8 incredible Tampa Bay spots to lay low if you’re trying to not testify about Jeffrey Epstein
Do you currently live in Tampa Bay? Were you supposed to appear at a federal deposition this week about your mishandling of the Jeffery Epstein investigation? Are top Democrats on the House Oversight Committee now saying you’re currently “evading a lawful congressional subpoena?” Well, relax. Tampa Bay has got you covered! From high-end restaurants to…
Tampa City Councilman Bill Carlson announces run for mayor
To the surprise of no one, this morning District 4 City Councilman Bill Carlson filed paperwork for the 2027 race to be Tampa’s next mayor. In his announcement, the twice-elected city council member and president of locally-based marketing firm Tucker/Hall says his campaign will focus on discipline, transparency and competence. “Good government is invisible,” said…
Florida Gov. DeSantis signs bill naming highway after Donald Trump
Gov. Ron DeSantis Tuesday signed a law designating the Tallahassee airport as Bobby Bowden-Tallahassee International Airport, honoring the late Florida State University football coach. “And just think, when Florida plays in Tallahassee at Florida State, every gator fan is going to have to fly in to Bobby Bowden International Airport,” DeSantis said during a news…
Tampa’s ‘Chew-uhh-palooza’ punk show includes a no-ring wrestling match
Chewy Hemphill might call Zephyrhills home these days, but the legendary Tampa Bay area promoter still has a bunch of homies around here. He still books one hell of a show, too. Tampa pop-punk band Awkward Age reunites for this show anchored by Kinda Culty, a Miami punk band bringing the garage-rock vibes of Magic…
Interview: Graham Nash has a new song about ICE, lots of love for Florida, and still sends roses to Joni Mitchell every year
Graham Nash has about seven songs that he knows people want to hear: “Teach Your Children,” “Our House,” “Military Madness,” “Immigration Man,” “Chicago,” and “We Can Change The World.” The 84-year-old ex-Hollie promises to play them in Clearwater this month, but will also take some liberties during the two-night stand at the Bilheimer Capitol Theatre.…
Usher and Chris Brown are coming to Tampa this winter to close out their stadium tour
Wet the bed, because Grammy Award-winning R&B giants Chris Brown and Usher have confirmed dates for their joint “R&B” (Raymond and Brown) stadium tour, which wraps up at Tampa’s Raymond James Stadium. Last Friday, the duo soft-launched the 33-date tour through a social media video, showing them zipping through city streets on motorcycles before arriving…
Ybor City walking tour to raise funds for Tampa DSA’s erase medical debt fundraiser
Despite Hungary’s recent rejection of right-wing prime minister Viktor Orbán, it’s still pretty dark out there—especially if you’re an immigrant, working class, or parent of a soldier. In uncertain times, Roger Ezra Butterfield knows it helps to look to the past to see how others before us dealt with it all. In a ramp up…
Malcolm X and MLK Jr. debate in Stageworks ‘The Meeting’
“The Meeting,” opening Friday, depicts a hypothetical conversation between Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X, who were considered opposites in their philosophical approaches to the Civil Rights movement.
Photos: Everyone we saw at Maris’ sold out Bullstock set
As part of her “Maris Goes To College” tour, up-and-coming theatrical-pop girlie Maris (stylized in all-caps) opened for The Driver Era at USF’s sold out Bullstock last Friday.
Creative Loafing Tampa Bay readers respond to gas prices, Guy Fieri, fired sheriff’s deputy and more
Creative Loafing Tampa Bay keeps reaching into the mailbag, and treading carefully into the comments section. The exercise leaves us increasingly grateful for readers who come to us in print—and especially online—to read the news and thoughtfully respond.
Grandaddy Records & Vintage debuts in Brooksville
This Record Store Day, new store openings are still on the horizon as a physical media renaissance emerges.
