Top 8 concerts this week in Sarasota, Bradenton, Englewood
Top 8 concerts this week in Sarasota, Bradenton, Englewood
Jimmy Geurts, Sarasota Herald-TribuneFri, May 8, 2026 at 9:11 AM UTC
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By far the biggest concert in the Sarasota area this week will be jazz pioneer Herbie Hancock at Van Wezel Performing Arts Hall on Saturday. (We interviewed Hancock for the Ticket cover story April 30, the same day as International Jazz Day, which Hancock helped create.)
If you're not a fan of jazz music, we have plenty of other genres represented in this week's concert picks too, including two notable reggae shows and a free full-day festival featuring Florida indie rock bands, plus bluegrass, alt-Americana, soul-pop-R&B, and blues. Here are this week's highlights. Event details are subject to change.
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Kash'd Out
Kash'd Out.
Kash'd Out, who hail from Orlando but are a nationally known name in the reggae-rock genre, will play Sarasota brewery Big Top on Friday. Kash'd Out released their latest album "Butter" in 2023 and have steadily put out singles since then, with a new album due later this year, according to the band.
SensaMotion from Atlantic City, New Jersey and Beach Fly, another Florida act from Melbourne Beach, will also perform. 7 p.m. Friday; Big Top Brewing Company, 3045 Fruitville Commons Blvd., Sarasota; $34.47 general admission, VIP sold out as of press time; 941-225-8438; bigtopbrewing.com
Aaron Wolf
Aaron Wolf.
Also in the reggae genre and in the Sarasota area this weekend will be San Diego musician Aaron Wolf, who'll return to Bradenton's Oscura. Wolf, whose sound blends reggae, folk and hip-hop, will visit the venue after releasing the new songs "I Tried" and "Counting on You" (the latter featuring G. Love & Special Sauce) in December and before playing Camp Redwoods Music Campout in California in August along with bands such as St. Pete's The Hip Abduction.
Anna Maria Island world music artist Trevor Bystrom and Sarasota folk rock/blues act Two Inch Voices will also perform. 7 p.m. doors, 8 p.m. show Friday; Oscura, 816 Manatee Ave. E., Bradenton; $15 advance, $20 day of; oscura.live
Jacob Jolliff and Michael Daves
Jacob Jolliff and Michael Daves.
The acclaimed bluegrass musicians Jacob Jolliff and Michael Daves, who released the collaborative album "We Like Jim & Jesse!" earlier this year, will also team up for a show at Sarasota's Fogartyville. Winner of the National Mandolin Championship in 2012, Jolliff was a member of the roots and bluegrass bands Joy Kills Sorrow and Yonder Mountain String Band in the 2010s.
Guitarist Daves, meanwhile, earned a Best Bluegrass Album Grammy nomination for "Sleep with One Eye Open," his collaboration with Chris Thile. 7 p.m. doors, 8 p.m. show Friday; Fogartyville Community Media and Arts Center, 525 Kumquat Court, Sarasota; $27, $22 members, $13 students ages 13 and up; 941-894-6469; fogartyville.org
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Herbie Hancock
Herbie Hancock performs at a sold-out Pabst Theater in Milwaukee on Tuesday, April 2, 2024.
Grammy and Oscar-winning jazz keyboardist Herbie Hancock will visit Sarasota's Van Wezel with a band including Terence Blanchard, a Grammy winner and Oscar nominee himself. Hancock is a renowned jazz musician both as a member of groups such as the Miles Davis Quintet and as a bandleader, including the standard "Watermelon Man" and his No. 1 dance club hit "Rockit," which won Hancock his first Grammy for Best R&B Instrumental Performance.
Hancock has since earned 14 competitive Grammys and a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award, an Oscar for his score to the 1986 film "Round Midnight," and NEA Jazz Masters, the self-proclaimed highest honors the U.S. bestows upon jazz artists. 7 p.m. Saturday; Van Wezel Performing Arts Hall, 777 N. Tamiami Trail, Sarasota; $81-$126; 941-263-6799; vanwezel.org
Be Fabulous Music & Arts Pride Fest
MeteorEYES, pictured here at Be Fabulous Music & Arts Pride Fest in 2023.
The annual three-day festival formerly known as Harvey Milk Festival, hosted by Fabulous Arts Foundation, will once again conclude with a free full-day concert at downtown Sarasota's Five Points Park on Saturday. It'll feature Sarasota area indie music acts such as experimental pop rock band The Tilt, singer-songwriter Lesa Silvermore and electro-rock-synth-pop group MeteorEYES, whose members include Fabulous Arts Foundation founder/executive director Shannon Fortner.
The lineup will also include queer indie rockers Sorry Barb and DJ Daliganja, both from Tampa. 3-10 p.m. Saturday; Five Points Park, 1 Central Ave., Sarasota; free; fabaf.org
Matt Woods
Matt Woods.
Tennessee-based singer-songwriter Matt Woods will return to Bradenton's Cottonmouth this weekend during a string of Florida tour dates. A regular performer at Gainesville's annual punk extravaganza Fest, Woods' sound blends the roots music that Cottonmouth favors with the edge and DIY spirit of punk.
Woods' albums include 2019's "Natural Disasters," 2014's "With Love from Brushy Mountain" and 2011's "The Matt Woods Manifesto," the latter two recently receiving 10th anniversary editions. 7 p.m. Saturday; Cottonmouth Southern Soul Kitchen, 1114 12th St. W., Bradenton; 941-243-3735; facebook.com/cottonmouthsoul
TAE & the Neighborly
TAE & the Neighborly.
Fogartyville's live music lineup this weekend will also include Wisconsin-based soul/pop/R&B act TAE & the Neighborly on Sunday. Initially performing mainly as a one-woman-band, TAE went on to add four band members in 2020 and release their debut full-band album, 2024's "Self Help."
The group has also toured nationally, including the Kennedy Center's Millennium Stage in early 2025 and a current tour spanning multiple states that includes this Sarasota show. 6 p.m. doors, 7 p.m. show Sunday; Fogartyville Community Media and Arts Center, 525 Kumquat Court, Sarasota; $27, $22 members, $13 students ages 13 and up; 941-894-6469; fogartyville.org
Damon Fowler Band
Damon Fowler.
Singer-songwriter, guitarist and former Anna Maria Island resident Damon Fowler will return to Englewoods on Dearborn for a show this week. Fowler's releases include 2021's "Alafia Moon," which topped the Billboard blues album chart and was nominated for a Blues Music Award for Blues Rock Album.
Along with his solo career, Fowler has played in the groups of the late Allman Brothers Band co-founders Butch Trucks and the Sarasota County-based Dickey Betts, and in the supergroup Southern Hospitality with Grammy-nominated pianist Victor Wainwright and fellow Floridian J.P. Soars. 6:30 p.m. Wednesday; Englewoods on Dearborn, 362 W. Dearborn St., Englewood; $7; 941-475-7501; englewoodsondearborn.com
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This article originally appeared on Sarasota Herald-Tribune: Top 8 concerts this week near me in Sarasota, Bradenton, Englewood
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