As illustrated by the line at the beer cooler at Winn-Dixie, spring break has begun, the annual parade of bikinis and buffoonery arriving just in time for this weekend’s St. Patrick’s Day celebrations (fewer bikinis, plenty of buffoonery) across South Florida. Let’s be careful out there.
Something of an Irish wake (more celebratory than somber), a weekend gathering in Lake Worth Beach will honor the passing of Mathews Brewing Co., which will close on Friday after nearly a decade of award-winning beer, live music and laidback, dog-friendly vibes.
The backstory is “bittersweet” but positive for owner Dave Mathews, a onetime garage brewer who sold his engineering company and opened the brewery in 2017: He’s retiring and moving back to his hometown, Tampa.
“It’s time for me to pivot once again,” he wrote on Instagram. “Thanks to Lake Worth Beach, our great customers, all the amazing bands that have played here, all the dogs that have passed thru, our outstanding staff thru the years and all the food trucks that supported us.”
We will miss the beer. Mathews’ Pineapple Express took gold at the 2025 U.S. Open Beer Championship, and its White Goblin won gold at the 2025 Great American Beer Festival. But the closing will also leave a hole in the soul of the live music scene in Palm Beach County. Friday’s gathering will feature an 8 p.m. performance by tribute band Ode to Cranberries. Visit MathewsBrewingCompany.com.
Thursday
‘Dirty’ Thursday: A global tour hitting more than 100 cities across North America and Europe, “Dirty Dancing Live in Concert” will bring the onscreen romance of Baby and Johnny, backed by a live band, to the amphitheater at Old School Square in downtown Delray Beach on Thursday night. Gates open at 6 p.m. for a 7:30 p.m. screening, which will include a 20-minute intermission. Immediately after the film, at 10 p.m., the band will host an encore party for the audience to sing and dance to their favorite “Dirty Dancing” songs. Tickets are available at DelrayOldSchoolSquare.com.
Songs in the key of life: This is opening weekend for the Broadway tour of Alicia Keys’ coming-of-age jukebox musical “Hell’s Kitchen” at the Broward Center for the Performing Arts in Fort Lauderdale. The story, which follows the musical journey of a 17-year-old girl growing up with a single mother in Manhattan, will have weekend performances at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, 8 p.m. Friday, 2 and 8 p.m. Saturday, and 1 and 6:30 p.m. Sunday. The show continues through March 22. Tickets: BrowardCenter.org.
Nu and exciting: Offering something of a preview to the weekend’s GroundUP Music Festival, the dauntless Nu Deco Ensemble will be at the Miami Beach Bandshell on Thursday, sharing the stage with the exquisite and ethereal vocals of Bangalore-based Varijashree Venugopal and Pakistani artist Arooj Aftab. The program will include a commissioned work by Snarky Puppy bandleader Michael League, a reimagined orchestral suite of The Beach Boys, and Marc Mellits’ energetic chamber work “Platter of Discontent.” Tickets: Nu-Deco.org.
Arooj Aftab will perform with Nu Deco Ensemble and at GroundUP Music Festival at the Miami Beach Bandshell. (Amy Harris/Invision/AP file)
Eye and ear: Jazz guitar icon and innovator Pat Metheny brings his Side-Eye III+ project — an ongoing concept that surrounds him with younger musicians, in this case pianist Chris Fishman (Thundercat, Flying Lotus), bassist Jermaine Paul, drummer Joe Dyson and vocalist Leonard Patton — to The Parker in Fort Lauderdale for two nights. Not to be missed. Some tickets are available at ParkerPlayhouse.com.
Country night: Miranda Lambert, the native Texan country singer (“White Liar,” “Bluebird,” “Over You,” “Heart Like Mine”) and songwriter (Morgan Wallen’s “Thought You Should Know,” Ella Langley’s “Choosin’ Texas,” Ashley Monroe’s “I’m Good at Leavin’,” Lainey Wilson’s “Good Horses”), will play at Hard Rock Live in Hollywood on Thursday at 8 p.m. Tickets: MyHRL.com.
Miranda Lambert will bring music from Grammy-nominated album “Postcards From Texas” to Hard Rock Live. (Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Hollywood/Courtesy)
Love me do: The annual Fab Four takeover known as Beatles on the Beach will be Thursday through Sunday in its new location at Mizner Park in Boca Raton. The weekend includes free opening-day events at Biergarten Boca Raton on Thursday from 6 to 9 p.m., with music from drummer Gregg Bissonette (Ringo Starr’s All Starr Band), Portuguese Beatles tribute band The Peakles and others. There’s also Live & Let Die: A Symphonic Tribute to Paul McCartney at Mizner Park Amphitheater at 8 p.m. Friday and Morgan Freeman’s Symphonic Blues Experience on the same stage at 8 p.m. Saturday. Information and tickets: BeatlesOnTheBeach.com.
