Neil Diamond It’s been about five months since we found out about this show, and now our favorite 75-year-old Brooklyn boy is finally here. The rock hall of famer better be ready for us to sing along to “Sweet Caroline,” but he better work through the whole of his 13-time Grammy award winning repertoire at this one. (Amalie Arena, Tampa) INFO
Nafapalooza w/6 Volt Rodeo/Twisty Chris & the Puddin’ Packs/The Hot Rod Hornets/Midnight Bowlers League/PigeonHöle/The Johnny Zoom Hi-Fi Show On paper, he was Gafataitua Fa’alogo. Most everyone called him Nafa (or Bible Stud, Rockabilly Samoan), and on February 4 the Newport Beach born guitarist lost his life way too soon. Nafa got to Tampa in 1981 and eventually landed a job at the USF library. The show featuring some of the Bay area’s most energetic rock outfits is a tribute to Nafa’s boundless energy and an opportunity for the community to collect funds that will be donated to his family then eventually used to start a USF scholarship in Nafa’s name. (Skipper’s Smokehouse, Tampa) INFO
Ronny Elliott w/The Nationals/Rebekah Pulley Twosome “Seventy probably is the twilight. I’ve always liked twilight,” That’s Ronny Elliott in an email to CL after we asked him about reaching the milestone. The storied Bay area songwriter is tapping his band — The Nationals — and the equally legendary Rebekah Pulley to help him celebrate 70 trips around the sun, and skeptics shouldn’t expect a sleeper at this show. “I’m pretty sure that I rock, roll, write and play pretty much like I did in 1964,” Elliott added. “Hopefully with more fire, more passion, more love.” Read our 2014 profile of Elliott here. (Hideaway Café, St. Petersburg) INFO
Joey Krash w/Crazy DJ Bazarro/DJ Casper/DJ Fader (Ol’ Dirty Sundays at Crowbar, Ybor City) INFO
Lynyrd Skynyrd (Busch Gardens Food & Wine Festival, Tampa) INFO
Onry Ozzborn w/Foundation/Hurley (New World Brewery, Ybor City) INFO
An Evening with Indian Dance and World Fusion Music (Sickles High School, Tampa) INFO
Sinners & Saints (Independent Bar & Café, Tampa) INFO
This article appears in Apr 20-27, 2017.
