Ringling Underground

Currently on tour with ‘90s hitmakers Fastball, Athens, Georgia-based sextet Heffner will step into a headlining role at this month’s Ringling Underground outdoor concert. Formed in 2019 with a sound redolent of the Strokes, Art Brut and IDLES, the group will perform its post-punk indie power-pop with occasional detours into R&B and glam rock. It's all in an eclectic day’s work for a band whose birthplace is the stuff of legend in the alt-music world. Two Tampa-based trios of a similar ilk—MAK and Beach Terror—will make the trek down to open for Heffner. The show begins at 8 p.m. on April 11 at the Ringling Museum of Art Courtyard, 5401 Bay Shore Road, Sarasota. (941) 359-5700, ringling.org

Sarasota Film Festival

On Sunday, it’ll be a wrap for another year of the Sarasota Film Festival, but there’s still plenty of time to catch dozens of exclusive movies projected on the big screen, right where they belong. Highlights for the festival’s remaining days include the documentary Nocturnes (3 p.m. on April 12), whose immersive study of moths in an indigenous Indian community questions our human-centric view of the world. The Listener (6:30 p.m. April 13) stars Tessa Thompson as a helpline volunteer at a call station who experiences a profound night on the job; Steve Buscemi directed the movie and will be in attendance for a live Q&A. Closing the festival at 6:30 p.m. April 14 is Red Rooms, a Canadian thriller about a fashion model’s obsession with a high-profile murder trial. Most screenings are at Regal Hollywood, 1993 Main St., Sarasota. For the full schedule, visit sarasotafilmfestival.com

The Birdwatchers

The members of this trio have a lot of pluck, in more ways than one: All of them play the ukulele, the stringed instrument often associated with breezy island life but whose range is explored in its fullest capacity by these accomplished artists. Kim Bjerga, Clark Holmes and Andy Nufer create lush three-part harmonies on tenor, baritone and bass ukulele—with occasional acoustic-guitar contributions—on charming original material as well as reimagined arrangements of hits by Aerosmith, Edith Piaf and others. The group headlines a ukulele-filled evening at 7:15 p.m. April 12 at Fogartyville Arts Center, 525 Kumquat Court, with both openers—Kirk Jones and Vincent & Norine Mungo—performing on the uke, too. Food will be available from the Currywurst Food Truck beginning at 6:30. (941) 894-6469, wslr.org/events

Yang Plays Mozart

Joyce Yang, a Grammy-nominated classical pianist whose technique is a joy to witness, is the featured soloist on the centerpiece of this spring program from Sarasota Orchestra: Mozart’s iconic Piano Concerto No. 24 in C Minor, completed on the composer’s "downtime" while he was developing The Marriage of Figaro. The program also includes Dvorak’s sprightly Symphony No. 8, which nods to the bucolic Bohemian town in which he was raised, complete with the suggestion of birdsong and rustling leaves; and NEOWISE, a recent work from native Sarasota composer Roger Zare that’s inspired by the 2020 comet of the same name. Performances run 7:30 p.m. April 12-13, and 2:30 p.m. April 14, at Van Wezel Performing Arts Center, 777 N. Tamiami Trail, Sarasota. (941) 263-6799, vanwezel.org

99 Bottles Fifth Anniversary Block Party

Though it's only been around for five years, Sarasota craft-beer emporium and taproom 99 Bottles has already earned a national accolade—a recognition by Wine Enthusiast as one of the best beer shops in the U.S. The narrow, hipster-chic space is also a dynamite hangout, popular for its pub trivia nights and authentic New York-style bagels. Celebrate the brewery’s fifth anniversary in the best way possible this weekend with a five-hour bash from 4 to 9 p.m. April 13, complete with live music, food trucks and plenty of delightful new and rare pours, including two special collaborative releases: A Hazy IPA from 3 Sons Brewing and an Imperial Stout from Magnanimous Brewing. 1445 Second St., Sarasota. (941) 487-7874, 99bottles.net

The Gothic Library: Treasure Island

Published in 1883, Robert Louis Stevenson’s definitive coming-of-age novel Treasure Island has had an outsized influence on the perception of pirates in popular culture, introducing such tropes as the buried treasure map and the peg-legged, parrot-toting seaman. It has inspired more than 20 film adaptations and dozens more for the small screen, stage and radio—and it’s the latter approach in which the Gothic Library specializes. At 9:30 p.m. April 13 and 6:30 p.m. April 14, the Gothic Library, run by Ringling graduate Ren Pearson, will direct a live audio play of Treasure Island with professional actors and sound effects, transporting listeners to the swashbuckling high seas of the Caribbean in a nostalgic throwback to pre-televised entertainment. It goes down at Bookstore1, 117 S. Pineapple Ave., Sarasota. (941) 365-7900, sarasotabooks.com

Hard Heart Burlesque

This local company will celebrate the liberating art of the striptease at its annual spring fling, an evening of eclectic burlesque performances, along with occasional songs and the sort of cheeky humor befitting its host venue, McCurdy’s Comedy Theatre. Performers with names that could easily double as those of film-noir femmes fatales will take to the stage and shed their costumes, including the singer-dancer-actor Karma Kandlewick, Marina Elaine (aka the Sweetheart with a Switchblade), Barbarella Brown, debut Hard Heart artist Karma Carnelian, pole dancer Unfolding Kylie and more. The show starts at 8 p.m. April 14. 1923 Ringling Blvd., Sarasota. (941) 925-3869, mccurdys.com

Misty Copeland

One of the few household names in the rarefied environment of American dance, prima ballerina Misty Copeland made history in 2015 as the first African American woman in the 75-year history of American Ballet Theatre to be promoted to principal dancer. She has performed the major roles in the ballet canon, from Firebird to Swan Lake to Romeo and Juliet, in a career that has spanned 27 years. Now in her early 40s, she’s on something of a well-earned hiatus from dance but has kept busier than ever, penning children’s books and an autobiography, launching two athletic clothing lines, and starting the nonprofit Misty Copeland Foundation to make the world of ballet more diverse and equitable. She’ll discuss her career and her passions at 10:30 a.m. and 7:30 p.m. April 15 at Van Wezel Performing Arts Center, 777 N. Tamiami Trail, Sarasota, as the final speaker in this season’s Ringling College Library Association’s Town Hall series. (941) 309-5100, vanwezel.org