Georgia band Insomniac brings meditative metal to Tampa on Wednesday
Doom and death metal often features a lot of growling. Not so much in the Insomniac camp. The Georgia quartet plays a meditative, almost shoegazing style of sprawling metal which shouldn’t be a surprise to anyone who picked up the band’s debut on account of its title (Om Moksha Ritam, stylized in all-caps, and a…
Tampa producers to honor J Dilla on the 20th anniversary of his death
James Dewitt Yancey would have been 52 years old this month. In 1997 the Detroit producer, who died on Feb. 10, 2006, made a choice that would change the course of hip hop and modern jazz: taking his drum machine off-beat. The small tweak rippled through three decades of music to push organic and mechanical…
Jay Reatard-channeling Texas band Sex Mex comes to Bradenton on Friday
Tennessee songwriter James Lee Lindsey Jr. has been gone for 16 years, but the spirit of his ridiculous garage-pop project Jay Reatard lives on in folks like Nathan Gray. Leader of his own Texas band, Sex Mex, Gray used to tap Ableton to help him play guitar and now has bandmates to create freaky rock…
Nashville songwriter Jef Bjarnson brings Inner View project to Tampa on Thursday
Jef Bjarnson is a house show staple in Nashville, and he brings his dream-pop project Inner View on the road for this short run through the South. Arriving with what Bjarnson describes as “similar vibes to” Men I Trust, Inner View is supported by TV Extra, a new electro project featuring Nathan Heck from art-pop…
Bill., a Tampa band of indie-rock lifers, releases loud, unforgiving debut LP
Bill.’s new album is not a casual listen. Simultaneously dense and expansive, the seven-track outing clocks in at just under 27 minutes, but it’s not the kind of LP that warrants an immediate playback. Instead, the Tampa band has put together a record that forces a listener to exhale. Featuring members of popular art-pop band…
Dump Duke says public power is cheaper, more reliable, than what St. Pete is getting now
Dump Duke held a press conference last Wednesday supporting a municipal takeover of St. Petersburg’s electric grid. The group said that even among investor-owned utilities, Duke Energy’s rates are exorbitant, and said investors are less responsive to customers than local elected officials are to voters. St. Petersburg’s contract with Duke Energy is up for renewal…
In Pinellas, a dark money-funded ‘Energy Alliance’ is working against the push for publicly-owned electricity
Pinellas Energy Alliance is spending tens of thousands of dollars on ads, consultants and canvassers to oppose municipal takeovers of Clearwater and St. Petersburg’s electric grids. They’re not telling anyone where they got the money, or who created the group. The alliance’s activity comes as St. Petersburg’s contract with Duke Energy is up for renewal…
Post Malone and Jelly Roll bring ‘Big Ass Stadium Tour’ to Tampa this Spring
Both face-tatted artists got their start as rappers and have since pivoted to pop and country. Jelly Roll has gone harder on the latter.
Army vet who blew the whistle on Trump joins race to run against Tampa’s Sen. Ashley Moody
Retired Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman, who played a central role in President Donald Trump’s first impeachment, announced last Tuesday that he is the latest Democrat to enter into the race for U.S. Senate against GOP incumbent Ashley Moody. The 50-year-old Vindman is a 21-year U.S. Army combat veteran who later served as a national security…
Americana star Kathleen Edwards, now living in the Tampa Bay area, plays hometown show on Thursday
Now a Bay area resident, Canadian songwriter Kathleen Edwards plays a hometown show under the Skipperdome supporting a new album, Billionaire, released last summer. Produced by Jason Isbell and Gena Johnson, the 10-track record finds the 47-year-old turning up the wit and pulling the veil back more than ever. Her gig is a benefit for…
St. Pete Science Festival, Marinequest, happens this weekend
Tampa Bay’s biggest science events of the year geared to kids of all ages are scheduled for Saturday, Feb. 7, 10 a.m.-4 p.m., in downtown St. Petersburg. The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission’s (FWC) Fish and Wildlife Research Institute opens its doors for the 31st annual MarineQuest, the one day each year the public can explore…
Photos: At NHL Stadium Series, Tampa Bay Lightning fans get the best game ever
Outside of watching Dave Andreychuk and Steven Stamkos hoist Lord Stanley’s Cup three times, last Sunday’s Stadium Series game may have been the best thing Tampa Bay Lightning fans have ever witnessed. The matchup—announced more than a year ago and brought to life in dramatic action atRaymond James Stadium—had it all, including near freezing temperatures…
Armature Works screens another ‘Twilight’ movie for free this month
After showing “Twilight” in November and “New Moon” last month, Twihards no longer have to wonder, “Bella, where have you been, loca?”
