A Big Night Out in Sarasota
The Orchestra, the Opera, McCurdy's Comedy, Ringling Underground, and the Historic Asolo Theater. A guide to the cultural evenings the city loves to dress up for.
Summer in Sarasota
Sarasota is a season town. The big subscription series (Orchestra Masterworks, full opera productions, the Ringling Underground music nights, the Historic Asolo Theater's chamber-and-jazz calendar) all run roughly October through May. June through September is summer-season, when the calendar trades formality for something looser and more eclectic.
And there's plenty going on. The Sarasota Music Festival closes out the orchestra season with two strong weeks of chamber concerts in June. The Sarasota Opera House programs tribute concerts and Classic Movies on Friday and weekend nights all summer. McCurdy's Comedy Theatre runs touring stand-up headliners every single weekend, year-round. And the Summer Circus Spectacular lights up the Historic Asolo Theater through early August.
This page lists what's lighting up the calendar this summer, then walks through what each year-round series is, what it costs, and when it comes back. Bookmark it for the fall, when the full season kicks back into gear.
What's on this summer
Evenings from June through August 2026. We check this list against each venue's calendar and refresh it through the season - the year-round series guide below has what comes back in the fall.
Sarasota Music Festival
Holley Hall and Sarasota Opera HouseThe Sarasota Orchestra's June bookend to the season. Two weeks of chamber and orchestral concerts, with the world-class faculty and the festival fellows together on stage. The intimate Holley Hall is where most of the chamber programs run; the finale moves to the larger Opera House.
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5 JunChamber Concert 1: Beethoven & Mendelssohn Beethoven Septet, Mendelssohn Octet, plus Florence Price and Amy Beach7:30 p.m. · Holley HallTickets →
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6 JunChamber Concert 2: Mozart & Schumann Mozart Serenade, Schumann Piano Quintet, Spohr Grand Nonet7:30 p.m. · Holley HallTickets →
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12 JunChamber Concert 3: Tchaikovsky, Ravel & Dvořák Dvořák Piano Quintet, Ravel Mother Goose Suite, Tchaikovsky Souvenir de Florence7:30 p.m. · Holley HallTickets →
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13 JunFestival Finale: The Masters in Concert Nicholas McGegan conducts; Jasmine Choi (flute); Schubert, Mozart Flute Concerto No. 2, Beethoven Symphony No. 77:30 p.m. · Sarasota Opera HouseTickets →
Sarasota Opera House summer series
Sarasota Opera House, downtownWhile the grand opera season takes its summer breather, the historic Opera House keeps the lights on all summer with tribute-band concerts on select Saturdays and Classic Movies on Friday nights. The room itself is the draw - the restored 1926 theater is the most beautiful interior in Sarasota.
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12 JunClassic Movies: The Greatest Show on Earth (1952) Cecil B. DeMille's Best-Picture circus epic7:00 p.m.Tickets →
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20 JunAC/DUCE/C - AC/DC Tribute Tribute band live in concert7:00 p.m.Tickets →
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26 JunClassic Movies: Silent Movie (1976) Mel Brooks's love letter to the silent era7:00 p.m.Tickets →
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10 JulClassic Movies: Dead Again (1991) Kenneth Branagh's noir thriller7:00 p.m.Tickets →
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25 JulSolitary Man: Neil Diamond Tribute Full-band tribute concert7:00 p.m.Tickets →
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31 JulClassic Movies: Gigi (1958) Lerner & Loewe's Best-Picture musical7:00 p.m.Tickets →
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14 AugClassic Movies: The Truman Show (1998) Peter Weir and Jim Carrey7:00 p.m.Tickets →
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28 AugClassic Movies: Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory (1971) Gene Wilder, the chocolate factory, the kids7:00 p.m.Tickets →
McCurdy's Comedy Theatre McCurdy's Comedy Theatre
1923 Ringling Blvd, downtown SarasotaSarasota's professional comedy club, running touring national headliners Thursday through Sunday almost every week of the year. Small room, full bar, two-item food/drink minimum at the tables. A downtown stage that books names you'll recognize, five minutes from Main Street.