Friday
She’s back: Remember when Lady Gaga postponed her Mayhem Ball concert minutes before showtime at Miami’s Kaseya Center in September, saying she had strained her voice during rehearsals? Well, she’s all better and will perform at the Kaseya on Friday at 8 p.m. Of course, only resale tickets remain at KaseyaCenter.com.
Lady Gaga, performing during the Grammy Awards in Los Angeles in February, will play the Kaseya Center in Miami on Friday. (Chris Pizzello/AP Photo)
Adventures in music: A musical gathering that seemed to change expectations and ambitions in South Florida when it was first conjured into being by Miami arts veteran Paul Lehr and Michael League, bandleader of jazz innovators Snarky Puppy, the 10th edition of the GroundUP Music Festival returns to the waterfront Miami Beach Bandshell on Friday through Sunday. This year’s lineup will include three nights of Snarky Puppy, as well as performances by Flying Lotus, Rickie Lee Jones, Arooj Aftab, Varijashree Venugopal, Julian Lage, Patrice Rushen, Bilal, Isaiah Sharkey and more, as well as myriad after-party gigging. Tickets: GroundupMusicFestival.com.
Weekend laughs: Gary Gulman, relentlessly down to earth (he was a high school teacher), brings his new and ironically titled “Grandiloquent” show to the Broward Center in Fort Lauderdale on Friday at 7:30 p.m. Tickets: BrowardCenter.org. … If you wonder what a comedian raised in Minnesota has to say these days, check out Chad Daniels at the Fort Lauderdale Improv in Dania Beach at 7:30 p.m. Friday, and 7 and 9:30 p.m. Saturday. Tickets: ImprovFTL.com. … Steve Treviño, whose marriage continues to be a bottomless well of humor (how’s he still married?), will be at the Palm Beach Improv in the Kravis Center in West Palm Beach at 7 and 9:30 p.m. Friday, and 6:30 and 9 p.m. Saturday. Tickets: Kravis.org. … Writer and comedian Emo Philips — master of the paraprosdokian (I had to look it up, too) — has shows scheduled at the Boca Black Box at 7:30 p.m. Friday through Sunday. Tickets: BocaBlackBox.com.
Throwing it back: LOTOS X, celebrating the 10th anniversary of the concert series (and the 40th anniversary of “Power 96,” WPOW-FM), will host a night of ’80s-’90s nostalgia at 8 p.m. Friday at Hard Rock Live in Hollywood. The lineup features Vanilla Ice, Lisa Lisa, Tiffany, Treach (Naughty by Nature), 2 Live Crew, Kid ’N Play and Color Me Badd, all hosted by Brian Austin Green of “90210” fame. Tickets MyHRL.com.
Saturday
Wining and dining: The 12th annual Dania Beach Wine & Seafood Festival returns on Saturday from 4 to 9 p.m. at Dania Beach City Hall Plaza, with dozens of restaurants and food trucks represented, along with more than 40 wine and spirits brands, and more than 10 breweries. The family- and pet-friendly event will include cooking and cocktail demonstrations, a kids’ zone, games and other activities. The music lineup will feature Shaw Davis (5 p.m.), Yoli Mayor (6:30 p.m.) and Private Stock (8 p.m.). Admission is free. Advance tickets for unlimited wine and beer tastings are available at DaniaBeachWineAndSeafoodFest.com.
Spring in the air: Rock star violinist Joshua Bell will lead revered ensemble Academy of St. Martin in the Fields at the Arsht Center for the Performing Arts in Miami on Saturday at 7:30 p.m., a program that features Saint-Saëns’ graceful Violin Concerto No. 3 and Schumann’s restorative Symphony No. 1 (“Spring”). Tickets: ArshtCenter.org.
Saturday laughs: Actor, writer and comedian Michelle Buteau, the engaging star (and executive producer) of the Netflix comedy series “Survival of the Thickest,” will bring her Surviving and Thriving Tour to The Parker in Fort Lauderdale on Saturday night. The show, rescheduled from Oct. 17, is down to resale tickets. For updates, check ParkerPlayhouse.com.
