Top 5 concerts this week in Sarasota, Bradenton
It'll be a quieter week than usual in December for local events, including live music, with Christmas taking place and many venues closing for the day. Yet that doesn't mean there won't be any concerts — in fact, the number of people returning to the Sarasota area for the holidays will include a few musicians who used to live here playing hometown shows.
Other visitors this week will include a blues-rock band from Chicago and a roots music group from Virginia. And if you're looking to celebrate Christmas a few days early, a Florida jazz pianist will be playing a concert celebrating one of the best Christmas albums of all time, "A Charlie Brown Christmas." Here are this week's highlights. Event details are subject to change.
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Dylan Cotrone
Singer-songwriter, guitarist and Bradenton native Dylan Cotrone will return for a hometown show at Oscura on Friday. Though now based in Los Angeles, Cotrone hasn't forgotten his former Manatee County home, with Holmes Beach's Freckled Fin Irish Pub and Keyes Marina appearing in the music video for his song "Dog House," the title track of his EP released earlier this year. Cotrone went viral on TikTok for a cover of country star Zach Bryan's song "Burn, Burn, Burn" that earned more than 13 million views, with his own music featuring a country twang and sunny reggae-rock vibes that makes "Redneck Hippie" a fitting title to another one of his songs. Lennon Cripe also performs. 7 p.m. doors, 8 p.m. show Friday; Oscura, 816 Manatee Ave. E., Bradenton; $15 advance, $20 day of; 941-201-4950; facebook.com/oscuralive
The Steepwater Band
Bradenton's Cottonmouth, one of the top spots to see nationally touring blues music acts live locally, will host The Steepwater Band this weekend. The blues-rock group formed in the late 1990s in the blues hub of Chicago, and had their 2006 song "Collision" appear in the 2012 Katherine Heigl romantic comedy "One for the Money." The band most recently released 2022's "Re-Turn of the Wheel," a companion piece to their 2020 album "Turn of the Wheel." 7 p.m. Friday; Cottonmouth Southern Soul Kitchen, 1114 12th St. W., Bradenton; $20 advance, $25 day of; 941-243-3735; facebook.com/cottonmouthsoul
'A Charlie Brown Christmas' with Zachary Bartholomew
Zachary Bartholomew will return to Fogartyville with his concert celebrating Vince Guaraldi and "A Charlie Brown Christmas." Jazz pianist Guaraldi's 1965 soundtrack for "A Charlie Brown Christmas," featuring both traditional songs such as "O Tannenbaum" and original compositions such as "Christmas Time is Here," is included in the Grammy Hall of Fame and Library of Congress' National Recording Registry. Bartholomew is also a jazz pianist, and a current full-time faculty member at Florida Memorial University. 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 (indoor reserved seating sold out, general admission patio seating available); 941-894-6469; fogartyville.org
Hackensaw Boys
Fogartyville's live music lineup this week will also include Virginia roots group Hackensaw Boys. The band's sound is described as having "just as much in common with the straight-ahead sound of the Del McCoury Band as it does with the indie rock of Pavement and the modern folk of the Avett Brothers and Mountain Goats." The group most recently released a 2022 self-titled album, and is also gearing up to celebrate the upcoming 20th anniversary of their 2005 full-length "Love What You Do." 6 p.m. doors, 7 p.m. show Sunday; Fogartyville Community Media and Arts Center, 525 Kumquat Court, Sarasota; $25, $20 members, $13 students ages 13 and up (indoor reserved seating sold out, general admission patio seating available); 941-894-6469; fogartyville.org
Chris Anderson
Guitarist, singer-songwriter and Sarasota native Chris Anderson will return to the area for a show at Big Top Brewing Company's Cock N' Bull Live location. Anderson is a former member of the Tampa-formed Southern rockers Outlaws, known for songs such as "Green Grass & High Tides" and "There Goes Another Love Song." He also released the 1995 solo album "Old Friend," with a title track co-written by 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. Thursday, Dec. 26; Big Top Brewing Company at Cock N' Bull Live, 975 Cattlemen Road, Sarasota; free; 941-371-2939; bigtopbrewing.com
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This article originally appeared on Sarasota Herald-Tribune: Top 5 concerts this week near me in Sarasota, Bradenton
