The best things to do around Sarasota for Jan. 26 to Feb. 1

From musical performances to the strange and funky sights of a Peculiarium, check out the top arts and entertainment events of this week.


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  • | 5:00 a.m. January 24, 2023
Blue Man Group will splash the Van Wezel stage with its colorful performance for two nights this week.
Blue Man Group will splash the Van Wezel stage with its colorful performance for two nights this week.
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Thursday, Jan. 26

The King's Brass
6 p.m. at St. Armands Key Lutheran Church, 40 N. Adams Drive, St. Armands Key
$30; in advance $25
Call 388-1234.

The King's Bbrass is back by popular demand to play "the best in sacred brass music" on St. Armands Key.


Sarasota Contemporary Dance highlights four women choreographers of color in its annual tradition, "Dance Makers."

'Dance Makers'
7 p.m. at FSU Center For The Performing Arts, 5555 N. Tamiami Trail
$15-$45
Visit SarasotaContemporaryDance.org.

The Sarasota Contemporary Dance explores themes of reclamation for underrepresented groups. The program features new pieces from four choreographers of color, and explores their stories and perspectives through movement. Runs through Jan. 29.


Friday, Jan. 27

Art Walk Tour: City Hall/Five Points Park Area
10:30 a.m. in downtown Sarasota
$28-$30
Visit ArtsAdvocates.org.

The city of Sarasota is a 24/7 museum with more than 80 pieces of public art to take in and enjoy. Join this walking tour, hosted by Arts Advocates and led by art lovers Judy Levine, Stephenie Frasher and Nannette Crist, to go on this 90-minute walking tour and learn more about the art all around us that stands in plain sight in the Five Points Park area in downtown Sarasota.


Jazz at Two: Synia Carroll Jazz
2 p.m. at Unitarian Universalist Church of Sarasota, 3975 Fruitville Road
$15-$20
Call 260-9951.

Settle into an afternoon of music with the Jazz Club of Sarasota’s Jazz at Two, which spotlights jazz talent from throughout the region in a relaxed atmosphere. Synia Carroll draws inspiration from jazz legends of the ‘40s, ‘50s and ‘60s and always pleases with her ability to perform a variety of jazz all with a clear, smooth sound.


Tyler "Dopey" Heath with Teamco prepares blackened snapper at the 2022 Seafood and Music Festival.

Seafood and Music Festival 
4-10 p.m. at JD Hamel Park, 199 Bayfront Drive
Free
Visit ParagonFestivals.com.

Every year, the Seafood and Music Festival serves up the perfect weekend dish for seafood and music enthusiasts in downtown Sarasota. Featured performers include Christal Shawanda, Kettle of Fish, K-Luv and United Funk Foundation, Sarasota Steel Pan Band, JP Soars & The Red Hots and Gas House Gorilla. Continues 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Saturday and 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Sunday.


Jim McCue
6:30 and 8:50 p.m. at McCurdy’s Comedy Theatre, 1923 Ringling Blvd.
$25
Visit McCurdysComedy.com

Comedian Jim McCue started his career in Boston performing with iconic comedians such as Bill Burr and Joe Rogan, but has made a name for himself with his DryBar special “Nothing Personal,” which has had over 4 million views.  Runs through Sunday, Jan. 29.


Cold Chocolate/Pedro y Zooey Concert
7 p.m. at Fogartyville Media and Arts Center, 525 Kumquat Court
$18
Visit WSLR.org.

Come out and listen to Cold Chocolate, a genre-bending Americana band that fuses folk, funk and bluegrass. Pedro y Zooey will bring you an exotic blend of roots music from all corners of the globe.


The Sarasota Ballet serves up works old and new in his fourth program of the season, "In Rep."
Courtesy photo

Sarasota Ballet’s Program 4: 'In Rep'
7:30 p.m. at FSU Center for Performing Arts, 5555 N. Tamiami Trail
From $35
Visit SarasotaBallet.org.

The Sarasota Ballet begins the new year with two pieces new to the Sarasota stage. First up is a world premiere by company dancer Arcadian Broad. It is followed with a performance of acclaimed choreographer Jessica Lang’s “Shades of Spring,” a ballet created for the company’s August tour at the Joyce Theater. The program then closes with Ashton’s fun and popular “Facade.”  Runs through Monday.


Saturday, Jan. 28

Violinist and composer Michelle Ross will share her music and her creative process at the Sarasota Art Museum's Listen Hear series.

Listen Hear: Michelle Ross
2 p.m. at Sarasota Art Museum, 1001 S. Tamiami Trail
$40-$55
Call 309-4300.

