Top 10 concerts this week in Sarasota, Bradenton, Venice, Englewood

We're nearly ready to welcome March and a fresh lineup of local events, including live music, but not before we bid farewell to February with one last, star-studded week of concerts. Those visiting the Sarasota area include an '80s pop star with two No. 1 hits and a chart-topping album to her name, which made her at the time the youngest female artist to ever have a No. 1 album.

This week's concert picks also features multiple Grammy-winning musical acts — including a band with a Sarasota resident among its members, visiting the area on their farewell tour — as well as artists who've won or been nominated for Latin Grammys, Juno Awards (Canada's equivalent of the Grammys), Blues Music Awards and more. Here are this week's highlights. Event details are subject to change.

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Calibre 50 and La Energía Norteña

Sarasota's Strobes Event Center will host this concert headlined by two Grammy-nominated regional Mexican music groups. Calibre 50 was formed in 2010 by Edén Muñoz (who has since gone solo and headlined Sarasota's Robarts Arena last year ), earned a Grammy nomination for Best Regional Mexican Music Album (Including Tejano) for 2018's "Mitad y Mitad" and have been nominated for four Latin Grammys, winning one for Best Norteño Album for 2017's "Guerra de Poder." They'll be joined by La Energía Norteña, who were nominated in the same Regional Mexican Music Album Grammy category for 2019's "Poco a Poco," and have three Latin Grammy nominations themselves. Cuarto de Milla and Los de la Noria also perform. 8 p.m. Friday; Strobes Event Center, 3251 17th St., Sarasota; $70; ticketon.com

The Nighthawks and Rev. Billy C. Wirtz

Washington, D.C. blues staples The Nighthawks, who've played multiple local shows in recent weeks, will next perform at Bradenton's Cottonmouth, along with Rev. Billy C. Wirtz. Still featuring singer and harmonica player Mark Wenner, who has been with the band since the 1970s, The Nighthawks have appeared on HBO's acclaimed Baltimore-set series "The Wire" and won a Blues Music Award for Acoustic Blues Album for 2010's "Last Train to Bluesville." Wirtz, meanwhile, hosts the weekly radio show The Rhythm Revival on WMNF, and as a musician blends irreverent lyrics with serious boogie-woogie piano chops. 7 p.m. Friday; Cottonmouth Southern Soul Kitchen, 1114 12th St. W., Bradenton; $20 advance, $25 day of; 941-243-3735;  facebook.com/cottonmouthsoul

Have Gun, Will Travel

Bradenton-based Americana band Have Gun, Will Travel will play a hometown show as part of an art market at Motorworks Brewing. The group ranks among Sarasota-Manatee's most successful musical acts, with their music appearing on shows such as "The Good Wife" and "The Ranch" and covered by outlets including NPR and No Depression . The group paid tribute to their Bradenton home on the song "Our Fair City" off their 2022 EP "Silver Sounds," name-dropping local landmarks such as Riverwalk and Village of the Arts, and recently released the single "Gravity Blues" off their upcoming EP "Voyager Golden." 7 p.m. Friday; Motorworks Brewing, 1014 Ninth St. W., Bradenton; free; 941-209-5913; motorworksbrewing.com

Alain Pérez Quinteto

The Ringling's Art of Performance series continues with two shows by Cuban jazz multi-instrumentalist and singer-songwriter Alain Pérez in the Historic Asolo Theater. Pérez has performed with musicians including Cuban pianist Chucho Valdés (who was one of the headliners at last year's Sarasota Jazz Festival) and trumpeter and percussionist Jerry González, with Pérez earning the first of his four Latin Grammy nominations with the latter. Pérez won a Latin Grammy in the Best Traditional Tropical Album category for 2021's "Cha Cha Chá: Homenaje a lo Tradicional" with Issac Delgado and Orquesta Aragón. 7:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday; Historic Asolo Theater, 5401 Bay Shore Road, Sarasota; $40-$50; 941-360-7399; ringling.org

Cassie and Maggie

After a sold-out show at Fogartyville in Sarasota about a year ago, Cassie and Maggie from Nova Scotia, Canada will return to the area to perform at Troll Music in Venice during a string of headlining dates before playing Irish Fest Camden and opening for Enter the Haggis. The sisters who play a contemporary take on Celtic music earned a Traditional Roots Album of the Year nomination at the Juno Awards (Canada's equivalent of the Grammys) for 2016's "The Willow Collection." More recently, the duo released the 2022 holiday album "A Very Very Cassie and Maggie Christmas. 7 p.m. Sunday; Troll Music, 628 E. Venice Ave., Venice; $20; 941-484-8765; trollmusic.com

