The following is a quick breakdown of this weekend’s worthiest live music offerings from Friday through Sunday. For a more comprehensive schedule, check out our Upcoming Concerts page
FRIDAY, MAY 21
Her Name Is Victory [pictured] w/Life of Pi/The Future Now/Solia Tera A bill featuring some top-notch local alt rock acts, from the straightforward, keyboard-laced melodies of Tampa power trio Her Name Is Victory, to Gainesville’s The Future Now, which is celebrating the release of Hazy Orange Sunday, a new album of driving, grunge and psyche garage rock marked by thick and crunchy guitars, ominous vocal harmonies and brawny rhythms. 9 p.m., New World Brewery, Ybor City, $7.
Jannus Live Marmalade Music Series: The Black Honkeys w/Someday Souvenir/The Semis/Old North East/Shawty/Tampa Bay Dream Team DJs Lee Money and Spindiana Jone/DJ Craig Adams Jannus Live presents a new live music series celebrating the local music scene. The inaugural event kicks off with the funk, soul and R&B of six piece ensemble The Black Honkeys, the rip-raging surf rock of The Semis, the pretty all-femme pop rock of Someday Souvenir, the piano-driven melodic folk pop of Old North East, and the Southern crunkified hip-hop of Sherrick “Shawty” Cuffie. DJs Craig, Lee Money and Spindiana (the latter two from the Tampa Bay Dream Team) round out the evening with live spins before and after each set. 6 p.m. doors, Jannus Live, St. Petersburg, $10 under 21/free admission ages 21 and up.
Benjy Davis Project Originally an acoustic folk duo featuring husky-toned singer/songwriter Benjy Davis and drummer Mic Capdevielle, the project eventually expanded into a sextet and recorded three albums of easy driving Southern rock, then scaled back to the founding configuration by album four, March’s Lost Souls Like Us. They filled in the missing blanks with seasoned session musicians like Lynryd Skynyrd guitarist Mark “Sparky” Matejka and producer/keyboardist Bobby Capps (.38 Special), and produced tracks like the pretty, mandolin and guitar-propelled “Stay With Me.” Davis and Capdevielle are currently touring as a five-piece. 6-11 p.m., Plush Ultra Lounge, St. Petersburg, $call 727-871-7874.
[pictured] w/The Higher/The Fold/Goodnight Caulfield/Southside Serenade The popular Orlando rock act makes a spin through town in support of their second album, Spain, released in 2009 via Bonded Records. 7 p.m., Crowbar, Ybor City, $12.
The Original Wailers w/Bootleg/The Ambassy There are two incarnations of the roots reggae band that birthed Bob Marley. This one includes keyboardist Earl “Wya” Lindo (who joined the Wailers with Peter Tosh and Bunny Wailer in ’73), guitarist Al Anderson (who became a Wailer in ’74), and singer/guitarist Junior Marvin (who played with the Wailers during the Exodus and Kaya studio sessions and now handles lead vocal duties). 7 p.m. doors, State Theatre, St. Petersburg, $20.
Jonny Lang His 1997 major label debut, Lie to Me, was released the day before his 16th birthday and showed the world not all teenage musicians need a polished, bubble-gum sensibility to craft multi-platinum records. Lang’s weathered vocals add a soulful, ripened depth to music you’d think was coming from the whiskey-soaked throat of an old Americana bluesman. His most recent studio album, 2006’s Turn Around, ventures further into soul, jazz and gospel territories than any previous releases and actually nabbed Lang a Grammy in 2007. Right now, he’s on tour in support of 2009’s Live at the Ryman. 8 p.m., Ruth Eckerd Hall, Clearwater, $37-$53. —Andrew Silverstein
This article appears in May 20-26, 2010.