Local sounds: Tarpon River Brewing in downtown Fort Lauderdale will celebrate its eighth anniversary with a day of live, local music during the Take Me to the River festival on Saturday from 2 to 11 p.m. The day will include food, beer (including guest breweries), vendors and live sets from a lineup led by “The Voice” winner Adam David (6:45-7:30 p.m. and 7:45-8:30 p.m.). Also performing will be Monaco Slim (3-4 p.m.), Dead Bronco (4:15-5:15 p.m.), Smerks and the Night Mares (5:30-6:30 p.m.), The Ricca Project (8:45-9:30 p.m.) and Shakers (9:45-10:30 p.m.). Tickets: TarponRiverBrewing.com.
Nat Santander
Fort Lauderdale singer-songwriter Adam David, winner of Season 27 of NBC’s “The Voice” in 2025, will perform at Tarpon River Brewing in Fort Lauderdale. (Nat Santander/Courtesy)
Blonde ambition: Barrel of Monks Brewing in Boca Raton is throwing a block party to celebrate 11 years of Belgian style on Saturday beginning at 4 p.m. Saturday. Highlights include the debut of anniversary bottles of This One Goes to 11 (an Imperial Belgian Blonde Ale aged in Calvados brandy barrels), live music from Datura, and the diabolical burger wizardry of Cheffrey Eats. Admission is free; 4-8 p.m. all-you-can-drink tickets (with a bottle of This One Goes to 11) cost $45. Visit Facebook.com/barrelofmonks.
Saturday tributes: Crazy Uncle Mike’s in Boca Raton will host Talking Heads tribute band Road to Nowhere on Saturday at 8:30 p.m. Tickets: Facebook.com/crazyunclemikes. … Van Halen tribute Completely Unchained will take over The Funky Biscuit in Boca Raton on Saturday at 8 p.m. Tickets: FunkyBiscuit.com. … The World’s Greatest Tribute to the Traveling Wilburys, which plays music of its namesake supergroup as well as its individual members, will stop at the Aventura Arts & Cultural Center on Saturday at 7:30 p.m. Visit AventuraCenter.org.
Short race: Gulfstream Park in Hallandale Beach will swap massive thoroughbreds for small dogs during the inaugural Coastal Corgi Classic on Saturday from 12:20 to 5:30 p.m., an event that’s all in good, family-friendly fun. The audience can watch the diminutive racers, short in stature but long on cuteness, run in four qualifying heats before the championship race. Information: GulfstreamPark.com.
The inaugural Coastal Corgi Classic will take place at Gulfstream Park in Hallandale Beach on Saturday. (Gulfstream Park/Courtesy)
‘Golden’ years: “Golden Girls: The Ultimate Fan Experience” will celebrate the sly humor and sisterhood of Blanche, Dorothy, Rose and Sophia at noon Saturday in the Abdo New River Room at the Broward Center in Fort Lauderdale. The show includes a drag take on the ’80s-’90s sitcom (with trivia, bingo and sing-alongs) and a Q&A session with some of the writers and others who worked with the cast. Tickets: BrowardCenter.org.
Sunday
Beatle brunch: The Beatles takeover of Boca Raton this weekend will include music-forward restaurant and brewery Crazy Uncle Mike’s, which will host the Ringo Bingo Beatles Brunch on Sunday. Brunch begins at noon, with complimentary bubbly for the ladies. Led by DJ Gio Black, musical bingo starts at 1 p.m. Bingo is free. Visit Facebook.com/crazyunclemikes.
Starry night: Coral Gables Art Cinema will host an Oscars watch party on Sunday, beginning with red-carpet pre-show events for a fashionable crowd at 6 p.m. and the telecast at 7 p.m. The evening will include food, drink and movie trivia. Tickets: GablesCinema.com.
Sunday laughs: Witty illusionist Michael Carbonaro, best known for stunning audiences and unsuspecting real-life targets on truTV’s “The Carbonaro Effect,” will bring the magical theatrics of his new “Wonderboy” show to The Parker in Fort Lauderdale on Sunday at 7 p.m. Tickets: ParkerPlayhouse.com.
Jimmy jam: Longtime Conan O’Brien musical director Jimmy Vivino will bring his band to the Arts Garage in downtown Delray Beach on Sunday at 7 p.m. Tickets: ArtsGarage.org.
Staff writer Ben Crandell can be reached at bcrandell@sunsentinel.com. Follow on IG: @BenCrandell.