Environmentalists successfully relocate Country Thunder Festival off St. Pete Beach, citing threats to turtle nesting season
Pressure from environmental advocacy groups has pushed the upcoming Country Thunder Fest out of St. Pete Beach to a new venue in Clearwater. On April 4, protestors lined the sidewalk in front of Tradewinds Island Grand Resort, hoisting signs calling for officials to “Protect the nest, move the fest.” Activists were met with honks of…
Florida seeks alternative to high school AP courses with own version of college-level history classes
Some Florida high school students could be sitting in new college-level American history classes next year, as the state is creating its own alternative to Advanced Placement courses. A Department of Education memo issued April 10 states the agency will begin a pilot program for additional accelerated U.S. history classes for high school students to…
Remembering Fox 13 meteorologist and LGBTQ+ advocate Andy Johnson
Over four decades of meteorology for WTVT (now known as Fox 13) and on social media, Johnson gave residents vital information during several major hurricanes.
The Strokes are coming back to Tampa this fall
After returning to Coachella last weekend, The Strokes have also shared plans to come back to Florida as part of a 2026 world tour. A press releases says Julian Casablancas’ revered indie-rock band will bring a new album, Reality Awaits due on June 26, to two dates in the Sunshine State this fall, including one…
Before Fun., there was The Format, a band heading back to St. Pete this fall
Fun. had a quick two-album run that changed radio pop between 2009-2012, but that supergroup wouldn’t have been possible without The Format. The band was made up of Nate Ruess and multi-instrumentalist Sam Means. Ruess went on to form Fun. with Anthathollo’s Andrew Dost and Jack Antonoff of Steel Train (and now Bleachers). The Format’s…
Janet Echleman turns inward with ‘Radical Softness’ in Sarasota
Now on view at the Sarasota Art Museum, “Radical Softness” spotlights the broader scope of her work. The exhibition traces her four-decade career, from early experiments to the complex systems behind her most recognizable pieces.
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Everything we saw at the 2026 Tampa Pro [Photos]
The 32nd Tampa Pro, the country’s longest running and arguably most storied professional skateboarding competition, wrapped up last weekend at the Skate Park of Tampa. The two-day street comp culminated with Red Bull athlete Jagger Eaten taking the top spot and a $10,000 purse, while Monster Energy’s Liam Pace the Concrete Jam. A few other…
Tampa City Council election 2027: Hoyt Prindle will challenge Charlie Miranda in District 6
Tampa’s municipal elections kick up next year, crowded with 11 mayoral candidates and three filed for council—and the third returns for another showdown. Local attorney Hoyt Prindle announced his campaign for Tampa City Council District 6 this month. The district stretches north to Forest Hills, to about Interstate 275 in the east, south to Palma…
Bob Buckhorn officially enters 2027 Tampa mayoral race, says he expects council members to ‘stay in their lanes’
The worst kept secret in Tampa politics is officially official. This morning, flanked at the Hillsborough County Supervisor of Elections (SOE) office by his wife Dr. Cathy Lynch Buckhorn, former Tampa Mayor Bob Buckhorn finally filed paperwork for the 2027 race to be the city’s next mayor. Ashley Bauman, former City of Tampa Director of…
Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier’s campaign backed by Big Tobacco, gun companies and more
Attorney General James Uthmeier raised $1.91 million in the first quarter of 2026, surpassing the $336,000 raised by Democratic challenger José Javier Rodríguez, according to numbers posted by the Division of Elections website. The quarterly total, generated through his personal account and a political committee, increased Uthmeier’s overall effort to $8.26 million as he seeks…
Florida gas prices expected to rise, again, after Trump issues blockade in Iran
An average gallon of gas in Florida on Monday showed a continued decline, hitting $4.02, the lowest it had been this month. But that is expected to change after talks in Pakistan failed to bring any agreement forward to end the war and President Donald Trump announced Sunday morning the U.S. Navy would blockade ships…
