From shows by pop, rock and jazz stars and stand-up comedians to celebrity talks – the biggest names in Van Wezel’s upcoming program.
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Sarasota’s Van Wezel Performing Arts Hall announced its 2024-25 season earlier this week, which will once again feature a lineup of famous musicians, comedians and other celebrities.
This Van Wezel season will feature several artists making their debut at the venue, including a stand-up comedian and former Saturday Night Live star, a singer with multiple No. 1 hits and a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award-winning and Rock & Roll Hall of Fame inductee legend. Several beloved artists will also be returning, including an acclaimed stand-up comedian and a James Beard Award-winning cooking TV star, who are making what they say are their farewell tours. And while the Ringling College Library Association Town Hall Lecture Series is technically separate from Van Wezel’s season, all events will take place at the venue, so we’ll also have lectures from an eight-time Oscar-nominated actress and a four-time Super Bowl winner.
Here are the 10 concerts, comedians and celebrities we’re most excited to see at Van Wezel in 2024 and 2025, in chronological order. Event details are subject to change. Tickets for all shows will go on sale to the public at 10 a.m. Saturday, Sept. 7, and can be purchased in person at the Van Wezel box office at 777 N. Tamiami Trail, Sarasota, by phone at 941-263-6799, or online at vanwezel.org. Note: This list does not include stage productions such as Broadway hits “Dear Evan Hansen” and “Come from Away,” which will also be performed at Van Wezel.
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Billy Ocean (October 15)
The Trinidad-born, British-raised singer-songwriter is known for No. 1 hits such as 1984’s “Caribbean Queen (No More Love on the Run),” which won a Grammy for Best Male R&B Vocal Performance, and 1988’s “Get Outta My Dreams, Get Into My Car.” His other hits include “Love Really Hurts Without You,” “Red Light Spells Danger,” “There’ll Be Sad Songs (To Make You Cry)” and “When the Going Gets Tough, the Tough Get Going” – the latter two songs appeared on Ocean’s 1986 album “Love Zone,” which earned him another Grammy nomination.
Leslie Jones (November 22)
Many people know Leslie Jones primarily for her television and film appearances, including her Emmy-nominated six-year run on “Saturday Night Live,” her role as Spanish Jackie in the series “Our Flag Means Death,” and as one of the leads in 2016’s “Ghostbusters.” But before that, she was a stand-up comedian — her Showtime special “Problem Child” came out in 2010, four years before she joined “Saturday Night Live” — and she’s remained one ever since, releasing the Netflix special “Time Machine” in 2020.
Lewis Black (December 6)
Stand-up comedian Lewis Black, a longtime Van Wezel attendee, will reportedly make one final appearance at the venue as part of his Goodbye Yeller Brick Road: The Final Tour (an amusing nod to Elton John’s “Goodbye Yellow Brick Road”). Black is known for his comedic rants fueled by righteous indignation, displayed in his “Back in Black” segments for “The Daily Show,” in Grammy-winning Best Comedy Album specials like “Stark Raving Black” and when he voices the literal embodiment of anger in Pixar’s 2015 Oscar-winning animated film “Inside Out” and this year’s hit sequel.
Allman Betts Family Revival (December 11)
This annual concert tour has deep local roots, as Devon Allman and Sarasota native Duane Betts — the respective sons of Allman Brothers Band founder and frontman and former Sarasota-Manatee resident Gregg Allman and ABB guitarist, co-founder and longtime Sarasota County resident Dickey Betts — join guest musicians to play their fathers’ music in a style reminiscent of The Band’s “The Last Waltz.” This year’s event is likely to be especially poignant after Dickey Betts died in April at age 80 at his Osprey home in Little Sarasota Bay.
Glenn Close (January 13)
Glenn Close has long been considered one of the greatest living actresses. She has been nominated for eight Oscars for her roles in films such as Fatal Attraction and The Wife, and has also won three Tonys and three Emmys (two for her leading role in the legal drama Damages). Her acting career will almost certainly come up at her RCLA Town Hall, but don’t be surprised if she also talks about her mental health advocacy, such as co-founding Bring Change to Mind or donating $75,000 to the Mental Health Association of Central Florida for victims of the Pulse nightclub shooting.
Rob Gronkowski (February 3)
Also participating in this RCLA Town Hall season will be Rob Gronkowski, four-time Super Bowl champion and tight end for the New England Patriots and later the Tampa Bay Buccaneers until his retirement in 2022. He will share “his stories of perseverance through injury and hard-fought recovery, his four Super Bowl victories and what’s next for this American icon.” Gronkowski has proven himself to be a magnetic personality off the football field as well, including his recent appearance on his longtime teammate Tom Brady’s Netflix broadcast.
Herb Alpert and Lani Hall (February 12)
If you’ve ever been to a record store, you’ve almost certainly seen the cover of Herb Alpert’s 1965 album “Whipped Cream & Other Delights” by Tijuana Brass. Jazz trumpeter Alpert’s other musical achievements include the No. 1 hits “This Guy’s in Love with You” and “Rise,” eight Grammys (not counting his Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award and three Grammy Hall of Fame inductions), and induction into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. Alpert will perform with his wife, Lani Hall, herself a two-time Grammy winner and former lead singer of Sérgio Mendes & Brasil ’66.
Alton Brown (February 16)
Alton Brown is one of the most recognizable personalities in cooking television. He hosted the Food Network’s Good Eats and Iron Chef America (and subsequent reboots of both shows) for decades, winning two James Beard Awards and a Peabody Award in the process. Brown has also been touring live cooking shows since 2013 and is bringing Last Bite – The Farewell Tour to Van Wezel in February, the same month he will release his latest book, Food for Thought.
Jay Leno and Arsenio Hall (March 14)
Stand-up comedians, former late-night television hosts and former Rolling Stone cover co-stars Jay Leno and Arsenio Hall will team up again for a show at the Van Wezel. In recent years, Jay Leno has continued to perform stand-up comedians (including at the Van Wezel in 2014, the night after his final episode as host of “The Tonight Show”) and starred in the show “Jay Leno’s Garage,” while Arsenio Hall again appeared alongside Eddie Murphy in the 2021 film “Coming to America 2,” the sequel to 1988’s “Coming to America.”
Branford Marsalis Quartet (April 2)
Speaking of “The Tonight Show,” former bandleader Branford Marsalis will visit Van Wezel this season with the jazz quartet he founded in 1986. In his varied career, the saxophonist has collaborated on several films with director Spike Lee, performed with the Grateful Dead and composed the Tony-nominated score for the 2010 Broadway revival of “Fences.” Marsalis has also won three Grammys and was named an NEA Jazz Master along with his father, Ellis Marsalis Jr., and brothers Wynton, Delfeayo and Jason Marsalis.
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