The best things to do around Sarasota for Nov. 3-9

There's all kinds of live music in Sarasota this week, including jazz, funk and folk, not to mention opera, classical and even musical theater.


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  • | 8:40 a.m. November 1, 2022
The many costumes of Something Rotten! will soon take center stage at Florida Studio Theatre. (Courtesy photo)
The many costumes of Something Rotten! will soon take center stage at Florida Studio Theatre. (Courtesy photo)
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Thursday

Venice: Infinitely Avant-Garde
1 p.m. at Historic Asolo Theatre, 5401 Bayshore Road
$15, $13.50 non-members, $10 student and military
Visit Ringling.org.

Come take a virtual visit of one of the world's most picturesque cities. The Historic Asolo Theatre shows this documentary, which will focus on masterpieces by Tiepolo, Canaletto and Rosalba Carriera; The film will also delve into the many artists and intellectuals who have been drawn to Venice over the centuries including Lord Byron, Goethe, Walter Scott and more.

 

Friday

Jazz @ Two: Tom Ellison’s Hip Pocket
2 p.m. at Unitarian Universalist Church, 3975 Fruitville Road
$15-$20
Visit JazzClubSarasota.org.

Tom Ellison, the leader of Sophisticated Swing Band, will bring his saxophone and for a command performance at Unitarian Universalist Church. Ellison has backed luminaries like Henry Mancini, Aretha Franklin and Johnny Mathis, and he'll be supported Friday by pianist Judi Glover, drummer Nick Bruno and bassist Bill Swartzbaugh.

Reggie Harris appears courtesy of the Hermitage Artist Retreat and the Booker High VPA program. (Courtesy photo)
Reggie Harris appears courtesy of the Hermitage Artist Retreat and the Booker High VPA program. (Courtesy photo)

Reggie Harris and the Power of Music
5:30 p.m. at Booker High School, 3201 N. Orange Ave.
$5, registration required
Visit HermitageArtistRetreat.org.

Raconteur, educator and Hermitage fellow Reggie Harris has spent decades doing what he loves most: Teaching history through the engine of song. Harris, an expert on the music of the Underground Railroad and the modern Civil Rights Movement, will bring his infectious joy and his music with a message to share with the community. You'll go home smarter and more in tune with the people around you.

Music on Main: Frisson
6-9 p.m. at 8100 Lakewood Main Street
Free
Visit LakewoodRanch.com.

If it's the First Friday of the month, that means there's going to be a block party in Lakewood Ranch. Frisson is the musical guest that will keep you rocking to hits from the last four decades, and proceeds from the evening-long party will benefit Sisterhood for Good.

Fresh Fridays: Soul on State
7-10 p.m. at 1538 State St.
Free
Visit DID-sarasota.com.

The Downtown Improvement District's monthly event series, Fresh Fridays, will bring K-Luv and the United Funk Federation for a block party on State Street. The band — fronted by Kim Lovering — will play funk and soul hits for the crowd, and there will be food and drink offerings from multiple downtown establishments.

David Alan Miller, music director of the Albany Symphony.
David Alan Miller, music director of the Albany Symphony.

Masterworks: 'Symphonie Fantastique'
7:30 p.m. at Van Wezel Performing Arts Hall
$37-$99
Visit SarasotaOrchestra.org.

David Alan Miller, music director of the Albany Symphony, will user you through masterful compositions by Berlioz, Quinn Mason and Edvard Grieg. Mason's "A Joyous Trilogy," composed in 2019, won first prize at the Metropolitan Youth Orchesta of New York's emerging composer competition. Pianist Joyce Yang, who was originally scheduled to perform, had to withdraw due to injury. In her absence, Jon Kimura Parker will step in to play Grieg's "Piano Concerto in A Minor." Continues at 7:30 p.m. Nov. 5 and 2:30 p.m. Nov. 6.

 

Saturday

Jasmine Dennison and Josie Golish, both of Sarasota, make their traditional visit to the 2021 Sarasota Medieval Fair.
Jasmine Dennison and Josie Golish, both of Sarasota, make their traditional visit to the 2021 Sarasota Medieval Fair.

Sarasota Medieval Fair
From 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. at Woods of Mallaranny, 29847 S.R. 70 E., Myakka City
$22.95; seniors, students and military $19.95; children 5-10 $11.95; children 4 and under free
Visit SarasotaMedievalFair.com.

The 18th annual Sarasota Medieval Fair begins its annual run and its second time at the Woods of Mallaranny in Myakka City. The event, which includes local artisans, craft demonstrations, live performances, food, a children's play area, rides, games and vendors, runs every Saturday and Sunday in November.

