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✔️ Steven Wilson Steven Wilson may be from the U.K., but the 51-year-old prog-rock composer is revered in the Bay area. Not just for the artistic integrity he’s brought to his band, Porcupine Tree, over the last 30 years, but also for his embrace of a Tampa guitar hero, John Wesley, who was added to the lineup when Porcupine Tree’s 2002 album, In Absentia, was released. It’s pretty rare to see Wilson — who is touring behind his 2017 solo album To the Bone — in such an intimate setting, so expect this pseudo-hometown show to be close to sold out by the time doors open. (The Ritz, Ybor City) INFO
Nate Najar’s Jazz Holiday It’s finally time for Tampa Bay jazz guitarist Nate Najar to join friends — including trumpeter James Suggs, bassist John Lamb and drummer Mark Feinman — at Palladium Theater for an annual holiday concert. Australian woodwind extraordinaire Adrian Cunningham is also on the bill in 2018, and she’ll join the ensemble as it works through stuff by Duke Ellington, Billy Strayhorn and Najar's own Christmas In December release. (Hough Hall at Palladium Theater, St. Petersburg) INFO
Dolce w/Rotten Milk/Apoc Siren/Slime Queen Bingo/Vallam Another house show for the noise music scene. This one welcomes a pair of experimental acts from New Orleans (Dolce, Rotten Milk) and taps three locals — Apoc Siren, Slime Queen Bingo and Vallam — to play welcome wagon. Park in the yard if you can find the place, and don’t forget to bring cash for the touring acts. (The In-Between, Tampa) INFO
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Good Old War w/Beta Radio/Allman Brown It’s only been five months since we saw Good Old War in Ybor City, but the harmony-driven Philadelphia folk outfit is back and headlining this time after opening for Anthony Green at Orpheum just a few blocks away from Crowbar, where trio will support its Part of You EP, released this year. North Carolina Americana duo Beta Radio and U.K. songwriter Allman Brown open the show. (Crowbar, Ybor City) INFO
✔️Anberlin The Winter Haven band opens on a December 14 show headlined by Underoath, but it looks like Anberlin is gonna go for a warm-up gig the day before. We’re willing to bet that tickets for the not-so-surprise December 13 gig at Orpheum in Ybor City are pretty close to sold out, but here’s your heads up about the show. (Orpheum, Ybor City) INFO
Parranda Al Maximo w/Jose Alberto El Canario Bay area Latin radio station 92.5 FM is staging a holiday carnival in Ybor City, and it’ll be headlined by Dominican Republic-born salsa singer and master improviser José Alberto Justiniano, who is better known as El Canario (translates to “The Canary”). The 59-year-old has bounced back quite nicely after releasing his languid Juegos de Amor album ages ago, too. (Skye, Ybor City) INFO
✔️ The Byrds’ Sweetheart of the Rodeo Anniversary Tour w/Roger McGuinn/Chris Hillman/Marty Stuart and his Fabulous Superlatives If there was a college course on country-western, then The Byrds’ Sweetheart of the Rodeo would be in the rubric. The album digs deep into the genre and was eventually named one of Rolling Stone magazine’s 500 greatest of all time. Marty Stuart and his Fabulous Superlatives band will join Byrds co-founders McGuinn and Hillman onstage for this show celebrating the album, and they’ll do it all over again for an encore performance on December 15. (Capitol Theatre, Clearwater) INFO
Nat King Cole Christmas w/Evan Tyrone Martin Christmas concerts and generally pretty cringe-worthy (go ahead, call us Scrooges). This one featuring Evan Tyrone Martin (who shined in recent productions of Jesus Christ Superstar, Side Show and Oklahoma) is an exception thanks to the Chicago singer’s warm embrace and faithful dedication to the sound and aesthetic Nat King Cole brought to pop and jazz before he died in 1965. Runs through December 16. (Jaeb Theater at David A. Straz Center for the Performing Arts, Tampa) INFO
The Jackettes w/Hi-Beam/Hanoi Hi-Beam is a new, bright spot on the Bay area band roster, and the new-wave/post-punk band (featuring members of CL favorites like DieAlps! and Hello Joyce) will support its stellar new, self-titled EP when it joins St. Petersburg pop collective The Jackettes at this free and late night gig where a brand new Sunshine City band, Hanoi, opens the show. (The Bends, St. Petersburg) INFO
ALSO PLAYING
Forrest Hoffar (Tampa Armature Works, Tampa) INFO
El Dub (Ka’Tiki, Treasure Island) INFO
Talk to Mark (Ringside Café, St. Petersburg) INFO
American Opera w/Fly Mordecai (Red Light Café at The Bunker, Ybor City) INFO
Ronny Elliott (House show, Tampa) INFO
Stonegrey (Hard Rock Café at Seminole Hard Rock Casino, Tampa) INFO
BNO 2/Jeff Brawer/Kaleb Stewart/Buck Sands/Marc Ganancias (The Hub, Tampa) INFO
Bothering Dennis w/Fam/TBA (The Blue Note, Tampa) INFO
This article appears in Dec 13-20, 2018.