Entertainment

SATURDAY, MARCH 12

n 3:30 p.m.: Paige Keiner n 5-6 p.m.: The Will Patrick Band n 7:30 p.m.: Eric Darius, featuring JJ Sanseverino and Rebecca Jade

In a change, the festival’s opening concert was held earlier.

FRIDAY, MARCH 18

n 3-4 p.m.: Flint Blade n 4:30-6 p.m.: Renato & Giane

SATURDAY, MARCH 19

n 10:15-11:15 a.m.: Paint it Black n Noon-1 p.m.:

Orlando Children’s Choir n 1:30-2:30 p.m.:

Cat and Mitch Ridgeway n 3-4 p.m.: Patchouli & Terra Guitarra n 4:30-6 p.m.: The Fly Casuals

SUNDAY, MARCH 20

n 11 a.m.-Noon: TBA n 12:30-1 p.m.:

Suzuki Music Institute n 1:15-2 p.m.:

Big Tiki and the Mai-Tais n 2:15-3 p.m:. David & Eli n 3:30-4:45 p.m.:

The Dayve Stewart Band

Big Tiki and the Mai-Tais

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ENTERTAINMENT A Flourish of Music,then a Splash of Art

Festival’s opening concert was held early this year.

For decades, the Winter Park Sidewalk Art Festival has been known for its jazzy opening-weekend concerts, which have traditionally been held on Friday nights and provided a rollicking kickoff for the three-day event.

This year, however, the concert was moved ahead, to Saturday, March 12. That means you’ll have already seen the show by the time you attend the festival.

If you missed it, then you missed an incredible performance from Eric Darius, one of the hottest jazz and R&B saxophonists in the country. Darius’s most recent studio album, Breakin’ Thru’, debuted at No. 2 on the iTunes Top 40 Jazz Albums Chart.

Darius appeared with two special guests: singer/ songwriter Rebecca Jade and guitarist JJ Sansaverino, both also chart-topping artists. The trio rocked downtown Winter Park.

“I first fell in love with the saxophone as a 9-year-old and began playing at the age of 10,” Darius recalls. A year later, he began touring worldwide with Sonny LaRosa and America’s Youngest Jazz Band.

With seven highly acclaimed albums in his discography, Darius continues to rack up some impressive statistics. He’s had three No. 1 hit singles and a dozen songs in the Top 10 on Nielsen’s R&R/Billboard Contemporary Jazz Chart.

He was named 2004’s Debut Artist of the Year by Smooth Jazz News Magazine and was listed among 2015’s Top 10 Jazz Artists of the Year by the Society of European Stage Authors and Composers.

In 2017, he was named Best Jazz, Saxophonist, Composer, Producer & Musician of the Year Award at the 1st Annual Citril Starz Awards. Citril Starz is a nonprofit organization that empowers and promotes the advancement of at-risk youth through the arts.

Darius has made TV appearances on Fox’s The X-Factor, TNT’s Mob City and has shared the stage with Grammy award-winning artists Prince, Mary J. Blige, David Foster, Carlos Santana, Jamie Foxx, Babyface, George Benson, Marcus Miller, Wyclef Jean and many others.

Rebecca Jade is an accomplished singer/songwriter who has been touring with Sheila E. since 2017 and most recently appeared in the Emmy-nominated TV show Let’s Go Crazy: The Grammy Salute to Prince that aired on CBS in 2020. She also sang background vocals for Sir Elton John at the 2020 Academy Awards.

JJ Sansaverino has enthralled legions of fans touring the world with his “Benson meets Santana” musical style and his “take no prisoners” performance attitude. A 2020 single, “Style and Elegance,” reached No. 1 on the Billboard Contemporary Jazz Chart.

A Berklee School of Music graduate, he has shared the stage with the likes of Maceo Parker, Victor Bailey, Gerald Albright, Randy Brecker, Shaggy, Ricky Lawson, Sean Paul, Rick Braun, the Marley Family and even performed for Sir Paul McCartney’s wedding in 2002.

Eric Darius (below), one of the hottest jazz and R&B saxophonists in the country, appeared last Saturday with singer/songwriter Rebecca Jade (bottom left) and guitarist JJ Sansaverino (bottom right), both chart-topping artists.

Eclectic World Music Highlights Weekend

As always, the Winter Park Sidewalk Art Festival is presenting a dynamic lineup of entertainers during festival weekend. Although the traditional Friday night opening concert was moved to the prior Saturday, there’ll still be music throughout the day during festival hours. Performances will be on the stage in north Central Park. A full schedule is on page 25, but below are some of the featured acts.

FLINT BLADE

Friday, 3 p.m. The music of Flint Blade may fairly be described as otherworldly. The singer/multi-

instrumentalist is best known for playing the Chapman Stick, a stringed instrument that looks like the oversized fretboard of an electric guitar. It combines the melodic range of guitar and bass but is played more like a piano, by tapping.

He also plays the Caribbean steelpan — which he uses to create uplifting, ethereal soundscapes and bouncy rhythmic grooves — and is a master of beatboxing.

Drawing inspiration from reggae, jazz, electronica and musical styles from around the world, Blade’s style is diverse and unique. Based in South Florida, he tours nationally, performing solo and with various ensembles. He has recorded several albums of original music under his self-managed label, In Love Records.

RENATO & GIANE

Friday, 4:30 p.m. Renato & Giane are Brazilian jazz and bossa nova musicians who, for the

past 35 years, have played world music in Portuguese, English and Spanish. The couple, a duo with keyboards and vocals, have lived in Orlando for the past four years. They also performed at the festival in 2021.

ORLANDO CHILDREN’S CHOIR

Saturday, Noon The Orlando Children’s Choir, based in Longwood, is a performance-based

organization comprised of talented, enthusiastic singers in grades K-12.

Under the direction of Julie Campese, the choir educates and trains youngsters in the techniques of choral music, as well as how to perform it to the highest standards of each member’s age and ability.

Regardless of previous experience, participants in the Orlando Children’s Choir are committed to developing and sharing their talents with everyone and to “inspiring kids one note at a time.”

PATCHOULI & TERRA GUITARRA

Saturday, 3 p.m. The nuevo-flamenco duo of Patchouli & Terra Guitarra melds the spirit of

the ’60s and ’70s and the romance of the Spanish guitar to create music “that inspires the human spirit,” says the Chicago Tribune.

Patchouli & Terra Guitarra features Bruce Hecksel, one of the most exciting acoustic lead guitar players of our time, and Julie Patchouli, whose crystal pure voice and dynamic percussive guitar have made her an NPR favorite.

Through 19 years of nonstop touring, Patchouli & Terra Guitarra has performed more than 5,000 shows — headlining many major folk festivals — and released 22 CDs. Zone Music Reporter (ZMR) named Of Sea & Stars, the duo’s 2017 album, as “Best Instrumental Album of the Year.”