‘Charlotte's Web’
10 a.m. and Noon at FST’s Gompertz Theatre, 1265 First St.
$10
Visit FloridaStudioTheatre.org.

Let the talented cast of "Charlotte's Web" transport you to Zuckerman's farm to tell you the beloved E.B. White tale that just celebrated its 70th birthday. Marissa Gast stars as the titular spider, and Jeric Gutierrez will make you laugh as Wilbur, everyone's favorite talking pig.

Le Marche' Bohe'mien
10 a.m. to 3 p.m. at Five Points Park, 1 Central Ave.
Free
Visit Facebook.com/LeMarcheBohemien.

The annual French-style outdoor market showcasing eclectic creations and oddities returns to downtown Sarasota with music by Parisian vocalist Michelet Innocent.

Hispanic Fall Festival
10 a.m. to 6 p.m. at St. Jude Catholic Church, 3930 17th St.
Free
Visit StJudeSarasota.org.

St. Jude’s celebrated festival returns with live music, food, dance routines, kids activities and more. 

'Listen Hear: Max Tan and TianYi Li'
2 p.m. at Sarasota Art Museum, 1001 S. Tamiami Trail
$40 members, $55 non-members
Visit http://SarasotaArtMuseum.org.

You'll hear Beethoven as perhaps you've never heard him before at this Sarasota Art Museum event. Concert violinist Max Tan and pianist TianYi Li will play a historical arrangement of Beethoven's Fifth Symphony and a novel arrangement of his Leonore Overture by Li, a Juilliard doctoral candidate.

Night of R&B and Jazz with Nu Jazz
7:30 p.m. at Manatee Performing Arts Center, 502 Third Ave. W., Bradenton
$32-$57
Visit ManateePerformingArtsCenter.com.

Dr. Melvin Price leads this local contemporary jazz band, and they'll play hits from a variety of artists including but not limited to The Rippingtons, Richard Elliot, Peter White, Spyro Gyra and more.

‘The Secret World of Og’
5 p.m. at Sarasota Opera House, 61 N. Pineapple Ave.
$25 and up
Visit SarasotaOpera.org.

The Sarasota Youth Opera will entertain you with this adaptation of the beloved Pierre Berton children's novel. This opera premiered in Canada in 2010, and Sarasota Youth Opera performed the American premiere in 2016. Now they're back to sing you the story of a group of siblings who venture into a subterranean world to rescue their brother and their cat.

 

Sunday

‘Spirit of America’
3 p.m. at Riverview High School, 1 Ram Way
$25-$50
Visit ThePopsOrchestra.org.

The Pops Orchestra will bring you a selection of spirituals, gospel tunes, anthems and patriotic standards as part of a celebration of Veterans Day, and a group of talented soloists from Westcoast Black Theatre Troupe — Amber Myers, CJ Melton, Raleigh Mosely II and Maicy Powell — will hit all the high notes. If you can't make it Sunday afternoon, the Pops Orchestra will reprise its performance on Monday evening at the SCF Neel Performing Arts Center.

 

Monday

Monday Night Jazz Cabaret
7:30 p.m. at FST's John C. Court Cabaret, 1265 First St.
$34-$39
Visit JazzClubSarasota.org.

Svetlana and Friends, fronted by Columbia University professor Svetlana Shmulyian, will bring you swing music and straight-ahead jazz in the intimate confines of Florida Studio Theatre's John C. Court Cabaret. Svetlana has released two albums, and she plays a busy touring schedule all over New York. This month, she's touring Florida, and she'll also play shows in Fort Myers, Port Charlotte, Orlando, West Palm Beach and Delray Beach.

 

 

Sarasota Orchestra's John Miller. (Photo by Matthew Holler)
Sarasota Orchestra's John Miller. (Photo by Matthew Holler)

Wednesday

Bass to Bass: John Miller and Michael Ross
5:30 p.m. at Plantation Golf & Country Club, 500 Rockley Blvd., Venice
$65
Visit ArtistSeriesConcerts.org.

It's a meeting of bass virtuosos, as John Miller, the principal bassist of the Sarasota Orchestra, teams up with Michael Ross to explore the jazzier side of the instrument. The pair will perform a program of jazz standards with funk and R&B mixed in, and they're known for their ability to improvise.

‘Something Rotten!’
8 p.m. at FST’s Gompertz Theatre, 1265 First St.
$29
Visit FloridaStudioTheatre.org.

Travel back to Elizabethan England, where troubadour brothers Nick and Nigel Bottom are trying to emerge from Shakespeare's shadow. This musical, which mashes up classic Shakespeare and 21st century Broadway, first debuted in 2015 and was nominated for 10 Tony Awards. You'll have plenty of time to see it, because "Something Rotten!" will run at Florida Studio Theatre through New Year's Day.

 

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