Nitty Gritty Dirt Band

Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, whose founding members include longtime Sarasota resident Jimmie Fadden, will visit Van Wezel on their farewell tour. The group is known for their 1972 album "Will the Circle Be Unbroken" featuring numerous collaborations with bluegrass and country musicians and its two sequels, with 1989's "Will the Circle Be Unbroken: Volume Two" earning the group two of its three Grammys. The band most recently released 2022's Bob Dylan covers album "Dirt Does Dylan," with a rendition of "The Times They Are a-Changin'" featuring Rosanne Cash, Steve Earle, Jason Isbell and The War and Treaty. They'll be joined at Van Wezel by country singer-songwriter Brit Taylor, whose releases include 2023's Sturgill Simpson-produced album "Kentucky Blue." 7:30 p.m. Tuesday; Van Wezel Performing Arts Hall, 777 N. Tamiami Trail, Sarasota; $50-$80; 941-263-6799;  vanwezel.org

Yo-Yo Ma

Van Wezel's lineup this week also includes "An Evening with Yo-Yo Ma," presented by Sarasota Concert Association, where the cellist will perform a selection of favorite pieces and share stories about a life dedicated to music. Ma's many accolades including winning 19 Grammys and receiving both the Presidential Medal of Freedom and Kennedy Center Honors in 2011. Although he's primarily known for his classical music performances, Ma has become a crossover celebrity in pop culture, including appearing with Miley Cyrus and Elton John (among others) on a cover of Metallica's "Nothing Else Matters" and in a cameo as himself in the 2022 film "Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery." 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 27; Van Wezel Performing Arts Hall, 777 N. Tamiami Trail, Sarasota; sold out; 941-966-6161; scasarasota.org

Tiffany

The '80s pop star Tiffany will visit Sarasota brewery and venue Big Top Live for a concert this week. The singer rose to fame with her 1987 multi-platinum self-titled debut and its No. 1 hits, "Could've Been" and a rendition of Tommy James and the Shondells' "I Think We're Alone Now," with the album also topping the charts and setting a record for the youngest female artist to have a No. 1 album (Tiffany was 15 years old at the time of its release.) More recently, she released her latest album "Shadows" in 2022 and competed last year on the British version of "The Masked Singer," finishing in fourth place. 22N will also perform. 7 p.m. Thursday; Big Top Live, 975 Cattlemen Road, Sarasota; $25; 941-371-2939;  bigtoplive.com

J.P. Soars and the Red Hots

South Florida blues guitarist and singer-songwriter J.P. Soars and his band The Red Hots will play Englewoods on Dearborn. The group received four Blues Music Awards nominations in 2022: Band of the Year, B.B. King Entertainer and Instrumentalist — Guitarist for Soars, and Instrumentalist — Drums for his bandmate Chris Peet, who earned a nomination in the same category this year. Along with his solo career, which includes last year's album "Brick by Brick," Soars also plays in the supergroup Southern Hospitality with Grammy nominee 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

Matthew Curry Band

Troll Music's live music lineup this week also includes Bloomington, Illinois blues-rock guitarist and singer-songwriter Matthew Curry, who counts among his fans Peter Frampton, The Doobie Brothers and Steve Miller Band, all of whom he's opened for. Curry also appeared onscreen in the 2015 David Spade comedy "Joe Dirt 2: Beautiful Loser," playing the late Lynyrd Skynyrd frontman and Jacksonville native Ronnie Van Zant. Can't make this show? Curry is also set to play Port Charlotte's The Twisted Fork on March 1, Cottonmouth on March 6, and Punta Gorda's Celtic Ray on March 8. 7 p.m. Thursday; Troll Music, 628 E. Venice Ave., Venice; $25; 941-484-8765; trollmusic.com

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Email entertainment reporter Jimmy Geurts at jimmy.geurts@heraldtribune.com. Support local journalism by subscribing .

This article originally appeared on Sarasota Herald-Tribune: Top 10 concerts this week in Sarasota Bradenton Venice Englewood