Hear a performance from violinist and composer Michelle Ross, an alumna of the Perlman Music Program, followed by a discussion of her creative process in a salon-style setting. The performance is part of the museum’s “Listen Hear” series highlighting world-class classical music artists in a casual setting.


The Great Mr. Swindle’s Traveling Peculiarium and Drinkory Garden
4 and 7 p.m. at Robarts Arena, 3000 Ringling Blvd.
$45-$75
Visit MrSwindles.com.

Take in acrobatics, sophisticated humor, double entendres and absurd comedy in this fantastical entertainment — which also revolves heavily around the adult beverage or two. It’s a 90-minute extravaganza that provides classic vintage amusement. Runs through Feb. 5.


Sunday, Jan. 29

High School Band Festival Competition
1 p.m. at Riverview High School Auditorium, 1 Ram Way
Free
Visit JazzClubSarasota.org.

It’s a battle of the high school bands during this afternoon competition inviting the 13 high schools from the area to compete for a spot performing at the Jazz Club of Sarasota’s annual Jazz Festival in March. Three judges will pick the winners, who will also receive cash prizes. Come see all the musical talent our local high schoolers are serving up.


Gulimina Mahamuti, concert pianist
5 p.m. at Pine Shores Presbyterian Church, 6116 Crestwood Ave.
Free
Call 922-1597.

Internationally acclaimed Chinese-American pianist Gulimina Mahamuti performs internationally and in major cities across the United States. Don’t miss this performance by a true talent.


Monday, Jan. 30

Troy Quinn, conductor
10:30 a.m. at Church of the Palms, 3224 Bee Ridge Road
$10
Call 365-6404.

The Sarasota Institute of Lifetime Learning welcomes conductor Troy Quinn to its Music Mondays series to discuss his career as the music director of the Venice Symphony and the Owensboro Symphony in Kentucky. Considered one of his generation’s most versatile young artists, he is known for his energetic yet sensitive conducting.


Highlights from the Stanton B. and Nancy W. Kaplan Collection of Photography
10 a.m. at The Ringling, 5401 Bay Shore Road
Free on Museum Mondays
Visit Ringling.org.

This exhibition features select works from the museum’s Stanton B. and Nancy W. Kaplan collection, many of which will stir and move visitors with their powerful imagery. The collection includes more than 1,000 pieces that represent some of the most important photographic artists from the 19th and 20th centuries. Runs through Feb. 12.


Great Music Series 
7 p.m. at Church of the Redeemer, 222 S. Palm Ave.
$25
Visit RedeemerSarasota.org.

On the 60th anniversary of Poulenc’s death, the Church of the Redeemer’s Great Music Series will perform a concerto collective concert featuring the works of Brixi, Bach and Poulenc himself. 


Steven Moeckel, violin and Joanna Goldstein, piano
7:30 p.m. at Fischer/Weisenborne Residence
$55
Visit ArtistSeriesConcerts.org.

Celebrated violinist Steven Moeckel teams up with pianist Joanna Goldstein to perform the work of women composers. Moeckel is the concertmaster of the Santa Fe Opera Company, and has enjoyed a long career that begin when he first appeared as a concert soloist at the age of 8.


Tuesday, Jan. 31

Blue Man Group
7:30 p.m. Tuesday, Jan. 31 at Van Wezel Performing Arts Hall, 777 N. Tamiami Trail 
$42-$92
Visit VanWezel.org.

Blue Man Group has two nights planned in Sarasota to surprise and delight with its one-of-a-kind show. This family-friendly performance will stun you visually, musically and comedically. Don’t miss it for an evening of light-hearted fun. A second performance will be Wednesday.


A Neil Diamond Tribute
7:30 p.m. at Manatee Performing Arts Center, 502 Third Ave. W.
$30-$38
Visit ManateePerformingArtsCenter.com.

Think you know Neil Diamond? Explore the twists and turns of his career and life through the very music that made him an American treasure in this tribute to the great singer. It’s a tale of romance, magical surprises, comedy and, of course, all of Diamond’s greatest hits. Runs through Wednesday, Feb. 1.


Wednesday, Feb. 1

‘Go Ask Alice’
7:30 p.m. at Manatee Performing Arts Center, 502 Third Ave. W., Bradenton
$27
Visit ManateePerformingArtsCenter.com.

Alice was a normal girl in every sense of the word until she is tricked into trying drugs and falls into a struggle of addiction. This powerful and tragic play adapted from the 1971 book of the same name follows Alice’s fight against the stranglehold of addiction.

 

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