Top 5 concerts this week near me in Sarasota Bradenton Venice

The top concerts taking place this week in Sarasota and Manatee counties.

This week in Sarasota area events will feature concerts by out-of-town acts touring, locally based musicians playing their hometown, and even one show combining both.

An emo/indie rock act that started out in Bradenton before accruing an international fanbase, moving away and signing to a since-shuttered California record label will return this weekend for their first Friendly City show in a while. Also returning to the area this week, after more recent concerts, will be a multiple Blues Music Award-winning artist, an U.K. acoustic guitarist joined by a harpist, and a Cure tribute band. We close things out with members of another Bradenton band, also playing a hometown show. Here are this week’s highlights. Event details are subject to change.

Lovesong The Cure Tribute

Orlando’s Lovesong, who pay tribute to goth-rock group The Cure and are named after the song from their classic 1989 album “Disintegration,” return to Bradenton’s Oscura on Friday. Don’t be surprised if you hear that track, among other hits by the group — who, despite rising to fame in the ’70s and ’80s, are still around and released one of last year’s best albums, “Songs of a Lost World” — including “Pictures of You,” “Just Like Heaven” and “Friday I’m in Love.” First Wave, who play the music of new wave and alternative acts including Depeche Mode, Duran Duran, INXS, The Smiths, David Bowie and, yes, The Cure, open. And if you’re still seeking musical nostalgia, come back to Oscura on Saturday to see Bradenton’s Suburban Wasteland, who play punk and emo favorites of the ’90s and ’00s. 7 p.m. doors, 8 p.m. show Friday; Oscura, 816 Manatee Ave. E., Bradenton; $15 advance, $20 day of; 941-201-4950; oscura.live

Doug MacLeod

Guitarist, singer-songwriter and multiple Blues Music Award winner Doug MacLeod will return to Fogartyville in Sarasota for a sold-out show Saturday. Primarily playing acoustic guitar, MacLeod won the Blues Music Award for Acoustic Blues Album last year (for his full-length “Raw Blues 1”) and Acoustic Blues Artist in 2023, and received nominations in the same categories earlier this year following the release of “Raw Blues 2.” Along with multiple previous wins and nominations in both categories, MacLeod has been nominated three times for Song of the Year. 7 p.m. doors, 8 p.m. show Saturday; Fogartyville Community Media and Arts Center, 525 Kumquat Court, Sarasota; $25, $20 members, $13 students (sold out as of press time); 941-894-6469; fogartyville.org

Clive Carroll and Lily Neill

After visiting Venice’s Troll Music earlier this year for a solo show, U.K. acoustic guitarist Clive Carroll will return to the venue with harpist Lilly Neill, in what Neill says will be their first performance together in the U.S. since 2019. Carroll’s fans and collaborators include Tommy Emmanuel, appearing on Emmanuel’s 2018 guest musician-filled album “Accomplice One,” and the late John Renbourn, with whom he co-wrote the score to the 2006 film “Driving Lessons” starring Julie Walters and Rupert Grint. Neill has performed with musicians including The Chieftains and their late harpist Derek Bell, during Bell’s final shows with the Irish folk band at the Kennedy Center. 7:30 p.m. Saturday; Troll Music, 628 E. Venice Ave., Venice; $25; 941-484-8765; trollmusic.com

Worst Party Ever

Oscura’s live music lineup this week will also include a Sunday hometown show for Worst Party Ever, the emo/indie rock project of Andrew Schueneman, who lived in Bradenton before moving to Tokyo. Worst Party Ever gained a following for lo-fi, acoustic tracks such as “Trying Soda (I Know You so Well)” and “Trying Harder,” both of which have millions of Spotify streams and were included in the compilation “Anthology,” before signing to California label No Sleep Records. That label shut down last year, but not before releasing Worst Party Ever’s 2021 full-length “Dartland,” which earned coverage by outlets such as Pitchfork. Low Talk and Spanish Bombs open the show. 7 p.m. doors, 7:30 p.m. show Sunday; Oscura, 816 Manatee Ave. E., Bradenton; $12 advance, $15 day of; 941-201-4950; oscura.live

Burke Brothers Trio

Another Bradenton restaurant and venue, Cottonmouth, will host multiple members from one of the Friendly City’s best bands when it welcomes Burke Brothers Trio — comprising singer/chief songwriter Matt Burke, bassist Danny Burke and guitarist Scott Anderson of alt-Americana act Have Gun, Will Travel. That group has had their music appear on TV shows such as CBS’ “The Good Wife” and Netflix’s “The Ranch,” and been covered by outlets such as NPR and No Depression. The band paid homage to its Bradenton home on its song “Our Fair City,” which references local landmarks such as Village of the Arts, where Cottonmouth is located. 6:30 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 28; Cottonmouth Southern Soul Kitchen, 1114 12th St. W., Bradenton; 941-243-3735; facebook.com/cottonmouthsoul

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