The 6 best places in Tampa Bay to watch Bad Bunny’s Super Bowl half-time show
In case you hadn’t heard, there’s a football game happening before and after his concert this Sunday.
Gasparilla 2026 photos: Every stone cold pirate we saw on Tampa’s Bayshore Boulevard over the weekend
Shiver me timbers took on new meaning last Saturday when Tampa staged perhaps its coldest Gasparilla day parade on record. Highs topped out in the 50s for the day then dropped as the afternoon went on and rain joined the party—but pirates still expected hundreds of thousands of revelers to witness the flotilla invasion (rerouted…
Tampa Monitor: Council approves additional funding for South Howard Flood Relief project
Last Thursday morning Jean Duncan, the City of Tampa’s Administrator of Infrastructure and Mobility, presented the latest update for the South Howard Flood Relief project making clear it’s designed to solve for a five-year eight-hour rain event—approximately 5.4 inches. Additionally, city staff contend that recent modeling shows the improvements would have handled 70% of the…
Union push at Tampa International Airport sees restaurant workers asking contractor for fair process to organize
Food servers, bartenders, and other restaurant staff at Tampa International Airport who offer respite to more than 20 million passengers traveling through the airport annually are calling on their employer—one of the airport’s contractors—to allow them a fair process to organize a union. The restaurant workers are technically employed by SSP America, an airport contractor…
Tampa Monitor: City council could approve up to $5 million for parks in West Tampa and Gandy
Tampa City Council sit this week for a regular meeting with a 62 item agenda; 50 requiring a vote—51 if you count item 58, the discussion about budget surplus from Fiscal Year (FY) 2025. Council will make their recommendations to the mayor on how to re-appropriate the funds that weren’t expended the previous year. This year…
Gulfport hears from Jennifer Webb, others running for city council
There are two seats up for grabs on the Gulfport City Council and residents had the chance to learn how the four candidates respond to key concerns of their South Pinellas city. During both forums around 70 people joined to listen to their candidates. Gulfport City Council, Ward 1: Joe Guenther faces Jennifer Daunch. Daunch…
Property that’s home to Ybor City restaurant The Bricks has been sold
Sixteen years ago, The Bricks brought new life to the corner of E 7th Avenue and N Avenida Republica de Cuba in Ybor City—now the property it’s on has been sold to a company helping develop Darryl Shaw’s nearby Gasworx project. Records from the Hillsborough County Tax Collector show that the deed for 1327 E…
Indie Flea returns to Tampa with pre-Valentines waterfront market
It takes over Armature Works on Sunday, Feb. 8.
