A close-up, live performance shot of a musician singing into a microphone while playing an acoustic guitar. They are smiling and wearing a brown beanie, clear-framed glasses, and a grey denim jacket over a hoodie. The background is softly blurred with blue and white bokeh lights, and the profile of another performer is visible in a blue hue on the left.
Bad, Bad Things’ Ryan Fouche at Curtis Hixon Waterfront Park in Tampa, Florida on Feb. 5, 2025. Credit: Ryan Metcalf / Creative Loafing Tampa Bay

The Florida cold couldn’t keep the emo kids away from Curtis Hixon Waterfront Park last Thursday when Emo Night Tampa staged a takeover of downtown’s 15-years-running live music series.

Rock The Park Tampa, which happens every first Thursday, was supposed to include Bill. (stylized all-lowercase) supporting a debut full-length, but the Tampa indie-rock band was forced to drop out last minute due to illness. Tampa punk trio Lychee Camp dutifully filled in (making up for its recent Rock the Park appearance that was forced into The Hub due to rain), along with Pet Lizard (playing as a trio due to a scheduling conflict for bassist Justin Reed). The night was capped off by a tight set from Bad, Bad Things.

All photos by Ryan Metcalf/Creative Loafing Tampa Bay.

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This article appears in Feb. 05 – 11, 2026.

Read his 2016 intro letter and disclosures from 2022 and 2021. Ray Roa started freelancing for Creative Loafing Tampa in January 2011 and was hired as music editor in August 2016. He became Editor-In-Chief...