” with the record featuring other renowned blues musicians such as Buddy Guy and Bobby Rush, and winning this year’s Best Large Jazz Ensemble Album Grammy. Previously, Mitchell herself was nominated at the 2017 Blues Blast Music Awards for the Sean Costello Rising Star Award and Soul Blues Album for her solo full-length “Desire.” 7 p.m. Wednesday; Cottonmouth Southern Soul Kitchen, 1114 12th St. W., Bradenton; $20; 941-243-3735; facebook.com/cottonmouthsoul; 7 p.m. Thursday, April 11; Birdrock Taco Shack, 1213 13th Ave. W., Bradenton; $20 advance, $25 day of; 941-545-9966; facebook.com/birdrocktaco
Ringling Underground
Ringling Underground, the concert series held in The Ringling’s courtyard featuring up-and-coming artists and free admission for students, returns for an April installment. This month’s headliner will be alternative rock group Heffner from Athens, Georgia — the fertile musical grounds that birthed such other bands as R.E.M., The B-52’s and Neutral Milk Hotel — who visit Sarasota after recently performing at music festivals South by Southwest in Austin and New Colossus Festival in New York City. Tampa’s MAK and St. Pete’s Beach Terror will also perform. 8 p.m. Thursday; The Ringling, 5401 Bay Shore Road, Sarasota; $15, free students with ID/members; 941-359-5700; ringling.org
J.P. Soars and the Red Hots
After recently playing Bradenton as J.P. Soars’ Gypsy Blue Revue featuring Anne Harris, South Florida guitarist and singer-songwriter Soars will next visit Englewoods on Dearborn with his band the Red Hots. The group was nominated for four Blues Music Awards in 2022 including Band of the Year, B.B. King Entertainer and Instrumentalist — Guitar for Soars, and Instrumentalist — Drums for his bandmate Chris Peet. Along with leading his own band, Soars plays in the supergroup Southern Hospitality with Grammy-nominated pianist Victor Wainwright and fellow Floridian Damon Fowler. 6:30 p.m. Thursday; Englewoods on Dearborn, 362 W. Dearborn St., Englewood; $7; 941-475-7501; englewoodsondearborn.com
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