Tampa artist is collecting funds to save Café Hey’s endangered lion dance
On most mornings in downtown Tampa, Café Hey hums quietly–espresso machines hissing, neighbors drifting in and out, familiar faces exchanging nods across small tables. But later this month, that familiar calm could give way to drums, firecrackers and the bright movement of a traditional Chinese New Year lion dance if the community can raise enough…
Public defender to bring services directly to Tampa residents with ‘PD13 Street Legal’
For many people with a criminal case, getting downtown to the public defender’s office on a weekday can be prohibitive. Hillsborough’s elected public defender, Lisa McLean, is setting up a satellite office once a month to bring her services—and those of other agencies—to zip codes that need it the most. On Feb. 21 from 10…
Pulitzer-winning composer brings Stephen King’s ‘The Shining’ to Opera Tampa for one weekend only
Some years back, Paul Moravec got a call from the people at the Minnesota Opera. They wanted to commission a new opera, and the wondered if he’d be interested in composing the music. Sure, he said. They started tossing out some idea for what the source material for the opera might be. One of their…
Ortrotasce is Tampa Bay’s lord of analog darkwave
Rooted in darkwave and gothic post-punk, Ortrotasce’s sound is driven by layered synths, basslines, and hypnotic beats. It’s music that doesn’t ask for permission; it dares the listener to sit with it. Tampa Bay producer Nic Hamersly’s most recent release, “Muscle Memory (Malfunctioning),” leans fully into that ethos. The track feels otherworldly, capturing human complexity…
Tampa band Sleeping Pills fuses jagged post-punk with garage-y surf riffs and new-wave hooks
Sleeping Pills sounds like crawling out of a foggy beach town at midnight. Darker and more jagged than your average post-punk outfit, the band blends murky guitar lines, punk rhythms and brooding melodies into songs that feel lived-in. The Tampa trio, fronted by Phil Taylor with Zack Strickland and Nate Irizarry, fuses jagged post-punk with…
Tampa’s Social Wreckage blends indie-rock and punk to great effect
Social Wreckage blends melodic vocals with heavier, hard-driving instrumentation, landing somewhere between indie-rock and punk without fully committing themselves to either. The result is weighty but accessible, songs that hit a large audience hard, without losing a unique sense of identity. This band has made its home right at the intersection of melody and abrasion.…
Tampa’s Pusha Preme blends rap with electro-soul
A Tampa-centric, self-proclaimed Afro-fusion artist, Pusha Preme blends rap with electro-soul, layering storytelling, smooth basslines and subtle West African influences. The masked artist has spent years building traction through sharp lyricism and a strong sense of identity, with recent work favoring a head-nod, rap-along sound that feels raw, yet polished. His approach to the rap…
Jupiter Bloom is the indie-rock crew Tampa didn’t know it needed
Fresh off a debut single, “Water Lilies,” which dropped last September, Jupiter Bloom is the indie-rock crew Tampa didn’t know it needed. Fronted by Ash Griffith (vocals/bass) with Dominic Fonseca (rhythm guitar/vocals) and Doug Jaramillo (lead guitar), this trio evolved from students singing in parking garages to professionals with a vision. Its sound leans indie,…
Tampa’s Miller Lowlifes are the beer-sloshing uncle at the backyard barbecue of pop-punk
Miller Lowlifes is the beer-sloshing uncle at the backyard barbecue of pop-punk. Born from the brains of Richie Schnellbacher (guitar/vocals), Mario Framingheddu (bass/vocals), Joseph Paez (drums) and Matt Shumate (guitar), this band leans into punchy guitar hooks, driving tempos and a slightly scrappy punk attitude. The Lowlifes’ full-length album, Pinch Hitters, dropped on storied Tampa…
Seven emerging Tampa Bay artists to watch in 2026 and beyond
When former Creative Loafing Editor-in-Chief David Warner decided to feature up-and-coming Tampa bay actors and dancers in this year’s Spring Arts Issue, the idea soon expanded to include visual artists as well. We reached out to some of the best curators in the Tampa Bay area—people whose job is to discover new artists and showcase…
Tampa artist Fary Charles channeled rage, disappointment, and a desire to prove himself into his latest solo show
Fary Charles emerged from financial hardship with his first big solo show, “It’s Yours” at The Tampa Edition last November, for which he created some of his largest pieces. His motivation: a mixture of rage, disappointment, and a desire to prove himself. Charles had just lost his job at a local art supply store and…
Tatiana Mesa Paján was doing well as an artist in Cuba—and had to start over when she fled to Tampa
Tatiana Mesa Paján was an established artist in Cuba before immigrating to the United States in 2013 to join her sister. “When I was in Cuba, I was doing well as an artist,” Mesa Paján told CL. “I wasn’t really so aware of politics. I was in my artistic bubble.” Mesa Paján came to the…
Second-act Tampa artist Mary-Helen Horne discovers printmaking while planning her retirement
