Harry Connick, Jr. has delighted millions of fans in the United States and around the world with his signature New Orleans sound, which he has imprinted upon today’s music scene in a variety of genres, such as jazz, easy listening, swing, pop, and even funk. He’s also a well-known actor and can currently be seen as one of the judges on FOX’s enduring singing competition American Idol. As Idol’s audition and Hollywood rounds are currently being seen on TV, Harry and his Big Band have decided this is a wonderful time to tour the country and greet fans with a show that people won’t soon forget. Florida is particularly lucky; eight of his concert dates are right here in 
our state.
The first of his Florida concerts will take place on Friday, February 6 at 8 p.m. at Artis-Naples in Naples. Subsequent concerts will take him to the Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts in Miami on Saturday, February 7 at 8 p.m.; the King Center for the Performing Arts in Melbourne on Sunday, February 8 at 7 p.m.; the Van Wezel Performing Arts Hall in Sarasota on Tuesday, February 10 at 8 p.m.; the Kravis Center for the Performing Arts in West Palm Beach on Wednesday, February 11 at 8 p.m.; Ruth Eckerd Hall in Clearwater on Friday, February 13 at 8 p.m.; the Dr. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts in Orlando on Saturday, February 14 at 8 p.m. and the Moran Theater at the Times-Union Center for the Performing Arts in Jacksonville on Sunday, February 15 at 7 p.m.
Harry Connick, Jr., the son of a New Orleans lawyer and record store owner, was immersed in music from birth. He started learning to play the keyboards at age three, and by the time he was ten, he was recording songs with a jazz band in town. He became well-known locally as a musical prodigy, and was asked to perform with jazz legend Eubie Blake on one occasion, and on another he performed a Beethoven concerto with the Louisiana Philharmonic.
At the age of 19, he was signed to a major record label, and since then he has released 21 albums. Eight of those albums went platinum in the United States, and six of them were nominated for Grammy Awards (he would go on to win two times). In the United States he has sold over 16 million albums, and his worldwide total is expected to cross the 30 million mark this year. He has earned the distinction of having the most albums peak at the top of the Billboard Jazz charts (eleven have held the top spot), and he has also left his mark on the holiday music scene with his album When My Heart Finds Christmas, which is one of the best-selling Christmas albums of all time.
He earned worldwide notice for his contribution to the movie soundtrack When Harry Met Sally in 1989. He crossed over to acting in 1990 in the film Memphis Belle. Since then, he has appeared in such worldwide hits as Copycat (1995), Independence Day (1996), Hope Floats (1998), Basic (2003), P.S. I Love You (2007) and he voiced characters in Dolphin Tale (2011) and its sequel, Dolphin Tale 2 (2014). On television, he is well-known for his acting turns on the series Law & Order: Special Victims Unit and on Will & Grace, where he played the love interest for Debra Messing’s character Grace Adler. He started his role as judge on the FOX reality singing competition American Idol for season 12 in 2013, alongside fellow artists Keith Urban and Jennifer Lopez; they all returned for a third season on the show together starting in January 2015.
If you’re a Harry Connick, Jr. fan and you’re sold on wanting to see him, you still have time to reserve your seat! Tickets are on sale now for most of his Florida performances (they are sold out in Naples and Sarasota). Tickets are available for purchase online for all of the other concerts, and they start at $69 (Miami), $59.50 (Melbourne), $39 (West Palm Beach), $50 (Clearwater), $49.50 (Orlando) and $44 (Jacksonville). You can purchase these tickets by going to harryconnickjr.com/tour.
For more information on Harry Connick, Jr., visit his website at harryconnickjr.com. “Like” him on Facebook for real-time updates by going to facebook.com/harryconnickjr. You can see him on American Idol each Wednesday and Thursday at 8 p.m. on FOX.
