Summer Songs Served Hot

We know summer.

We really know it. The kind that slaps you in the face the second you step outside. The kind where your sunglasses fog up, your flip-flops melt into the pavement, and your plans? They all start with “somewhere with AC.”

That’s why in our Court Cabaret, we open Too Darn Hot: Songs for a Summer Night. Because this isn’t some breezy, coastal-summer playlist. It ’s the full, sweaty, sun-drenched, thunderstorm-surprise, iced-drink-in-each-hand kind of summer. And if anyone can sing it like it really is, it’s Carole J. Bufford.

Carole is no stranger to FST. Her previous shows includes: Roar! The Music of the 1920s and Beyond, Come Together: When the '60 Met the '70s, and Vintage POP!  The New York Times called her  “an earthier, more acerbic 21st century Barbra Streisand,” and BroadwayWorld said she’s “one of the gifts the Entertainment Gods sent to earth to spread joy.”

She’s bringing that same fire here—sun-swept songs, soul, swing—and yes, a live band to make it groove all the way through.

“I created Too Darn Hot to celebrate my favorite season: summer," says Bufford. “While there are plenty of songs about fun in the sun, what happens after the sun sets? At night it’s a different world."

She knows our sultry Sarasota nights. She knows we live in sweat and laughter and sudden downpours. And she picked the setlist accordingly: “Fever” for that slow burn, “The Summer Wind” for sweet ache, “Summer in the City” for restless stomp, and “Dancin’ in the Street” for barefoot, street-party sing-alongs. With live musicians backing her, each note glides faster, digs deeper, lives bigger.

And this trio brings serious heat: Isaac Mingus (bass), a local favorite known for his soulful phrasing; Angela Steiner (piano), a classically trained musician; and Aaron Nix (drums), whose rhythmic flair gives the show its pulse.

“The moods and memories this season stirs up, and the music that gives them shape, are the heartbeat of this show,” says Catherine Randazzo, FST’s Summer Cabaret Line Producer. “Carole has a way of delivering a song that makes you feel like she’s lived every lyric.”

And don’t expect just the usual suspects. The show digs into a variety of musical styles—pop, jazz, rock & roll, even a little Motown—spanning decades of hot summer anthems and under-the-radar gems. If it ever made you roll the windows down or fall in love after sunset, it’s fair game.

So yeah; it’s too hot to stay home and settle for overheard playlists or sweaty car rides. Those long, loud days and short, warm nights deserve live music with a band, and Too Darn Hot is the perfect show to deliver it.