In 2021, Mary-Helen Horne retired from her corporate job and moved into a new studio at Kress Contemporary in Ybor City, where she became a full-time artist. “I feel like I became a serious artist when I moved into the Kress and I started to meet more of the community,” Horne told Creative Loafing Tampa…
New work from Tampa artist Patrick Carew explores what it means to experience HIV in the post-prep era
Tampa art insiders know Patrick Carew as the curator of Reverb, a small gallery in Kress Contemporary programmed by graduate students from USF’s College of Design, Art and Performance. Or at least, he was Reverb’s curator in 2025. In 2026, as Carew prepares to graduate from The University of South Florida in Tampa, he’s focused…
Meet Jesi Cason, St. Petersburg Month of Photography’s Photo Laureate
Jesi Cason emerged from personal branding photography to act as St. Petersburg Month of Photography’s Photo Laureate in May 2025. She applied for the honor after moving from Fort Myers to Tampa, thinking the appointment would be a great opportunity to meet other artists in the area and get her name out there. “I fully…
Zack Wittman’s latest project documents Tampa’s last cigar factories
By the time Zack Wittman had the opportunity to photograph Tampa’s cigar factories, there were only 25 left. Of those 25, only J. C. Newman Cigar Co. is operational. Named for its clock tower, El Reloj is the last remaining operational cigar factory in the United States. As Ybor City’s 140th anniversary approached, Drew Newman…
Tampa artist Clancy Riehm has a busy year ahead of her
If you shop the popular St. Pete art markets, then you may have already seen Clancy Riehm’s work. The digital artist left her 9-to-5 and became a full-time artist two years ago. She’s been making regular appearances at Indie Flea, Mezzo Market and Uptown Funk Market ever since—and her new lunar moth piece is on…
Here are seven Tampa Bay actors and dancers to know in 2026
A simple but profound Sondheim lyric comes to mind when thinking about the seven actors and dancers interviewed for the 2025 spring arts issue: “No one is alone. Truly. No one is alone.” Every one of these artists pointed to the help they got along the way. Blake High School in Tampa, Gibbs H.S./Pinellas County…
Polk County’s Justin Brock is a powerful mover who’s developing a choreographic style all his own
Creative Loafing Tampa Bay’s spring arts issue features more than a dozen artists to watch this year and beyond. Meet Justin Brock. His talent got noticed early: Hayley Amis-Stewart, a faculty member at Highland School of Dance in Lakeland, spotted Justin’s talent in elementary school musicals and offered him a dance scholarship when he was…
Tampa actor Max Carley turned his life around and rediscovered theater
Creative Loafing Tampa Bay’s spring arts issue features more than a dozen artists to watch this year and beyond. Meet Max Carley. His roaring 20s: “I went to FSU for a few semesters—I didn’t last because I liked to drink and do drugs a little too much.” Then he found theater (again): He’d done a…
Tampa actor Lance Markeith Felton is incapable of making a false move—on stage, at the mic, or in the classroom
Creative Loafing Tampa Bay’s spring arts issue features more than a dozen artists to watch this year and beyond. Meet Lance Markeith Felton. His first professional gig: Erica Sutherlin’s production of “Pass Over” at The Studio@620 four years ago. As Kitch, a young Black man contemplating escape to a better life, his performance was indelible—utterly…
Pinellas actor Aoifa Maki been hailed as ‘pure magic’ onstage
Creative Loafing Tampa Bay’s spring arts issue features more than a dozen artists to watch this year and beyond. Meet Aiofa Maki. About her name: It’s Irish (pronounced “EE-fah”). Maki is Finnish (from her dad’s side). Her first lead role (in first grade): “They made me be Mary. I didn’t like it.” But when she…
Alaina Rahaim’s nickname in school was ‘Sparkles’–and that’s exactly what she does
Creative Loafing Tampa Bay’s spring arts issue features more than a dozen artists to watch this year and beyond. Meet Alaina Rahaim. Where it all started: Now 30, she took ballet as a child, but found her true home in an improv class. “I wanted so badly to be in that black box.” Where it…
Business alliance posts legal challenge over meeting discussing South Tampa’s Howard Avenue flood relief project
The City of Tampa is presenting an update to the South Howard Flood Relief Project right now at Thursday morning’s city council workshop. In Thursday’s evening meeting, council members could vote on reallocating more than $21 million within the Stormwater Bond Series 2023 Fund for the South Howard Flood Relief and Streetscape Project. Lawyers for…
Six Tampa Bay bands to follow in 2026
As 2026 kicks off, a new crop of homegrown artists is pushing past “up-and-coming” and into something more solid: sold-out shows, official releases, and a growing sense that Tampa Bay isn’t just incubating talent–it’s exporting it. From sweaty club stages to vinyl bins and festival lineups, these six acts are shaping the sound of the…
