A Sarasota band with a charting album and a worldwide fanbase is playing a hometown release party Friday night. Cassie Jean and the Fireflies headline Fogartyville, doors at 7 p.m., music at 8 p.m., with new songs from an upcoming record whose title hasn’t been announced yet. Tickets are $20 for members, $25 for non-members, and $13 for students 13 and up.
The band’s story started small. Cassie Jean and life partner Rich Odato began writing and recording together during the pandemic, and Odato has said the quantity and quality of her songwriting quickly outgrew his recording setup, which sent the project to a professional studio. Their 2022 debut, recorded at Baysound Studios in Sarasota, charted on the AMA radio chart, landed on Roots Music Report’s Top 100 alt/folk albums of 2022, and produced the No. 1 folk single “Tomorrow.” The band has since passed 100,000 Spotify spins and 500 radio spins worldwide.
Friday’s show is a return to familiar ground. The band’s first release party in 2022 included a WSLR live performance and a Fresh Fridays concert on Main Street. For anyone who has been meaning to catch more live music around town, this is an affordable chance to hear new material before the record drops.
Are you planning to catch the show Friday, or is there another local act you think deserves a spotlight? Let us know in the comments.
