By far the biggest concert this week in the Sarasota area — and one of our picks for the biggest events in June — is 22-time Grammy winner and recent National Recording Registry inductee Vince Gill headlining Van Wezel Performing Arts Hall on Friday.
Bradenton’s Oscura will host a concert headlined by a band whose members include one of the venue’s co-owners, as well as a emo dance party, while a Blues Blast Music Awards-nominated Bradenton band will play multiple shows in its Manatee County home and an “uncut ukulele funk” band that previously performed at Bonnaroo will play Palmetto. Here are this week’s highlights. Event details are subject to change.
Vince Gill
Country guitarist and singer-songwriter Vince Gill, whose song “Go Rest High on That Mountain” was among this year’s selections for the Library of Congress’ National Recording Registry, will play Van Wezel on Friday. Gill’s numerous other accolades include 22 Grammys, 18 Country Music Awards (where he earned the Willie Nelson Lifetime Achievement Award last year), four solo No. 1 country hits including “Don’t Let Our Love Start Slippin’ Away” and “One More Last Chance,” and induction into the Grand Ole Opry and Country Music Hall of Fame.
Gill was also asked to join the Eagles after Glenn Frey’s death in 2017. 7:30 p.m. Friday; Van Wezel Performing Arts Hall, 777 N. Tamiami Trail, Sarasota; $143-$187; 941-263-6799; vanwezel.org
In Transit
Oscura will host a show Friday headlined by In Transit, whose members include one of the venue’s co-owners, Ben Bakker. The Bradenton band plays a blend of post-hardcore and emo making it fitting that their 2024 EP “Illusionary” was released by Ashtray Monument, which shares a name with a Jawbreaker song, or that Texas is the Reason’s Garrett Klahn appears on their 2022 album “Signal Fires.”
Tampa’s recently reunited The Sophomore Effort, featuring members of Slap of Reality and Hankshaw, will also perform along with Sarasota’s Floating Boy (who released their own album “Perfect Place” on Ashtray Monument earlier this year) and Bradenton’s Moth Bite. 7 p.m. doors, 7:30 p.m. show Friday; Oscura, 816 Manatee Ave. E., Bradenton; free/pay-what-you-want ages 21 and up, $10 under age 21; oscura.live
Doug Deming and the Jewel Tones
Blues band Doug Deming & the Jewel Tones have two local dates this week at Bradenton Beach’s Island Time Bar & Grill and Bradenton’s Mattison’s Riverwalk Grille. Though based in Bradenton, Deming & the Jewel Tones have found a national and even international audience. The group earned three Blues Blast Music Awards nominations in 2023: Blues Band of the Year; Live Blues Album for “Groovin’ at Groove Now!,” recorded in Basel, Switzerland; and Historical or Vintage Recording for the 20th anniversary reissue of their 2002 debut “Double Down.” 7 p.m. Friday; Island Time Bar & Grill, 111 Gulf Drive S., Bradenton Beach; 941-782-1122; islandtimebarandgriil.com; 6 p.m. Saturday; Mattison’s Riverwalk Grille, 101 Riverfront Blvd. #120, Bradenton; 941-896-9660; mattisons.com
Emo Night Brooklyn
Emo Night Brooklyn, which has grown to the point that its other upcoming dates include such renowned music venues as Washington D.C.’s 9:30 Club and Asbury Park, New Jersey’s The Stone Pony and Mark Cuban recently invested in its producer, will come to Oscura on Saturday.
Now, keep in mind these events are not traditional concerts with bands, but rather “a late night DJ-based dance party blasting the best emo and pop-punk jams.” However, Emo Night Brooklyn does note it will occasionally “invite some of your favorite artists and bands to surprise you and join the party.” 8 p.m. doors, 8:30 p.m. show Saturday; Oscura, 816 Manatee Ave. E., Bradenton; $17; oscura.live
The Applebutter Express Duo
Waypoint Bar & Grill in Palmetto will host a return appearance by “uncut ukulele funk” band The Applebutter Express, performing as a duo. Though the group is based in Tampa, it has ties to Sarasota-Manatee, with band member Kyle Biss meeting his future bandmate and wife Shannon while working at a record store in Bradenton.
The Applebutter Express have performed at massive music festival Bonnaroo and had their song “Hey My Brotha” appear in the 2014 Reese Witherspoon film “The Good Lie.” 5 p.m. Saturday; Waypoint Bar & Grill, 11000 U.S. 41, Palmetto; 941-212-6600; facebook.com/waypointbarandgrill
Email entertainment reporter Jimmy Geurts at jimmy.geurts@heraldtribune.com. Support local journalism by subscribing.
This article originally appeared on Sarasota Herald-Tribune: Top 5 concerts this week in Sarasota, Bradenton, Palmetto, AMI
Reporting by Jimmy Geurts, Sarasota Herald-Tribune / Sarasota Herald-Tribune
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By Jimmy Geurts, Sarasota Herald-Tribune | USA TODAY Network