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30 MayJoe Lowers and Guests · WSOC Records Closing weekend of the WSOC Records residencyThrough May 31Tickets → -
1 JunDuane Betts: Isle of Hope Record Release Party Special one-night release eventJune 1Tickets → -
4 JunJosh Blue Last Comic Standing winner, four-night runJune 4 to 6Tickets → -
10 JunCarl Rimi Five-night runJune 10 to 14Tickets → -
18 JunSteve White Four-night runJune 18 to 21Tickets → -
24 JunJim McCue Five-night runJune 24 to 28Tickets → -
28 JunDrag Queen Bingo Extravaganza Late-night special eventJune 28Tickets → -
9 JulAndy Hendrickson Four-night runJuly 9 to 12Tickets → -
15 JulFlip Schultz Five-night runJuly 15 to 19Tickets → -
23 JulJJ Curry Four-night runJuly 23 to 26Tickets → -
31 JulTom Arnold Two-night special engagementJuly 31 and August 1Tickets → -
13 AugPaul Ollinger Four-night runAugust 13 to 16Tickets → -
19 AugKevin McCaffrey Five-night runAugust 19 to 23Tickets → -
28 AugCarlos Mencia Two-night special engagementAugust 28 and 29Tickets →
The year-round series, in detail
Once October hits, the calendar fills back in. Here's what each series is, what it costs, and when it returns - so you can plan a fall and winter of nights out properly.
The Van Wezel Performing Arts Hall, the orchestra's bayfront home. Photo: Wikimedia Commons Sarasota Orchestra
Sarasota Orchestra is the city's professional symphony, founded in 1949, and the foundation of the cultural calendar. The full season runs October through June and is structured around four series. Masterworks is the big-stage classical programming with guest soloists, mostly at the Van Wezel and the new Sarasota Orchestra Center. The Pops series leans Broadway, film scores, and tribute programs. Chamber Soirees are intimate concerts in Holley Hall, the orchestra's own 300-seat room. Great Escapes is the casual weeknight series with light dinner pairings.
Single tickets run roughly $30 to $90 depending on series and seat; subscriptions are the locals' move. The full 2026-27 season is announced in late summer; subscriptions open in early fall.
The restored 1926 Sarasota Opera House. Photo: Wikimedia Commons Sarasota Opera
Sarasota Opera produces full-staged grand opera every winter in the restored 1926 Sarasota Opera House downtown. The 2026-27 main season runs roughly mid-February through mid-March, with four operas in rotating repertory - typically two warhorses and two rediscoveries. The company built its reputation on a complete Verdi cycle (the first in the world), and Verdi is still the house style.
Tickets for main season run $25 to $135 depending on seat. The summer programming on this page (tribute concerts, Classic Movies) is the same building used differently - a beautiful way to see the room without the season ticket price.
Ringling Underground
Ringling Underground is Sarasota's favorite museum-after-dark scene. First Thursday of the month, October through May, in the open-air courtyard of the Museum of Art - experimental, indie, and DJ sets under the colonnade, the bars open, the David replica lit from below.
Tickets are easy on the wallet (typically $15 to $25), and admission gets you into the Museum of Art's galleries for the evening too. The crowd skews younger and more design-school than the rest of the Ringling calendar. The 2026-27 series resumes Thursday, October 1, 2026.
Inside McCurdy's Comedy Theatre on Ringling Boulevard. Photo: McCurdy's McCurdy's Comedy Theatre
McCurdy's is the one venue on this page that runs year-round, full stop. Thursday through Sunday almost every week of the calendar, a touring national headliner does four to five shows in the room - usually two on Friday, two on Saturday, one on Sunday matinee. The bookings range from name-brand stars (Tom Arnold, Carlos Mencia, Kevin Nealon, Josh Blue from Last Comic Standing) to working circuit comedians you've seen on Comedy Central or the late-night shows.
Tickets run $20 to $40 depending on the headliner. There's a two-item minimum at the tables (food or drinks), and the room serves a full menu plus a cocktail list. Open Mic on Thursdays at 9 p.m. is a $10 deep-dive into the local comedy scene and worth it once. The Drag Queen Bingo nights, several Saturdays a season, sell out a week ahead.