Tennis legend Mike Bryan is selling his St. Pete Beach home for $2.5 million
Former tennis pro Mike Bryan, half of one of the greatest doubles pairs of all time, is putting his waterfront home on the market in St. Pete Beach. Located at 151 Punta Vista Dr., Bryan purchased the 2,182-square-foot home in 2024 through an LLC for $1.9 million, according to property records. Designed and completed in…
Newly-elected Hillsborough Dem Brian Nathan says he’s ready to fight for the working class
Florida’s 14th Senate District in western Hillsborough County went without representation during the past regular legislative session in Tallahassee, so newly elected Democrat Brian Nathan says his first responsibility is to make sure the district doesn’t get slighted when House and Senate leaders resume negotiations on the state budget later this spring. “There is a…
St. Pete Pride has acquired Sapphic St. Pete event series
St. Pete Pride has acquired Sapphic St. Pete, which started as a conglomeration of sapphic-themed events last November, organized largely by Rachel Covello. Covello operates OutCoast, an LGBTQ+ Florida tourism website. Last year, she put OutCoast’s blog “on pause” due to pressure from partnering businesses and destinations to tone down LGBTQ+ content, according to her…
Downtown Tampa hosts two huge ‘Taste’ parties next week
More than 60 restaurants and culinary experiences come to Water Street and the Straz Center for their “Taste” events.
St. Pete’s historic Mefford Mansion is now on the market in Snell Isle
A historic estate in St. Petersburg with ties to a former mayor, a land boom developer, a Home Shopping Network president and more, is now for sale in the Snell Isle neighborhood. Located at 416 Brightwaters Blvd. NE, the sprawling Mediterranean Revival estate was completed in 1925 for prominent attorney and Florida Land Boom developer…
HOAs are ‘out of control’: Tampa Bay voters vent to Florida gubernatorial candidate Paul Renner on ‘Affordability Tour’
Florida GOP gubernatorial candidate Paul Renner took his “Affordability Now” tour to Tampa Bay Thursday, where the conversation focused on property insurance rates, property taxes, and growing discontent with condominium and homeowners’ associations (HOAs). Florida voters have made clear over the past year that affordability is their top concern. In a University of North Florida survey last…
State of Florida launches investigation into ChatGPT for role in FSU school shooting
Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier is investigating ChatGPT for its alleged role in last year’s mass shooting at Florida State University. “We’ve … learned that ChatGPT may have likely been used to assist the murderer in the recent mass school shooting at Florida State University that tragically took two lives,” Uthmeier said Thursday in a…
‘This is illegal’: Florida Democrats blast coming congressional redistricting session
Although GOP legislative leaders say that a special session on the state budget won’t take place next week, they still intend to meet later this month for an unusual mid-decade congressional redistricting session that Democrats say is unconstitutional and could backfire on Republicans. “This is illegal,” said Rep. RaShon Young, D-Orlando, on a Zoom conference call…
Florida Dem Chair Nikki Fried says party has more candidates signing up to run for office than ever have before
After flipping two legislative seats in special elections, Florida Democrats are riding a wave of enthusiasm. But whether that translates to victories in November remains to be seen. Florida Democratic Party Chair Nikki Fried said they’ve had more candidates sign up to run for office than they ever have before – the party has recruited…
Creative Loafing Tampa Bay joins ‘Local News Day’
Since its inception four decades ago, Creative Loafing Tampa Bay’s heart, soul and very being has been local—and today we’re joining more than 1,300 newsrooms and 200 partners across the United States to celebrate Local News Day. Founded in the spirit of the dissident press and locked in arms with alternative-weeklies that shaped the country’s…
A quick guide to the 2026 Gasparilla Music Festival, happening this weekend in downtown Tampa
In 2012, I sat under the awning at Tampa Museum of Art and listened to a determined group of Tampeños share plans to create a music festival that their grandkids could be proud of. That cohort’s ambitions outlived my blog post (RIP Suburban Apologist), but those music-and-Tampa-loving psychopaths have endured. David Cox, Executive Director at…
