Orlando Rocks

Orlando Rocks
With regular visits by rock legends and contemporary
chart-toppers plus a steady line-up of top-notch local
talent, the music never stops playing in Orlando. In tiny
jazz lounges and colossal concert clubs from downtown
to Disney, music fans can catch a quality live show any
night of the week. BY KRISTEN MANIERI
©COURTESY OF HOUSE OF BLUES; COURTESY OF HARD ROCK LIVE; BB KINGS; MICHAEL CAIRNS; SCOTT TUCKER PHOTOGRAPHY
BB KING’S BLUES CLUB
Comfort cooking mixed with
Southern blues is the draw
here where the 11-piece BB
King’s All-Stars band, as well
as visiting musicians, takes the
stage nightly to entertain a
finger-licking crowd that is just
as spellbound by the tunes as
the lip-smacking barbecue.
Located on the second level
of Pointe Orlando on International Drive, BB King’s invites
visitors to dine and dance to
classic rock, jazz, funk and
R&B. www.bbkingclubs.com
HOUSE OF BLUES
Even with a capacity 2,000person crowd, live shows at
the House of Blues feel like
your own private concert. This
whimsical, multi-level concert
hall at Downtown Disney West
Side hosts an eclectic line-up
of local and international
performers that bring everything from hip hop to jazz to
a 50-foot stage surrounded
by a giant quilted curtain and
quirky folk art. Don’t miss the
soulful Sunday Gospel Brunch,
where heartfelt hallelujahs
are served alongside mimosas
and Southern grits. www.
houseofblues.com
HARD ROCK LIVE
A steady stream of A-list
musicians play Hard Rock Live,
the 3,000-capacity concert
coliseum that towers over
Universal CityWalk. Classic
concert posters and rock ’n’
roll memorabilia adorn the
walls. The venue hosts more
than 150 shows a year, utilizing its state-of-the-art sound
system. This is a great place to
catch Classic Albums Live, a
note-for-note show of some of
the greatest albums of all time.
The venue also books some
of today’s funniest comics, including winners of Last Comic
Standing. www.hardrock.com
BOSENDORFER LOUNGE,
GRAND BOHEMIAN HOTEL
To be considered by many as
the city’s best hotel bar is an
honor, but one that sells the
Bosendorfer Lounge short;
it’s so much more than a
cool lobby bar. The swanky
downtown locale serves
double duty as trendy martini
bar and sultry jazz club with
live music most nights, especially on Friday and Saturday
evenings when vocalists and
saxophonists gather around
the namesake piano in the
bar’s Klimt Rotunda. Dramatic
original art on the walls and
elegant, hand-blown Italian
glass over the wrap-around
bar add to the sexy milieu
steeped in decadence and
sophistication. www.grandbohemianhotel.com
THE PLAZA LIVE
Once Orlando’s first twoscreen movie theater, The
Plaza Live serves not only as
a historic Orlando landmark,
but now as one of downtown’s
best music venues. Less than
a thousand people can cram
into the intimate scene where
everyone from the Canadian
Tenors to John Waite has
played. A mere 100 feet separate the stage from the back of
the room, which means there
isn’t a bad seat in the house.
www.plazaliveorlando.com
BACKYARD PLAYERS
Some of Orlando’s best local talent
and where to catch them live.
Michael Andrew
Orlando’s own Frank
Sinatra-esque crooner
often performs with local jazz band Swingerhead. He has brought
his swing and Big
Band panache to the city’s largest stages
including performances with the Orlando
Philharmonic Orchestra at the Bob Carr
Performing Arts Centre. Andrew recently
performed at The Abbey, a downtown
venue with regular lounge acts and small
stage shows.
Joseph Martens
The Orlando Farmer’s Market at Lake Eola
is an unlikely locale for live music, but
this is where you’ll find Joseph Martens
strumming his guitar on Sunday mornings. You can also find him at the Imperial
Wine Bar and Beer Garden, tucked inside
an imported furniture store in Orlando’s
antique district. Martens brings his classicrock-meets-folksy-country sound there
every other Wednesday.
Matt Shenk
Matt Shenk hadn’t
planned on becoming a professional
musician when he
sang at his wedding
10 years ago. But ever
since a determined guest booked him
to play at an event a few weeks later, the
acoustic crooner, who has been likened
to Dave Matthews, has played at many
of Orlando’s hippest venues including
the Velvet Lounge, the chic bar inside the
Hard Rock Hotel.
Suzy Park
Suzy Park’s soulful, Ella Fitzgerald style
couldn’t be better suited for the sultry
Bosendorfer Lounge where she regularly
performs hits like “At Last” for a martinisipping crowd. You can also catch her on
occasion with the singing group Voices
of Liberty at Walt Disney World Epcot’s
American Adventure Pavilion or at her
regular gig inside the Starlight Lounge at
Timpano Chophouse tucked along Sand
Lake Road’s Restaurant Row.
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