Downtown at 1923 Ringling Boulevard, walking distance from Main Street restaurants. Parking is in the Links Parking Garage right behind.
The Historic Asolo Theater, imported piece by piece from Asolo, Italy. Photo: The Ringling Historic Asolo Theater
The Historic Asolo Theater is the 261-seat 18th-century Italian court theater the Ringlings dismantled in Asolo, Italy and rebuilt on the estate. It runs a year-round program of chamber music, jazz, film, lectures, and small theatrical productions, and every summer the Circus Arts Conservatory takes over with the Summer Circus Spectacular.
Tickets are typically $25 to $65. Because the room only seats 261, the chamber series sells out, especially the headline jazz nights. The fall 2026 calendar opens for booking in mid-summer.
Summer Circus Spectacular — this summer's run
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13 JunOpening Night Gala opening of the summer residency7:00 p.m.Tickets →
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20 JunSaturday evening show Variety performance in the historic theater5:00 p.m.Tickets →
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27 JunSaturday evening show Variety performance5:00 p.m.Tickets →
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4 JulSaturday evening show Holiday weekend performance5:00 p.m.Tickets →
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11 JulSaturday evening show Variety performance5:00 p.m.Tickets →
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18 JulSaturday evening show Variety performance5:00 p.m.Tickets →
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25 JulSaturday evening show Variety performance5:00 p.m.Tickets →
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1 AugSaturday evening show Variety performance5:00 p.m.Tickets →
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8 AugClosing weekend Final Saturday evening of the summer residency5:00 p.m.Tickets →
Where to eat first
Sarasota Opera House is in the heart of downtown - the easiest pre-show dinner is at one of the restaurants on Main or Palm. The Ringling estate is twenty minutes north of downtown, so plan dinner near the venue (Indigenous, the bayfront restaurants on Tamiami, or anything in the St. Armands Circle cluster a few minutes south). Holley Hall on Tamiami is closer to downtown than the Ringling but further than the Opera House, and the new dining scene in the Rosemary District is the best pairing for a Holley Hall night.
Frequently asked
What's open in Sarasota at night in the summer?
McCurdy's Comedy Theatre runs touring stand-up headliners every weekend, year-round. The Sarasota Music Festival fills the first two weeks of June. The Sarasota Opera House programs Friday and Saturday night events (tribute concerts, Classic Movies) all summer. The Summer Circus Spectacular at the Historic Asolo Theater runs through early August. Otherwise the main subscription seasons (Orchestra Masterworks, full opera, Ringling Underground) resume in October.
Where's the comedy club in Sarasota?
McCurdy's Comedy Theatre at 1923 Ringling Boulevard downtown. Touring national headliners Thursday through Sunday almost every week of the year. Tickets $20 to $40 with a two-item food or drink minimum at the tables.
When does Ringling Underground come back?
Ringling Underground returns Thursday, October 1, 2026, and runs the first Thursday of every month through May 2027. Tickets typically go on sale a few weeks before each date.
What's the dress code at Sarasota Orchestra and Sarasota Opera?
Both venues are dress-as-you-like - some patrons wear black tie on opening nights, others come in jeans, and everyone fits right in. A jacket without a tie is the easy Sarasota default.
Where is the best place to sit at the Sarasota Opera House?
The orchestra-level center sections give the strongest sound. The mezzanine and balcony offer the best architectural view of the restored 1926 room. Avoid the deep side boxes - the sightlines compress.
Can I see the Ringling Museum at night?
Yes, on Thursdays. The Museum of Art stays open until 8 p.m. every Thursday, and the colonnade and courtyard at sunset are the best time of day to see the building. See the [Ringling Museum guide](ringling-museum.html) for the full visit plan.
Do these venues have parking?
The Ringling estate has free on-site parking just inside the main gate. The Sarasota Opera House has a small dedicated lot plus metered street parking on Pineapple and Cocoanut. Holley Hall has a free lot on Tamiami Trail. Plan to arrive 30 minutes early during season.
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