It's been a fairly quiet couple of weeks in the Sarasota concert scene, though not without their highlights. But you can feel the impending return of season in this week's concert picks, which feature twice as many shows as last week's.
While we tend to highlight original music over tribute shows, we have a notable concert in the latter category this week, with a Kiss tribute act featuring pro wrestler and rock musician Chris Jericho.
Like many weeks in the Sarasota area, there'll be multiple acclaimed blues musicians performing, including a Grammy winner and Blues Music Award-winning and nominated acts.
There'll also be a benefit show featuring various Florida punk/punk-adjacent groups, an adept acoustic guitarist, and another tribute, to a music
legend we lost recently. Here are this week's highlights. Event details are subject to change.
Tinsley Ellis
Blues guitarist Tinsley Ellis will return to Fogartyville for a show Friday, after releasing his second acoustic album "Labor of Love" on Alligator Records earlier this year. It's the follow-up to 2024's "Naked Truth," which earned Ellis his latest Blues Music Award nomination in the Acoustic Album category.
Though Ellis was born and is based in Atlanta, he is also a former Floridian, having grown up in Hollywood in Broward County. 7 p.m. doors, 8 p.m. show Friday; Fogartyville Community Media and Arts Center, 525 Kumquat Court, Sarasota; $35, $30 members, $15 students ages 13 and up; 941-894-6469; fogartyville.org
Damon Fowler
Guitarist, singer-songwriter and former Anna Maria Island resident Damon Fowler will return to the area this week for a show at Encore Live. Fowler topped Billboard's blues albums chart and earned a Blues Music Award nomination for Blues Rock Album for his 2021 full-length "Alafia Moon."
Along with his solo career, Fowler formerly played with late Allman Brothers Band cofounders Butch Trucks and Dickey Betts, and plays in the supergroup Southern Hospitality with Grammy-nominated pianist Victor Wainwright and fellow Floridian J.P. Soars. 7 p.m. Friday; Encore Live, 8341 N. Lockwood Ridge Road, Sarasota; 941-373-7976; encoresrq.com
Yates McKendree
Grammy-winning singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Yates McKendree will visit Cottonmouth at its new home of Flamingo Bay Brewing Company on Friday. Born in Nashville and raised in a recording studio, McKendree grew up hearing and playing with musicians including John Hiatt and Delbert McClinton, winning a Best Traditional Blues Album Grammy for his work on McClinton's 2019 full-length "Tall, Dark, & Handsome."
In 2022, McKendree released his debut album "Buchanan Lane," earning a Blues Music Award nomination for Best Emerging Artist Album, followed by last year's full-length "Need to Know." 7 p.m. Friday; Cottonmouth Southern Soul Kitchen at Flamingo Bay Brewing Company, 1910 14th St. W., Bradenton; $20-$25; facebook.com/cottonmouthsoul
Rock for Equality
Bradenton venue Oscura, Fort Myers' Love Your Rebellion (which operates its own venue called The Rebel), and long-running Tampa Bay concert promoters No Clubs team up for this show. The bill features Tampa post-punk revivalists Cozy in the Black and hard rock/metal group Dove Bomb, Fort Myers "thrash grrl" punks Except You, and Orlando queer/feminist hardcore band M.A.C.E.
Half of the show's proceeds will go to Florida Immigration Law and Justice Center. 6:30 p.m. doors, 7:30 p.m. show Friday; Oscura, 816 Manatee Ave. E., Bradenton; $15 advance, $20 day of; oscura.live
J.P. Soars and the Red Hots
Fowler's Southern Hospitality bandmate J.P. Soars will also play the Sarasota area this weekend, with his band the Red Hots at Cottonmouth at Flamingo Bay Brewing Company. The group was nominated for four Blues Music Awards in 2022: Band of the Year, B.B. King Entertainer and Instrumentalist — Guitar for Soars, and Instrumentalist — Drums for his bandmate Chris Peet, who scored another nomination in the same category this year.
Along with the Red Hots and Southern Hospitality, Soars also plays in Gypsy Blue Revue with violinist Anne Harris, releasing a self-titled album earlier this year. 6:30 p.m. Sunday; Cottonmouth Southern Soul Kitchen at Flamingo Bay Brewing Company, 1910 14th St. W., Bradenton; $15; facebook.com/cottonmouthsoul
Kuarantine featuring Chris Jericho
Kiss tribute acts aren't rare, but one featuring a celebrity in their own right is. Kuarantine, which pays tribute to Kiss' "unmasked" era in the '80s, features Chris Jericho, pro wrestler, frontman of hard rock band Fozzy and actor (including in the Kevin Smith movie "Killroy was Here," filmed in Sarasota not far from Jericho's Tampa Bay area home.)
Kuarantine also features Jericho's Fozzy bandmate and Trixter member P.J. Farley and Luke Bryan touring drummer Kent Slucher. Iron Maiden tribute I Am Maiden and Always the Villain will also perform. 5 p.m. doors, 5:45 p.m. show Sunday; Joyland, 8333 Lockwood Ridge Road, Sarasota; $20-$40; 941-397-3973; joylandsarasota.com
Pierre Bensusan
Venice's Troll Music, which frequently features adept guitarists among its concert lineup, will continue that trend when Pierre Bensusan performs there Thursday. The French-Algerian acoustic guitarist signed a contract at 17 years old to release his debut album, 1975's "Près de Paris," which won a Grand Prix du Disque.
The anime "Cowboy Bebop," which featured an eclectic blend of jazz, blues and other genres on its soundtrack, included Bensusan's song "ELM" on the 1998 album "Cowboy Bebop No Disc." 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 24; Troll Music, 628 E. Venice Ave., Venice; $36.70; 941-484-8765; trollmusic.com
Kara Nally Band Dolly Parton Celebration
Since the death of music legend Dolly Parton late last month, many fellow musicians have paid tribute to her. That will include Kara Nally Band, who will use their monthly Thursday show at Stottlemyer's Smokehouse in Sarasota the day before 9/25 (as in "9 to 5," the hit Parton song and film) to celebrate her.
Along with their "soulful sound with a variety of blues, funk and booty shakin’ music," the band says this show will also feature a Parton costume contest to add to the fun. 6:30 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 24; Stottlemyer's Smokehouse, 19 East Road, Sarasota; 941-312-5969; stottlemyerssmokehouse.com
Email entertainment reporter Jimmy Geurts at jimmy.geurts@heraldtribune.com. Support local journalism by subscribing.
This article originally appeared on Sarasota Herald-Tribune: Top Sarasota area concerts this week include celebrity Kiss tribute