Tampa Bay’s best live music happening April 9-16
Gasparilla Music Festival and this weekend’s John Prine tribute concerts aren’t the only festivals happening in the Bay area over the next few days. Tampa Bay Blues Festival, the Skatepark Of Tampa’s Tampa Pro, and Bullstock are all on the calendar as well. Please enjoy an abridged, festival-centric, version of Music Week below, with a…
Interview: Before St. Petersburg show, Lukas Nelson says going solo was more about ‘showing myself what I can do’
With the release of his first solo album apart from Promise of the Real, Lukas Nelson isn’t so much starting over as he is narrowing his focus. For an artist who’s spent most of his career on the road, he sounds less interested these days in covering ground than in figuring out what actually sticks.…
Skateboarding’s infamous Tampa Pro tournament is this weekend
The Skatepark of Tampa’s 32nd annual Tampa Pro kicks off this week—but athletes like Felipe Gustavo, Jamie Foy, and Zion Wright aren’t the only draws. There’s a comedy show at the park on Thursday, with a book launch and afterparties scheduled for The Bricks in Ybor City on Saturday and Sunday, following chaotic special contests…
Billy Strings was shredding at Skate Park of Tampa this week
Billy Strings, the Grammy-Award winning bluegrass star whose real name is William Apostol, was in town this week for a Wednesday night show at Benchmark International Arena. But before he took the stage, the 33-year-old popped into Skatepark of Tampa for a quick skateboard sesh. Yesterday, Strings posted a series of clips to his Instagram…
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Tampa Police officers wrangle a 9-foot alligator from New Tampa pool [VIDEO]
The Tampa Police Department responded to a scaly intruder at a homeowner’s pool in the Arbor Greene community of New Tampa last month. In bodycam footage posted to social media this week, TPD officers can be seen assisting a wildlife trapper rope a 9-foot alligator that seemingly broke through the home’s screened-in pool area. “Just…
Before Largo show, Daniel Donato reveals the album that changed everything
By the time the fifth studio album emerges, a lot of artists have pretty much found their sound. But not country wunderkind Daniel Donato. On last summer’s Horizons, the 30-year-old “cosmic country” pioneer (both the name of his backing band, and a subgenre that’s ever-evolving and picking up inspiration from all corners of country music)…
Before sold-out Tampa concert, Maris reveals an album that changed her life
Next year marks 30 years since the University of South Florida first put together Bullstock, a day-long music festival that brings together a handful of national acts and local names for a free show to help forget about upcoming exams for a night. With past lineups including the likes of Grouplove and the recently-broken up…
Hernando’s Fox Fam Jam music festival kicks off Friday
Some festivals don’t have last call. Count Fox Fam Jam among them. Situated on Brooksville’s magical Florida Sand Music Ranch, the lineup is a mix of the state’s most revered jam, bluegrass, funk, electro and psych-rock bands. There’s live art, and organizers have encourages campers to stay up all night to take advantage of Hernando…
Morean Arts Center celebrates a decade of ‘Fresh Squeezed’ local art
Sixty-four artists from 27 Florida cities have been featured over the past 10 years. This year, eight artists and two additional artists in the Chihuly Collection special exhibition space were selected from nearly 150 applicants to bring a mix of painting, sculpture, glass and immersive installations to Tampa Bay
![The best things to do in Tampa Bay this week, including flowers, books and vintage festivals [April 9-16]](https://i0.wp.com/www.cltampa.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/BloomBSP-159-960x641-1.jpg?resize=800%2C600&ssl=1)
The best things to do in Tampa Bay this week, including flowers, books and vintage festivals [April 9-16]
Have a look at what’s going down the week of April 9-16, and don’t forget, you can always submit to CL’s calendar.
Demetri Martin tops Tampa Bay’s best April comedy gigs
There’s a whole lot to laugh at in Tampa Bay this month, including heavy hitters like Demetri Martin. See April’s best gigs below, and check out community.cltampa.com for more.
